{"id":11848,"date":"2020-04-17T12:42:02","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T12:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=11848"},"modified":"2020-05-18T14:29:43","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T14:29:43","slug":"notes-from-the-road-9-15-march-2020","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=11848","title":{"rendered":"Notes From the Road — 9 – 15 March 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/h2>\n
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< more recent<\/a> | 9 – 15 March 2020 | older ><\/a><\/p>\n

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DuBois PA to Nesconset NY…<\/h5>\n


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Crossing the last bridge to home…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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15 March 2020:<\/strong> Finished the marathon drive today, making it home in daylight after driving the final leg non-stop. Despite temptation to pause at some favorite PA locations, the pull of home, after three months on the road, was strong. Felt good to cross the last bridge into New York. It’s been an amazing adventure but always good to be home …
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Montpelier OH to DuBois PA…<\/h5>\n


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The Cuyahoga River National Park…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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14 March 2020:<\/strong> A cold and winter-like day in the northeast, and a pause for a short hike on one of the trails at the Cuyahoga River National Park — a place we first visited ten years ago during our Great American Roadtrip 2010. The story of this river that burned due to industrial pollution and was then recuperated and made into a park is a fascinating parable and something to think about when we consider our current environmental challenges. Back on the road after the hike and made it as far as DuBois PA before having to stop for the night …
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Peru IL to Montpelier OH…<\/h5>\n


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Heading East and Hitting Traffic…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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13 March 2020:<\/strong> Another day on the I-80 eastbound and beginning to hit traffic as the wide open spaces already begin to become a bit smaller and population centers get closer together relative to the west …
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Des Moines IA to Peru IL…<\/h5>\n


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Leaving the Great Plains…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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12 March 2020:<\/strong> Left the flat farmlands of the prairies behind and headed further east, making it as far as Peru Illinois before stopping for the night …
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Kearney NE to Des Moines IA…<\/h5>\n


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Sandhill Cranes over the Platte River…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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11 March 2020:<\/strong> Hung out in Kearney after work just long enough to catch the sunset and the annual Sandhill Crane migration from Fort Kearney State Park. It turned out to be quite an impressive sight even though it was still early in the season and there weren’t yet a full complement of the birds …
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Golden CO to Kearney NE…<\/h5>\n


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Entering the Prairies…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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10 March 2020:<\/strong> Drove into the night, making good progress from Golden, CO as I left the Rocky Mountains and headed into the flat lands of the Great Plains. I crossed into Nebraska, and got as far as Kearney before stopping for the night …
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Leaving Moab…<\/h5>\n


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Starting the Marathon Utah to Colorado…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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9 March 2020:<\/strong> Left Moab in the afternoon and headed east towards home. As I reached the Rocky Mountains the moon rose up bright in the distance and I kept on driving until I reached the other side, stopping at Golden, Colorado for the night …
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PREVIOUS NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/a> ><\/a><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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THIS MONTH:<\/strong>
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\nRoadtrip across the country from west to east back to New York…
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COMING UP SOON:<\/strong>
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\nJoining the Texas Rovers for their annual South Central Area Rover Rally (SCARR). SCARR is a four-day event geared towards Land Rover enthusiasts that attracts people from all over the globe. SCARR attendees get to experience the off-road capabilities of Land Rovers in the beautiful setting of the Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area. Texas Rovers has reserved the entire 1,850-acre BMRA off-road park located in Gilmer, Texas for activities that include guided trail runs, lectures and off-road training, the ladies-only Barbara Toy trail run and much more…

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\nHeading to Michigan for the Ladies Offroad Convention<\/a>, an action-packed, interactive 4-day weekend educating, motivating, and guiding for offroad ladies. The 4th Annual Convention will be held in Grand Blanc, Michigan from July 30th to August 2nd. Ladies will have many hands-on opportunities to gain all types of offroading skills, learn and engage with others as they share their stories with plenty of laughs along the way…
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CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK<\/strong>
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\nUnlike many other national parks in far-flung corners of the wilderness, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park<\/a> stretches between two urban hubs, Cleveland and Akron. Centered around the winding Cuyahoga river (the Native American name means \u201ccrooked river\u201d) the 33,000-acre park gives way to deep forests, rolling hills, and open farmlands. The river once provided water for the 19th-century Ohio & Erie Canal. And today that history is recalled by some of the park\u2019s key attractions. The Towpath Trail runs the length of the park and parallels remnants of the Ohio & Erie Canal and the twisting Cuyahoga River. The trail itself was a path used by the mules that towed boats through the narrow canal. Visitors walking there today, can see many historical structures and wayside exhibits highlighting the history of the area. Connecting the Ohio \u201cfrontier\u201d with the rest of the settled United States, the canal played a crucial role in the 19th century. It was built in 1825, and workers faced particular challenges trying to construct such an intricate system of hydraulic locks, aqueducts, culverts, and slackwaters in a mostly wilderness state where malaria was common. However, once completed, the canal\u2019s presence transformed the character of the region, bringing industrialization to Northeast Ohio. Over time the river suffered, as it was used to transport industrial waste and sewage from the booming cities of Akron and Cleveland. Pollution worsened until 22 June 1969, when a spark from a passing train\u2019s broken wheel ignited floating oil and piled up debris, and the Cuyahoga became famous as \u201cthe river that burned.\u201d That incident helped galvanize the environmental movement in the U.S.A., leading to the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and creation of state and federal Environmental Protection Agencies, as well as the first Earth Day. Inspired to action, local communities began working to revive the river, and in 2000 the area became a National Park. Today, the Cuyahoga\u2019s first 25 miles are biologically rich and have been designated as a state scenic river. Within the park, nesting bald eagles have returned after a 70-year absence, a potent symbol of renewal and proof that with concentrated effort, people can work together to reverse environmental damage …
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ABOUT THE GREAT PLAINS<\/strong>
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\nThe Great Plains<\/a> encompasses the broad expanse of flat land largely covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland, located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains. The region is known for supporting extensive cattle ranching and dry farming. Much of the region was home to American bison herds until they were hunted to near extinction during the mid\/late-19th century. In general, the Great Plains have a wide range of weather, with very cold and harsh winters and very hot and humid summers. Wind speeds are often very high, especially in winter. The southeastern portion of the Great Plains is the most tornado active area in the world and is sometimes referred to as Tornado Alley. Historically, the Great Plains were the range of the Blackfoot, Crow, Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, and other native tribes. The first known contact between Europeans and Indians in the Great Plains occurred in what is now Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska from 1540 to 1542 with the arrival of Francisco V\u00e1zquez de Coronado, a Spanish conquistador. The fur trade brought thousands of colonial settlers into the Great Plains over the next 100 years. Fur trappers made their way across much of the region, making regular contacts with native tribes. The fur trading posts often became the basis for settlements, as permanent settlers migrated to the Great Plains as part of a vast westward expansion through the 19th century. After 1870, new railroads expanded across the Plains American farmers rushed to settle the land taking advantage of “homestead” laws, and hunters killed off almost all the bison for their hides. The settlers brought diseases against which the Indians had no resistance. Between a half and two-thirds of the Plains Indians are thought to have died of smallpox by the time of Louisiana Purchase. Much of the Great Plains became open range for ranching operations with massive spring and fall roundups to move the cattle to the east by rail …
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