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Underway from Vermont

Barley standing guard duty in one of the vendor buildings Tuesday afternoon.

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We got caught in showers for about 15 minutes on the ride in this morning; it felt great!

Throughout the day we met new friends, some of whom had followed our trip on this and other fora, and reconnected with friends from previous rallies. I think the heat, the rain, the long days on the road are all made even more worthwhile by that feeling of family.

Friday will be our last day at the rally. In the wee hours of Saturday morning we'll set out for points east. Barley's had a tough time with the heat, so our route will depend on whether or not conditions improve as we cross into Ohio. If things are going well, we might dip SE into West Virginia. If we're tired, it will be NE into Pennsylvania and New York.
 
A few more pix of the rally from a dog's point of view in no particular order.

Twisted Throttle setting up
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Checking out a new helmet
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Effects of the drought were everywhere
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Pee break at Murray (KY) State University on the way in
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Mighty Miss
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Push Mountain outside of Mountain Home, AR
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Sure was hot! Barley can't figure out the Camelback, so we did hydration stops every half hour on the ride in.
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Hidden gem on a sidestreet somewhere in Arkansas
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Squirrel!
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Guard duty in the receiving building
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Tom (Kermit Chairs) eating breakfast at The Skillet
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Okay, we're here. Now what?
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To the gentleman who yanked on blade of the trowel hanging from my backpack this morning then asked me what I intended to dig with "that little shovel," please wash your hands. It's not that difficult to figure out what a man leading a dog would use a trowel like that for...

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To the gentleman who yanked on blade of the trowel hanging from my backpack this morning then asked me what I intended to dig with "that little shovel," please wash your hands. It's not that difficult to figure out what a man leading a dog would use a trowel like that for...

That's funny right there.

Thanks for the tips on Cooper and the offer to discuss off-line.
 
Great pix, Pete! My Golden got skunked directly in the eyes last night while I was in Maine and she was home with my daughter. Look at the WX you're missing in New England. Eagle Lake in Acadia NP this morning. No need to photoshop this one, a very rare day!

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Tom -- That's so unfair! Once a decade the humidity level drops to photographically perfect levels and I'm not there!

We made it to Grove City PA today, with some really FUN rural backroads tossed in for good measure! It was all too much for Barley to handle. He's resting comfortable, thanks to Best Western. Tomorrow we ride PA Hwy 6 to Wellsboro, then camp just up the road in Tioga.

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We left Dayton OH and found a lovely rest area just before leaving I-70 in Zanesville.
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We meandered down several rural roads heading generally NNE.
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Sign of an era past. The fields were full of soybeans
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Barley in his low speed position
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Barley in his over 50mph position
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Hard to see the viewfinder with polarized shades on. Shoulda got closer.
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Ohio was a blur, as our goal was simply to get east out of the heat. We ran some nice rural roads north of Zanesville but that was marred by a middle aged man in a blue Ranger truck who flew into road rage when I passed him in a 50mph zone; he had been doing 35 but seemed infuriated by my legal pass. So I never stopped for photos in Ohio, just wanting to put some distance between us and him...and his relatives.

Pennsylvania was pretty, but by that point we were feeling the gravitational effect of Home, so we rode up 66 then east on 6 without many stops. I also find it difficult to stop on PA roads as the state seems obsessed with guard rails. Many a shady spot alongside a stream was inaccessible because of the steel railing just a foot to the right of the pavement. PA taxpayers must spend a fortune on steel! We took a rest stop in the Allegeny NF visitor center, had a drink, shared some trail mix, and played fetch. Barley got his one and only tick at that stop, and I found it right away before it had a chance to attach.

We took back dirt roads to our friends' camp near Tioga PA, which was some of the best scenery for the past 1000 miles. Pretty land, friendly people, and good roads.
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After a long and restful stop with Dennis and Linda at their camp, we pressed on with the last leg of the journey. The forecast had frightful stuff about high winds and damaging hail, but other than a stiff crosswind in the Adirondacks we had clear sailing. And any Vermonter can relate to my thrill of that first glimpse of the Green Mountain State, shown here at the new Champlain Bridge.

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We crossed over the bridge and the temp immediately dropped to 76F. After the heat of Arkansas and Missouri it felt downright chilly! And true to its name, Vermont was GREEN! All the streams and rivers were full of muddy runoff from the heavy rains we had missed. The crops were doing amazingly well and the sweet corn was coming in. I remembered the scorched fields of corn (and other crops) near the rally and felt so bad for the farmers out there! Here in Vermont it's so green I actually had to mow part of my driveway!
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My wife was present with the camera when we pulled up our dirt road on that last quarter mile stretch to our home. She took these two shots.
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Here my other three dogs come up to greet me. (Barley was emptying his bladder. Kazoo, the big blonde fellow, having already greeted me was running off to say hello to Barley.)
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Hey Pete,
Thanks for showing such great pics, and I'm certainly glad to hear you and Barley the wonder dog are having such a good trip. My wife really enjoyed the pictures I showed her of the 2 of you and your rig from the rally. We both concluded though that there is no way any of our Cavaliers would be that well behaved in a side car.

Damn... I thought that was going to be my "in" on getting another bike! :banghead

It was great to meet you both, and I hope to get the chance again soon. Feel free to get in touch should you find yourself in the Northern Illinois area... I'll throw on some BBQ for you both.

Safe travels!
 
Thank your wife for us for taking those last two pictures!! Those were the best ones, in my opinion...love those dogs!! And Barley ROCKS, of course!!
 
Pete if I had known you were a Scotch drinker from Stow Vermont while was petting Barley on the tram, I would have tried to look you up later. I skied Mt. Mansfield as a kid, spent several weeks every year in Stow and I love a good single malt Scotch. I had a room in Knob Noster 18 miles from the Fairgrounds. I went into the package store there and asked the manager where her single malt Scotchs were and she didn't know what I was talking about.

Any, I enjoyed this thread and the pictures were great, thank you.
 
We're way south, but have traveled to Vermont and appreciate your comments on its green beauty. We even considered moving at one point, but someone mentioned "the winters". After figuring out what a winter was we had to reconsider....

Thanks for sharing your travels. And the shot of you and Barley coming home up the driveway is priceless!
 
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