ricochetrider
Out There Somewhere
here are the pix, story and vids from a wonderful couple days of riding in the great state of Pennsyltuckey, east coast, USA.
i originally posted this on another forum site, britbike.com, where i have many friends- even tho i did this trip on my 1993 BMW R100RS.
be sure to read the follow-up, "ruminations...etc."- which came out of the typical *stream of consciousness* processes rolling about in my head as i clock the miles.
1:
OK guys here's the real deal,
i'll try to keep it as brief as possible but how do you condense 600 miles into just a few words?
first off, the pix: i got issues man!
having trouble with photobucket being so slow, i got frustrated and logged into snapfish, where, as it turns out, i already have an account! go figure, must have set that up YEARS ago?
my frustration continues in that they don't post pix FROM a link like P/B, they just post the LINK itself, as i found out yesterday...so instead of posting individual pix, here's a link to my album, which you may view, if you wish, via this link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/..._NAME=comcast2/
they are in order:
A: 1ST day's ride out to my campsite @ World's End State Park, and some pix from around camp along the lovely Loyalsock Creek.
B: 2ND day, from the covered bridge pic, we begin the next day, riding up to and along US hiway 6, thru the park which contains the so-called Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, over to the Kinzua Bridge.
C: 3RD day, beginning with the pic of the bike in a parking lot in the rain, and all the WET pix thru the remainder of the slideshow, thru Elk Forest, and south...
enjoy and stand by for the yarn...
2:
alright, grab a beverage of choice, and your atlas, ladies and jellybeans, and dig in with me for this one, which MIGHT be a BIT WORDY? (jus sayin)
so there i was, chillin at the ranch -going stir crazy- between blocks of work. having had a fairly productive couple months, the first week of june and the last week of may were kinda...BLAH...with the lovely Miss C's *blessing* i loaded the bike and took off for a long-anticipated mini *tour* of the northern portions of our beautiful state. the main goal was to ride stretches of US hiway 6, a PA scenic route, and to scout it all out so she and i could return later this summer.
the original idea was to camp at least 2 nights along the way then sort of take whatever came next, maybe being as far west by the 3rd day as to wind up in our Allegheny National Forest? as the weather deteriorated, however, it became clear to me that i would probably cut it shorter and just ride my ass off, which i pretty well did, covering just under 600 miles in 3 days.
the first day i rode, as i do so many times, up river. up hiway 322, to 147, to 225. taking 225, i rode up thru the countryside to Shamokin, and picked up hiway 61 (LOVE that, ANY Bob Dylan reference!) to Mt Carmel, then turned north proper and rode up hiway 42 thru Bloomsburg, where i stopped for lunch. afterwards, i continued north on 42, on up into the so-called Endless Mountains to our beautiful World's End State Park, camping there for the night.
total mileage: about 120 (+/-) miles on the clock
as i slumbered peacefully in my tent that first night, it did begin to rain, from very early in the wee hours on to about daylight. the rain stopped finally and i squoze in a few more *winks*, then got up and broke camp, deciding right away to not lolly-gag around, but to go ahead and *bust a move* on out of there.
for DAY 2, i had taken my PA Gazetteer, and routed a somewhat overly ambitious back-country route covering MANY small roads, even some dirt roads, to my way up further north and out onto hiway 6. as i was waking up, i thought i had been maybe a BIT too optimistic with it all, and decided to just stick to the *main* road, and i use the term *MAIN* LOOSELY, folks! i chose the ONLY road out of Forksville, PA "hiway" 154, 22 crooked, country miles to Canton, PA...lemme tells ya, it was what i'd call
*life-on-the-excitement-plan*!
you rural dwellers MAY know of a road-preserving technique we here in Pennsyltuckey call *TAR & CHIP*? goes like this: dump TRUCKLOADS of pure TAR then cover with SILLY AMOUNTS of limestone CHIPS. riding on this can sure suck, to put it mildly. gets worse, depending on how recent they did this, or on how hot it might be on the day you happen to ride out onto such a road, which has been treated in this manner....in the relatively cool climes on MY day, it wasn't TOO bad? here's how it went for ME: first, my arse slammed shut with an audible BANG! next,my gonads, lept up *north*, to the relative comfort and company of my gizzard, my heart scrambled up into my throat, practically choking me until i swallowed it again, then ALL my bodily energies SEEMED to focus themselves from the wrists down, resulting in what i'd so lovingly refer to as the DREADED *White Knuckle Grip*.
lemme tells ya, a cuppa coffee rarely has ever tasted so good as the one i had when i FINALLY got to Canton! from there it was an easy run up hiway 14 to US 6, at troy, PA, where i headed west to Wellsboro and the PA Grand Canyon country. all this a short 50-60 miles from camp.
i did have an unremarkable lunch in W-boro, then rode up into the Colton Point State Park, to view the *canyon*, really just a deep gorge with a muy fab and canoe-able creek, Pine Creek, running thru it. as i rode up the mountain it began to rain just a bit, but it didn't really matter at that point. somehow, tho, i KNEW i wasn't going to camp there, which i had thought i might do?
rolling west, out onto hiway 6, i figured i'd come across MANY little, old-school mom-and-pop motels, or, *motor hotels*, as "they" used to call 'em, BACK-IN-THE-DAY...(as US 6 is an OFFICIAL *Scenic By-way*) but not really. close to Wellsboro there are a couple, one of which, farthest west, was AMAZING, with its very own restaurant AND bar, (always a bonus, in my feeble mind) that was SO 1963. but in the end, i honestly could not justify stopping at like 2.00 PM. largely because the weather was turning for the worse and i knew i wasn't going to be out all week like i had thought i might. but the afternoon cleared off and i enjoyed my day, just ripping up the road and enjoying the scenery. the riding was fairly AMAZING, and the traffic was...WHAT TRAFFIC? there was virtually nobody there! it's like, man, if ONE car gets in your way, it just messes up your ENTIRE world! (actually, it's like this everywhere in PA, unless of course it's *rush hour* or you get up next to a BIG CITY)
i just FLEW! running HOT man, about 70-75 MPH, pretty much all afternoon, i covered some turf, bro. late in the afternoon, i was wondering just WHERE oh where i'd spend the night. i turned off the big road, taking a small detour out to see a land mark, the Kinzua Bridge:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinzua_Bridge
which is located near the small burg of Mt. Jewett. while there i took a gander at my trusty map, and decided i'd better cut south, or i'd be in Ohio by dusk, at the rate i was running! a little farther up the road, i came to US 219, and made my move, rolling down to a small town i've always like the feel of, Ridgway, PA. just after turning onto 219, i passed a REAL old-style billboard, which looked like it's been there since at least the 70s. hand-painted and all that jazz. it advertised a place called The Royal Inn, and i set my sights for there, where i spent the night. the room was barely passable, i had a MUCH better meal (i had the veal florentine with nice, light cream/cheese sauce), drinking JUST OK beverages while talking to some of the nice folks at the bar. going back to my room, i dropped out like a ton of bricks and slept the sleep of the dead.
mileage: 264 miles on the clock.
3:
on that 2nd afternoon, prior to supper, i was sitting in the door of my room having a beer, and two guys rolled up on Harleys. talking to them, i mentioned my plans to back-track the next day up to Ridgway, and pick up PA 120, which i would then ride down to Lock Haven. they suggested an alternate route, which would take me through the woods and over the mountains (suprise!) passing me thru PA's Elk State Forest, home of our very own elk herd.
so it came to pass that on that 3RD day, i rolled South down 219 to PA 948, to rte 255, to rte 555, along a big creek bottom, out to PA 120, which follows the West Fork of the mighty mighty Susquehanna river, which does flow out of southern New York State(!) and on over into the town of Lock Haven, PA. this stretch of 120 is AMAZING, with the mountain on the left, the RailRoad Tracks, and the River on the right side. miles and miles of scenic nothingness. freakin GREAT riding.
of course, when i awoke, it was raining lightly. as i got south, the rain picked up. by the time i was getting down towards Lock Haven, it was DUMPING BUCKETS. in the spirit of good King George's Manly and World Famous Modern-Day Knights of Kent, i boldly thrust my nose into the deluge and rolled the throttle ON. riding into L/H, i was having visions of breakfast and COFFEE. as i cruised the down-town streets, i was DE-lighted to find their very own TEXAS restaurant...
so...is it JUST ME? or have you guys noticed that, when in the north, everything's all TEXAS this, or WILD WEST that? BUT, when in TEXAS, it's ALL ABOUT NEW YORK this, CONEY ISLAND that, or PHILLY something else??? but never mind THAT, at THIS juncture, i DO want to take this chance to personally THANK the great country of GREECE, for sending their good citizens abroad so that they may FEED the rest of the world. dudes, i'm betting that every town in PA has its very own TEXAS diner or hot dog joint, many of them *Famous* or *WORLD Famous*, according to the signs posted out front...and ALL of them owned and operated by a Greek family! bless their little hearts! (and i MEAN that in ALL sincerity)
but i digress. as i walked into this place, the joint was fairly jumping. it was BUSTLING with the lunch crowd. it was DRY. it was WARM. it SMELLED GREAT! those girls looked at me like i was CRAZY (they MAY be onto something here?), like i had JUST landed from MARS. (admittedly, i WAS looking the part of the space traveller, in my power-ranger-ish Triumph Rain Suit, with my shiny Silver Helmet?) but they were all very nice and super friendly, AND served breakfast ALL DAY! you seek your glory when and where ya find it folks. that's ALL i got to say about THAT. (roll with me here, ROLL WITH ME) i ordered the -WAIT FOR IT- GREEK omelette, with tomato and feta, the home fried taters and sausage on the side with rye toast, and HOT WONDERFUL COFFEE! it was AMAZING, and tho i did dread going back out into the INCREASING(!) rain(?), thinking of the Knights of Kent, i finally powered back up and sped off into the wet, misty distance, rolling out of town onto 120, over to the bigger 220, and out into PA's ridge-and-valley region.
and so it went, for the next hundred miles and more, down a valley, up over a ridge, up the next valley, over the next ridge, blah blah blah. with me just getting my butt handed to me the whole way, as far as weather goes...but it WAS amazing as everything always seems to be with me and my life (is it JUST me? or is life REALLY all that?) the route, alternately crooked-crazy and arrow-straight, was 220 to 64 to 144 to 144/192 to 45 to 235. (keep up in the back, there!)
as i rolled out of that final mountain hop, on hiway 235, my *plan* had been to roll down hiway 35 to the slab-like 322, which would be a haul down to Harrisburg and Home. the rain had cleared off as i got farther south but it was still all wet and i KNEW it'd be nasty with all the road spray, which can soak you worse that the rain, coming at you from all sides and what not...
i came into a little town where 235 continued south, and at the split, saw the magic words, emblazoned upon the loverly green sign: LIVERPOOL, 20 MILES! thinking...HMMM..."never been down that way before", i decided it was more or less a *no-brainer* and turned that way, staying on rte 235. Liverpool, i know to be a town along US 11/15, north of Harrisburg a ways. 11/15 is a slab, but a smaller slab than 322 and it's be a shorter distance on a bigger road, with a continuation of the countrified splendor.
rolling south on the big road, i was passing what i knew to be an olde Kampground, where there is an old wooden-wheel paddle-boat ferry crossing, the Millersburg Ferry. Millersburg, ya see, is across the river from that location and they STILL, to this day, run an old wooden paddle wheel boat across.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millersburg_Ferry
just when i was thinking about it, i noticed a couple guys on a GoldWing circling, obviously looking like they were hunting the launch pad for the ferry. i pulled up, they came along side me, and i asked if this were true. they answered "yes, they knew it was here somewhere but weren't certain about it." i said "c'mon with me, i know right where it's at. we'll ride the ferry IF it's running." which we did.
lemme tells ya kidz this ferry ROCKS! here are the you-tube vids i have posted from our ride across the mighty Susquehanna River, on the World famous Millersburg Ferry (hint: be sure to have the audio up):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NLn0vVzB5c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az2AEXn_YAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tzQwxQBUYQ
last ferry i was on, of course, was the Steam Racket Company ferry crossing the Irish Sea. while there MAY have been SOME similarities here, they must-a been hiding under a rock at the bottom of the river! cuz I couldn't find them. here are the DIFFERENCES:
1: the river PALES in comparison to the Irish Sea. distractingly beautiful and seemingly sedate, many people DO drown in the Susquehanna, BUT you'll NEVER have to cross it while bouncing over 20-foot swells. (jus sayin)
2: if the water's too high or too low, or if the wind blows too hard, they simply DON'T RUN the ferry.
3: you ALWAYS get on your intended boat, simply swing out the white-painted wooden door to get their attention (see pix) -every time i have EVER been to the kampground hunting the ferry, they have been on the Millersburg side, a mile or so away- and they COME GET YOU!
4: it costs 3.00 USD! (one way) for a guy and a bike!!!
can you say old school (old's KOOL)?
the rest of the trip home from there was kinda anti-climatic, but no less wonderful, being dry and all, plus it was literally DOWNHILL all the way, AND bringing me closer and closer to Miss C and her wonderful company...
back down 147 to 322 to Front Street, in Harrisburg, past the fantastic Rockville Bridge, across the Market Street Bridge to Lemoyne and up the hill into New Cumberland to the house!
total mileage: +/- 600 miles!
thanks fer toodlin along with me brothers and sisters... hope you liked the pix, yarn and vids!
gotta run.
tom
Edited by ricochetrider (06/05/09 11:04 AM)
i originally posted this on another forum site, britbike.com, where i have many friends- even tho i did this trip on my 1993 BMW R100RS.
be sure to read the follow-up, "ruminations...etc."- which came out of the typical *stream of consciousness* processes rolling about in my head as i clock the miles.
1:
OK guys here's the real deal,
i'll try to keep it as brief as possible but how do you condense 600 miles into just a few words?
first off, the pix: i got issues man!
having trouble with photobucket being so slow, i got frustrated and logged into snapfish, where, as it turns out, i already have an account! go figure, must have set that up YEARS ago?
my frustration continues in that they don't post pix FROM a link like P/B, they just post the LINK itself, as i found out yesterday...so instead of posting individual pix, here's a link to my album, which you may view, if you wish, via this link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/..._NAME=comcast2/
they are in order:
A: 1ST day's ride out to my campsite @ World's End State Park, and some pix from around camp along the lovely Loyalsock Creek.
B: 2ND day, from the covered bridge pic, we begin the next day, riding up to and along US hiway 6, thru the park which contains the so-called Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, over to the Kinzua Bridge.
C: 3RD day, beginning with the pic of the bike in a parking lot in the rain, and all the WET pix thru the remainder of the slideshow, thru Elk Forest, and south...
enjoy and stand by for the yarn...
2:
alright, grab a beverage of choice, and your atlas, ladies and jellybeans, and dig in with me for this one, which MIGHT be a BIT WORDY? (jus sayin)
so there i was, chillin at the ranch -going stir crazy- between blocks of work. having had a fairly productive couple months, the first week of june and the last week of may were kinda...BLAH...with the lovely Miss C's *blessing* i loaded the bike and took off for a long-anticipated mini *tour* of the northern portions of our beautiful state. the main goal was to ride stretches of US hiway 6, a PA scenic route, and to scout it all out so she and i could return later this summer.
the original idea was to camp at least 2 nights along the way then sort of take whatever came next, maybe being as far west by the 3rd day as to wind up in our Allegheny National Forest? as the weather deteriorated, however, it became clear to me that i would probably cut it shorter and just ride my ass off, which i pretty well did, covering just under 600 miles in 3 days.
the first day i rode, as i do so many times, up river. up hiway 322, to 147, to 225. taking 225, i rode up thru the countryside to Shamokin, and picked up hiway 61 (LOVE that, ANY Bob Dylan reference!) to Mt Carmel, then turned north proper and rode up hiway 42 thru Bloomsburg, where i stopped for lunch. afterwards, i continued north on 42, on up into the so-called Endless Mountains to our beautiful World's End State Park, camping there for the night.
total mileage: about 120 (+/-) miles on the clock
as i slumbered peacefully in my tent that first night, it did begin to rain, from very early in the wee hours on to about daylight. the rain stopped finally and i squoze in a few more *winks*, then got up and broke camp, deciding right away to not lolly-gag around, but to go ahead and *bust a move* on out of there.
for DAY 2, i had taken my PA Gazetteer, and routed a somewhat overly ambitious back-country route covering MANY small roads, even some dirt roads, to my way up further north and out onto hiway 6. as i was waking up, i thought i had been maybe a BIT too optimistic with it all, and decided to just stick to the *main* road, and i use the term *MAIN* LOOSELY, folks! i chose the ONLY road out of Forksville, PA "hiway" 154, 22 crooked, country miles to Canton, PA...lemme tells ya, it was what i'd call
*life-on-the-excitement-plan*!
you rural dwellers MAY know of a road-preserving technique we here in Pennsyltuckey call *TAR & CHIP*? goes like this: dump TRUCKLOADS of pure TAR then cover with SILLY AMOUNTS of limestone CHIPS. riding on this can sure suck, to put it mildly. gets worse, depending on how recent they did this, or on how hot it might be on the day you happen to ride out onto such a road, which has been treated in this manner....in the relatively cool climes on MY day, it wasn't TOO bad? here's how it went for ME: first, my arse slammed shut with an audible BANG! next,my gonads, lept up *north*, to the relative comfort and company of my gizzard, my heart scrambled up into my throat, practically choking me until i swallowed it again, then ALL my bodily energies SEEMED to focus themselves from the wrists down, resulting in what i'd so lovingly refer to as the DREADED *White Knuckle Grip*.
lemme tells ya, a cuppa coffee rarely has ever tasted so good as the one i had when i FINALLY got to Canton! from there it was an easy run up hiway 14 to US 6, at troy, PA, where i headed west to Wellsboro and the PA Grand Canyon country. all this a short 50-60 miles from camp.
i did have an unremarkable lunch in W-boro, then rode up into the Colton Point State Park, to view the *canyon*, really just a deep gorge with a muy fab and canoe-able creek, Pine Creek, running thru it. as i rode up the mountain it began to rain just a bit, but it didn't really matter at that point. somehow, tho, i KNEW i wasn't going to camp there, which i had thought i might do?
rolling west, out onto hiway 6, i figured i'd come across MANY little, old-school mom-and-pop motels, or, *motor hotels*, as "they" used to call 'em, BACK-IN-THE-DAY...(as US 6 is an OFFICIAL *Scenic By-way*) but not really. close to Wellsboro there are a couple, one of which, farthest west, was AMAZING, with its very own restaurant AND bar, (always a bonus, in my feeble mind) that was SO 1963. but in the end, i honestly could not justify stopping at like 2.00 PM. largely because the weather was turning for the worse and i knew i wasn't going to be out all week like i had thought i might. but the afternoon cleared off and i enjoyed my day, just ripping up the road and enjoying the scenery. the riding was fairly AMAZING, and the traffic was...WHAT TRAFFIC? there was virtually nobody there! it's like, man, if ONE car gets in your way, it just messes up your ENTIRE world! (actually, it's like this everywhere in PA, unless of course it's *rush hour* or you get up next to a BIG CITY)
i just FLEW! running HOT man, about 70-75 MPH, pretty much all afternoon, i covered some turf, bro. late in the afternoon, i was wondering just WHERE oh where i'd spend the night. i turned off the big road, taking a small detour out to see a land mark, the Kinzua Bridge:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinzua_Bridge
which is located near the small burg of Mt. Jewett. while there i took a gander at my trusty map, and decided i'd better cut south, or i'd be in Ohio by dusk, at the rate i was running! a little farther up the road, i came to US 219, and made my move, rolling down to a small town i've always like the feel of, Ridgway, PA. just after turning onto 219, i passed a REAL old-style billboard, which looked like it's been there since at least the 70s. hand-painted and all that jazz. it advertised a place called The Royal Inn, and i set my sights for there, where i spent the night. the room was barely passable, i had a MUCH better meal (i had the veal florentine with nice, light cream/cheese sauce), drinking JUST OK beverages while talking to some of the nice folks at the bar. going back to my room, i dropped out like a ton of bricks and slept the sleep of the dead.
mileage: 264 miles on the clock.
3:
on that 2nd afternoon, prior to supper, i was sitting in the door of my room having a beer, and two guys rolled up on Harleys. talking to them, i mentioned my plans to back-track the next day up to Ridgway, and pick up PA 120, which i would then ride down to Lock Haven. they suggested an alternate route, which would take me through the woods and over the mountains (suprise!) passing me thru PA's Elk State Forest, home of our very own elk herd.
so it came to pass that on that 3RD day, i rolled South down 219 to PA 948, to rte 255, to rte 555, along a big creek bottom, out to PA 120, which follows the West Fork of the mighty mighty Susquehanna river, which does flow out of southern New York State(!) and on over into the town of Lock Haven, PA. this stretch of 120 is AMAZING, with the mountain on the left, the RailRoad Tracks, and the River on the right side. miles and miles of scenic nothingness. freakin GREAT riding.
of course, when i awoke, it was raining lightly. as i got south, the rain picked up. by the time i was getting down towards Lock Haven, it was DUMPING BUCKETS. in the spirit of good King George's Manly and World Famous Modern-Day Knights of Kent, i boldly thrust my nose into the deluge and rolled the throttle ON. riding into L/H, i was having visions of breakfast and COFFEE. as i cruised the down-town streets, i was DE-lighted to find their very own TEXAS restaurant...
so...is it JUST ME? or have you guys noticed that, when in the north, everything's all TEXAS this, or WILD WEST that? BUT, when in TEXAS, it's ALL ABOUT NEW YORK this, CONEY ISLAND that, or PHILLY something else??? but never mind THAT, at THIS juncture, i DO want to take this chance to personally THANK the great country of GREECE, for sending their good citizens abroad so that they may FEED the rest of the world. dudes, i'm betting that every town in PA has its very own TEXAS diner or hot dog joint, many of them *Famous* or *WORLD Famous*, according to the signs posted out front...and ALL of them owned and operated by a Greek family! bless their little hearts! (and i MEAN that in ALL sincerity)
but i digress. as i walked into this place, the joint was fairly jumping. it was BUSTLING with the lunch crowd. it was DRY. it was WARM. it SMELLED GREAT! those girls looked at me like i was CRAZY (they MAY be onto something here?), like i had JUST landed from MARS. (admittedly, i WAS looking the part of the space traveller, in my power-ranger-ish Triumph Rain Suit, with my shiny Silver Helmet?) but they were all very nice and super friendly, AND served breakfast ALL DAY! you seek your glory when and where ya find it folks. that's ALL i got to say about THAT. (roll with me here, ROLL WITH ME) i ordered the -WAIT FOR IT- GREEK omelette, with tomato and feta, the home fried taters and sausage on the side with rye toast, and HOT WONDERFUL COFFEE! it was AMAZING, and tho i did dread going back out into the INCREASING(!) rain(?), thinking of the Knights of Kent, i finally powered back up and sped off into the wet, misty distance, rolling out of town onto 120, over to the bigger 220, and out into PA's ridge-and-valley region.
and so it went, for the next hundred miles and more, down a valley, up over a ridge, up the next valley, over the next ridge, blah blah blah. with me just getting my butt handed to me the whole way, as far as weather goes...but it WAS amazing as everything always seems to be with me and my life (is it JUST me? or is life REALLY all that?) the route, alternately crooked-crazy and arrow-straight, was 220 to 64 to 144 to 144/192 to 45 to 235. (keep up in the back, there!)
as i rolled out of that final mountain hop, on hiway 235, my *plan* had been to roll down hiway 35 to the slab-like 322, which would be a haul down to Harrisburg and Home. the rain had cleared off as i got farther south but it was still all wet and i KNEW it'd be nasty with all the road spray, which can soak you worse that the rain, coming at you from all sides and what not...
i came into a little town where 235 continued south, and at the split, saw the magic words, emblazoned upon the loverly green sign: LIVERPOOL, 20 MILES! thinking...HMMM..."never been down that way before", i decided it was more or less a *no-brainer* and turned that way, staying on rte 235. Liverpool, i know to be a town along US 11/15, north of Harrisburg a ways. 11/15 is a slab, but a smaller slab than 322 and it's be a shorter distance on a bigger road, with a continuation of the countrified splendor.
rolling south on the big road, i was passing what i knew to be an olde Kampground, where there is an old wooden-wheel paddle-boat ferry crossing, the Millersburg Ferry. Millersburg, ya see, is across the river from that location and they STILL, to this day, run an old wooden paddle wheel boat across.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millersburg_Ferry
just when i was thinking about it, i noticed a couple guys on a GoldWing circling, obviously looking like they were hunting the launch pad for the ferry. i pulled up, they came along side me, and i asked if this were true. they answered "yes, they knew it was here somewhere but weren't certain about it." i said "c'mon with me, i know right where it's at. we'll ride the ferry IF it's running." which we did.
lemme tells ya kidz this ferry ROCKS! here are the you-tube vids i have posted from our ride across the mighty Susquehanna River, on the World famous Millersburg Ferry (hint: be sure to have the audio up):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NLn0vVzB5c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az2AEXn_YAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tzQwxQBUYQ
last ferry i was on, of course, was the Steam Racket Company ferry crossing the Irish Sea. while there MAY have been SOME similarities here, they must-a been hiding under a rock at the bottom of the river! cuz I couldn't find them. here are the DIFFERENCES:
1: the river PALES in comparison to the Irish Sea. distractingly beautiful and seemingly sedate, many people DO drown in the Susquehanna, BUT you'll NEVER have to cross it while bouncing over 20-foot swells. (jus sayin)
2: if the water's too high or too low, or if the wind blows too hard, they simply DON'T RUN the ferry.
3: you ALWAYS get on your intended boat, simply swing out the white-painted wooden door to get their attention (see pix) -every time i have EVER been to the kampground hunting the ferry, they have been on the Millersburg side, a mile or so away- and they COME GET YOU!
4: it costs 3.00 USD! (one way) for a guy and a bike!!!
can you say old school (old's KOOL)?
the rest of the trip home from there was kinda anti-climatic, but no less wonderful, being dry and all, plus it was literally DOWNHILL all the way, AND bringing me closer and closer to Miss C and her wonderful company...
back down 147 to 322 to Front Street, in Harrisburg, past the fantastic Rockville Bridge, across the Market Street Bridge to Lemoyne and up the hill into New Cumberland to the house!
total mileage: +/- 600 miles!
thanks fer toodlin along with me brothers and sisters... hope you liked the pix, yarn and vids!
gotta run.
tom
Edited by ricochetrider (06/05/09 11:04 AM)
Last edited:
