Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Beginning Our Tour Along Highway 50 (1st of 2 posts today)

Beautiful clouds over our Salem, Virginia RV space.


This morning we said good-bye to my cousin, Gail, and were on our way out of Salem, Virginia by 8:30 am.  We picked up I-81 and headed north to Winchester.  This is where we decided to connect with Hwy. 50.  It actually begins at the Atlantic Ocean in Maryland, but we didn't want to go there just to then reverse direction to come back the same way.  We started here in Winchester.



Highway 50 is called "The Loneliest Road" in the book Roadtrip USA by Jamie Jensen.  On the cover it says "cross-country adventures on America's two-lane highways."   This is one of the great travel books from Moon Publishing Company.  I cannot say enough great things about their travel handbooks.  They are all fantastic.  In Roadtrip USA, they chart the trip on Hwy. 50 from west to east.  We are going from east to west.


Not long after entering West Virginia the road begins a slow progression up, and down, some mountain passes.  They aren't high in elevation, but can be steep in grade percentages.  Today we encountered a 9% grade and 2 7% grades.  We took it slow.  Well, you can't really do it any other way since the road winds around the mountains often.  In most places our speed was 30 to 40 mph.  You will not want to take this route if you are in a hurry.


We got to the small town of Romney, West Virginia in the early afternoon.  We had selected a campground from the Trailer Life Directory and it was just west of the town.  It was south of the highway some 4 miles, but we find those adventures interesting much of the time.  On these small roads you sometimes have to drive a few miles to find some parks or campgrounds.   Romney has a population of less than 2,000.  With the Potomac River nearby this is a favorite location for fishing, canoeing, swimming and boating.

We are not planning to spend any time here on this trip.  We will be leaving Thursday morning for Ohio.  On Friday we will arrive in Cincinnati for a 5-night stay.  We have some activities planned for the big city since we have never stayed there before.

I posted a RV Park Review on a second post today.  Check that out for a look at the Wapocoma Campground.
Until next time......so long for now!

10 comments:

Carol K said...

Beautiful pictures. I like all that greenery!

Rick said...

We've got that same Road Trip book you talked about and have also found it really handy, especially when we were traveling around New Mexico and Arizona this year. I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about Cincinnati - never been there and don't know anyone who has!

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

More great photo's and information, we like West irginia it is a lot like PA. where Sam grew up, the mountains and coal mines especially. Which way are you heading west. Let us know if you pass along I-70 in the St Louis area. Be safe out there, Sam & Donna.

Al Bossence said...

Gonna go have me a look at that 'Roadtrip USA' on line. Always so nice to see the vibrant & fresh green colors of spring.

Maureen said...

You have missed the best part of Route 50. I have been crossing the Route 50 Bridge coming in and out of Ocean City, Md since I was a child when my parents brought me to the beach. I now work in Ocean City. There is a sign as you cross the bridge leaving Ocean City which says 3,525(or whatever mileage is) miles to California. When I was a child I loved the idea of driving all the way to California. Maybe I can in a couple of years as DH and I will be fulltiming soon I hope! Maureen

Jerry and Suzy said...

We also enjoy the Road trip book, and look forward to following more of those roads!

Phyllis said...

We have camped in OC, MD many times. We also love WV. Did you have the time for Harpers Ferry?

In the early 90's I attended a HR conference in Cincinnati. I remember eating in a restuarant which used to be a building where they made pottery. Sure wish I could remember the name. Roseville maybe?

Enjoy!

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