The Long and Winding Road

This year we decided to take a new route home.  When the TomTom asked if we wanted to avoid toll roads, we said "No" - let's take what the TomTom deemed to be the fastest route.  We had no idea where this might take us - but we were so glad we decided to try it.  Usually we take I-75 south from Windsor, Ontario on the way down to Florida and re-trace our route on the way home.   Once we tried taking I-95 north up the east coast (on the way home), and entered Canada near Kingston, Ontario.  That route seemed long and not very exciting.  Well, as it turned out we were heading to Niagara Falls,  Ontario this year.  This meant that once entering Georgia, instead of heading to Atlanta, we veered off towards Savannah and quickly drove into mountains.

The rest of the drive, at least into Pennsylvania, was absolutely gorgeous.  I took a ton of pictures, but I've tried to pick the best ones to show you.   Of course, the pictures don't do the scenery justice, but hopefully you get some insight into just how beautiful it is driving through those mountains.  In some areas there appear to be huge steps carved into the mountains - these were made by the blasting crews as they carved out a road into the rock.

Even the bridges contributed to the scenery - they caused us both to comment on their appearance, since the construction and engineering seemed different from the bridges we usually encounter.  Here is an example.

This one is in South Carolina and once we drove under the bridge we were heading downhill, into a gulley or pass or gulch depending on who you are and what mountain range you live in.

You really have to click on this picture to see it larger in order to appreciate the depth of the downhill road.  This seemed to be the last little settlement before we drove into North Carolina.  Believe it or not, the scenery seemed to get even more beautiful in that state.  We saw cows grazing on the side of a hill which looked too steep for them to graze, but they managed it.

As we were driving down one particularly steep downslope I mentioned to Poppa that it looked like we were heading directly into a mountain..........and............as it turned out.........I was right!

Yep - a large tunnel going right under a huge mountain.  The mountain was much higher than it looks in this picture because it is somewhat obscured by the tunnel entrance - so just trust me - it was high.  Once again, we marvelled at the engineering and work required to build a tunnel right through a mountain.  Once inside it appeared quite tidy and there was no idication of the tons of rock around us.

And after what seemed like a fairly long interval we could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It was an interesting experience, but we both breathed a sigh of relief to be out from under that mountain.  The scenery continued to be beautiful and interesting - but - our final experience in North Carolina turned out to be another tunnel - and this one had a name.

Shortly after leaving this tunnel we entered West Virginia.  The scenery continued to be beautiful and it wasn't until we arrived home that we heard about those poor miners in that mining accident in West Virginia.... I couldn't help but remember being under those mountains - or the lovely country surrounding them.  But, enough for this post - more tomorrow.

And just because I know Auntie Colleen is wondering....here is some blue lace for her to check out.

I didn't take the time to make it look pretty or straighten it out...I just quickly snapped a shot before I downloaded the pictures from the camera........it will be prettier when it is finished and pressed.