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June 27-- Parkersburg, WV

We left New Martinsville, WV early and encountered fog as we cycled west.  In Sistersville, WV we had planned to take the ferry across the river to cycle on the Ohio side.  When we got to the ferry it was “beached” and no one was around.  We cycled back into town where we were told that the ferry was no longer running—they could not find a licensed pilot.  We continued west on the West Virginia side to St. Marys where we were able to cross the Ohio River on a bridge.  Cycling in Ohio was flat and on mostly a 4 lane road with wide shoulders. 

Our next stop was Marietta, Ohio.  During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent settlement of the new United States in the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth of the Muskingum River at its confluence with the Ohio River.  After cycling an endless commercial strip to reach the town, we visited a “castle” and a river boat museum, and saw a lot of lovely old mansions. The Castle was the home of some of Marietta’s most prominent and influential citizens. The property was leased as early as 1808 by a potter and his family, making it one of the earliest pottery manufacturing sites in the entire Northwest Territory. The Gothic Revival house was built in 1855 and a carriage house was completed just three years later.  Among the river boat museum's collection is the W.P. Snyder, Jr., the last steam powered towboat on the river.


While Joe feasted on taking pictures, Jeff relished the large trees that shaded the town’s streets and cooled off his hot and tired body.  From Marietta, we crossed the river back to West Virginia.  By this time the temperature was well into the 90s and we were tired.  We had only 14 miles to go to reach Parkersburg, WV (our destination), but we were slowed by the heat and hills.  We had dinner at the Parkersburg Brewery, the only restaurant within walking distance of our hotel.  The beer was good, and cold.  The food was incidental.


Pictures

Map

Comments

  1. HPJune 28, 2019 at 8:13 AM

    I see, you are on the route again and you have not shortened your daily stages yet. You seem to be big in shape as ever. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete

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