Yesterday

(I did not have phone or internet reception last night, so I'm posting this now from a rest stop off route 33 west in Ohio.) From Grafton I rode down to Tygart Lake, where I had originally planned to camp, to see the dam. Then I got back on route 50, which continued to be a windy 2-lane road for a while, but then became a major highway. Many roads and rivers later, I crossed the Ohio river and reached Forked Run state park, where I am now. (The internet signal keeps going on and off so hopefully I'll be able to publish this.) A fork in the road: left back to the highway, in the wrong direction, or right onto an unmarked road circling a small mountain town. Turn right. Up the hill, past homes and barns, past cows and kids playing. The road is barely wide enough for a truck. At the top of one hill are a dozen school buses parked; I wonder how they get up there in the winter. A deer runs across the road up ahead. The pavement ends and the road becomes a trail, then back to pavement. A counter-clockwise circle around the town, neither the town nor the road on the map. Then the road ends, the town is behind me and I come upon a fair, closed for the day it seems, then a church, and then, the highway I was looking for, in the right direction. Route 50 ends abruptly. There is a warning - "Freeway Ends" - but it goes on several miles after that so I figured "freeway" refers to the jurisdiction or something like that. Then suddenly the highway is gone - or rather, not there yet, because a huge stretch as far as the eye can see is under construction - with one final exit to escape. From there I don't remember the order of events, but at some point I got groceries in Pennsboro, WV. A couple with a dog in an RV (with a motorcycle hoisted on back) that I had passed earlier on the road saw me looking at my map and asked if I needed any help. At a gas station, after filling up, I tied my gloves to the back, intending to park nearby and use the bathroom; a man there filling his car, not knowing I wasn't leaving the station, noticed the gloves and warned that they'd blow away like that. Travellers help other travellers. I eventually got to Ravenswood, where (after asking directions) I got on the bridge and crossed the river into Ohio. Then a few more roads and turns and I got on state route 124 East (although really north). 124 ran parallel to the river for a few miles, and then I arrived at my destination, Forked Run State Park. The park office was closed, asking people to register and pay by themselves - how and where I'm not sure - and the campground is almost entirely empty. Down the road from the campsites is a lake with boats tied to the dock, but they're locked and there are no paddles. I had an internet signal here for a short time but then it went off, so I'll probably have to wait until tomorrow to post this and all the photos I took today.