St. Louis to Baltimore and Back

Here was some planning I did for a trip to Baltimore we took in July of 1998.

Assuming we saw the State Capitol in Frankfort on the afternoon of July 9th.

Alternative plan for July 10th - 12th.

(spent night at Harley of Lexington, (606) 299-1261 or Hilton Suites (606)-271-4000 or Radisson Plaza Hotel (606) 231-9000.)

10:00am. Visit some place in Lexington. Possibly Ashland or Mary Todd Lincoln house.

Noon-3:30. Drive from Lexington to Charleston, WV. In Charleston see the State Capitol.

5:00pm. Leave Charleston, drive south on I-77 toll road to Beckley, then east on I-64 to Lewisburg.

7:00pm. Drive north on US-219 from Lewisburg to campground or Bed & Breakfast in Pocahantas County, near Cass Railroad. Arriving around 8:00pm.

10:40. Arrive at Cass Railroad and prepare to board train 11:00-1:00 Ride the Cass railroad.

1:00-1:30 up State raod 28/92 to Green Bank. 1:30-3:00. See National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

3:00-5:00. Drive to Staunton on US-250.

5:30-7:00 Drive to Afton, then take Blue Ridge Parkway south to Tye River Gap, then take local road to Raphine, VA. 7:30. pm. Arrive at Raphine and stay at Days Inn Shenandoah Valley (540) 377-2604

5:30-6:15 Drive to Charlottesville. Stay at Days Inn Hotel Charlottesville, (800)242-5973 or Holiday Inn University Area, (804) 293-9111

5:30-7:30. Drive I-81 to to Exit 235, then State-276 north to Penn Laird and on US-33 east. Enter Shenandoah National Park at Swift Run. Drive north on Skyline Drive to camp at Big Meadows.

5:30-9:00. Drive north on I-81 to Winchester, then on to Boyds.

PLAN 1:

9:30-noon Leave Raphine, VA. Drive I-81 to to Exit 235, then State-276 north to Penn Laird and on US-33 east. Enter Shenandoah National Park at Swift Run. Drive north on Skyline Drive to US-211, stopping for a short hike or two.

noon-1:30. Drive on US-522, US-340, and State-277 to White Post where we can visit Dinosaur land.

1:30-2:30 Dinosaur Land.

2:30-4:30 Drive to Springfield, VA 4:30-7:30 Visit Springfield, VA.

7:30-9:00 Drive to Baltimore. Check into Hyatt.

PLAN 2:

8:00-10:00 Visit Monticello

10:00-12:30. Drive north on US-29, west on US-33, North on Skyline Drive from Swift Run to US-211. Stopping for a couple short hikes on Skyline Drive.

12:30-2:00 Drive on US-522, US-340, and State-277 to White Post where we can visit Dinosaur land.

2:00-3:00 Dinosaur Land.

3:30-5:30 Drive to Springfield, VA. 5:30-7:30 Visit in Springfield

7:30-9:00 Drive to Baltimore. Check into Hyatt.

PLAN 3:

10:00-noon. Hike around Big Meadows.

Noon to 2:00pm. Drive up Skyline Drive, stopping frequently, then drive on US-522, US-340, and State-277 to White Post where we can visit Dinosaur land.

2:00-3:00 Dinosaur Land.

3:30-5:30 Drive to Springfield, VA. 5:30-7:30 Visit in Springfield

7:30-9:00 Drive to Baltimore. Check into Hyatt.

PLAN 4:

Spend the day in the Washington Area

July 16, Thursday

Leave Boyds at 10:00am.

2:00-3:00 Stop at Fort Necessity

3:00-4:00 From Fort Necessity to Washington, PENN

4:00-5:00 See Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington, PENN

5:00-6:30. Drive to New Vrindaban.

6:30-7:30. See new Vrindaban temple.

7:30-9:00. Drive to Cambridge, OHIO. Stay at Days Inn (614) 432-5691

OR

7:30-10:00. Drive to Columbus, OHIO. Stay at
Best Western East (614) 864-1280

Holiday Inn East (614) 868-1380

July 17th, Friday.

10:00-1:00pm. See State Capitol and one other place in Columbus, probably Science Center.

1:00pm-3:00pm. Drive from Columbus to Dayton to U.S.A.F. museum at Wright Patterson AFB.

3:00-5:00pm. Enjoy Air Force Museum.

5:00-7:30. Drive to Indianapolis to have dinner and spend the night there.

July 18th, Saturday.

Morning at Conner Prairie and afternoon at Children’s Museum.

Perhaps visit State Capitol, although probably closed on weekends.

July 19th. Rest in the morning.

Afternoon to see concert.

Drive home in the evening, 4.5 hours from Indianapolis to St. Louis.

We left St. Louis slightly before 7:00am.

We arrived in New Harmony, Indiana just before 10:00am. We took the first exit off I-64 in Indiana, which led us south on a winding country road through scenic farmland, past some rural residences.

In New Harmony we looked around the museum for about fifteen minutes, then we saw a movie explaining the history of New Harmony. A prosperous religious group that was (correctly) awaiting the Second Coming of Christ decided to move from Pennsylvania to the frontier of Indiana in 1814 (Just a few years before the birth of Baha’u’llah). Their religious community of nearly a thousand people stayed for about eleven years and turned the area into a prosperous community, where people lived well. In 1825 they decided to go back to Pennsylvania to be closer to the markets where they sold their products. By luck and word-of-mouth a wealthy social reformer named Robert Owen heard of Rappite colony and bought New Harmony. Several scientists and leaders from Philadelphia and other civilized cities of the eastern United States came to live together in New Harmony. Although Robert Owen’s experiment didn’t last long, many of the new colonists stayed and made New Harmony a progressive and enlightened village.

We took short tour of the town. First we visited a house built by the Rappites, probably constructed around 1820. The original wood was still on the outside and most of the inside. Then we walked over to look at some cabins that demonstrated the types of houses and workshops used by the Rappites in their first few years at New Harmony, before they built more substantial homes. Everyone shared all property in common at New Harmony, except that everyone was allowed one trunk full of personal belongings which were private. People took turns baking bread or washing clothing one day each week (we saw one of the original bread ovens, which is still used sometimes). The Rappite church was used as a theater and community center by the Robert Owen’s colony. Several years after the Rappites had moved away a few came back and saw how their church was being used. They bought the church and used the bricks to build a nice wall around the cemetery where they had buried the few hundred Rappites who had passed away during their decade in New Harmony. We saw that wall and noticed the paint from the theater on some of the bricks. We also saw that the Rappites buried their dead over some old Indian mounds, which were still easy to notice in the graveyard.

We finally saw a Victorian home that had been used by a prominent family that came to New Harmony with Robert Owens and stayed in the area for a few generations. This home showed Victorian era furnishings and also demonstrated how later colonists had expanded and added to the simple and small Rappite houses.

Leaving New Harmony we were detoured on route 66 and went nearly to Evansville before we could turn north and get back on I-64, which brought us all the way to Frankfort. We thought the State Capitol in Frankfort would close at 4:00 pm. (as the AAA guidebook said), but a brochure from the Frankfort visitors’ bureau told us it was open until 4:30. This was lucky for us, because we only arrived at nearly 4:00 anyway, and since we were hungry we stopped for McDonald’s cheeseburgers and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Jeri got change for a $100 and then tried to pay for her chicken, but the clerk seemed to be confused and hesitant to take her money. I came in and said, "hurry, the capitol will close soon!" and the staff just told Jeri she didn’t need to pay and she could just go. Jeri thinks the poor person couldn’t do math well and was confused by all the counting, and just wanted us to go away. Anyway, it was a free lunch.

We made it to the capitol and had about 20 minutes to walk around. It was a very hot day. We figured out that the capitol building didn’t lock its doors at 4:30, although most of the staff left at that time. We admired the floral clock and the grounds, and then decided to go.

We drove on through Lexington, getting off the freeway (I-64) to take route US-60 hoping we would find a store in which to buy some dinner and maybe get a pillow. We finally stopped in a grocery store in Mt. Sterling (no mountains could be seen, but the town calls itself a gateway to the mountains). We spent a lot of money on motion sickness medicine and flashlights, as well as food for dinner and breakfast.

We drove into the Daniel Boone National Forest, passing through the village of Salt Lick. We had a long drive on a winding road to get to the Zilpo Recreation Area along Cave Run Lake, but Jeri was driving and she drove very slowly, so everyone felt comfortable. We saw a Turkey hen and two little turkeys walking along the road as we drove. At the Zilpo recreation area we set up our tent and campsite. There were many wild berries growing around the campsite, but they were mostly too sour, even the black ones. The campsite also had gravel instead of grass, which annoyed me. Then Sebastian and I took Gloria back to the so-called "beach" of gravel and sand where we got in the water. The air temperature had cooled to a comfortable hot warmth, and the water was also warm. Sebastian and I stayed in the water a long time and watched the sun set over a hill on the far side of the lake as we played in the lake.

July 10th we three went into the water together in the morning while Jeri took pictures of us from the shore. We used the showers and packed up our tent. During our stay at Zilpo I found ticks on my socks and on my shoulder (Jeri noticed the one on my shoulder), but none of us were bitten (by ticks, that is.) Sebastian did get a mosquito bite on his eye-lid which made his eye all swollen and puffy for a day afterwards).

On our drive out of the Cave Run Lake area we stopped at the Clear Creek Furnace to admire the big limestone blocks and think of the work that had to be done to make iron back when the furnace was in operation (from about 1835 to about 1875, if I remember correctly).

After driving out we stopped in Morehead, Kentucky at a Big Lots discount store and a grocery store to buy pillows, baby shampoo, and lunch. We drove on to the West Virginia welcome center where we picked up some more information about Charleston, WV.

We arrived in Charleston at about 3:00 in the afternoon. We first visited the Capitol building. A strange old man with a long, pointed chin and nose that made him like a Punch puppet from the Punch and Judy puppet shows came up to us and told us many stories about West Virginia. I thought he was perhaps part of an exhibit in which colorful mountain characters (or actors pretending to be such) gave tourists an idea of what West Virginians were. However, the people at the tourist information booth seemed embarrassed by the old guy and told me he had nothing to do with them.

The capitol was lovely, with much white marble and not too much decoration or paint. We enjoyed an echo chamber in one wing which made strange effects with our voices. Sebastian laid himself down in the circle in the center of the floor under the rotunda and pretended to be the hands of a clock.

We also visited the West Virginia Museum in the basement of the cultural center, and stayed there until closing time at about 4:00 in the afternoon. There were some interesting exhibits about glass making and rural life in West Virginia in the large basement. Everything looked new and pretty. I was especially interested in the historical information about the formation of West Virginia out of previously much larger state of Virginia.

After the capitol complex we decided to drive around downtown to admire the old buildings. We even stopped in a lovely new urban shopping mall for an hour, mainly to stretch our legs and admire the indoor waterfall that cascaded down from the roof past three stories into the lowest floor.

After getting some dinner we drove off down the I-64 West Virginia Turnpike to Beckley, and then on to Lewisburg where we exited and took US-219 North to Marlington. On most maps the I-64 route looks as if it takes one out of the way, but all the seemingly direct routes involve winding roads that have so many curves and switch backs that they end up being longer in distance and much slower than the Interstate. The I-64 route was by no means straight. It wound around the mountains just as much as the I-70 route over the Rocky Mountains in Colorado or the I-4 route over the mountains in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Unlike those routes, the I-64 through West Virginia went up and down by 500 to 1000 feet over and over again, instead of climbing a few thousand and then descending a few thousand. For two hours I just was driving up and down, around and around on Interstate. Then, when we got off on US-219 to Marlington, I expected relief and a relatively straight road that would take me up a valley. I was wrong. The US-219 wound over hills and ridges, often with signs warning to reduce speed to 15 or 25 miles-per-hour. There were a few exceptionally straight passages where I could speed up to 45 or 50 miles per hour for a few seconds, but basically we had another ninety minutes of tight corners and steep grades over some of the loveliest pastoral countryside you can imagine.

In Marlington we noticed something was going on. We had arrived during the Pioneer Days celebration, and all hotels and campgrounds for miles around were already full. Traffic crawled through quaint little Marlington as crowds thronged the tiny streets. We had been trying to contact the Whittaker Campground 30 miles up the round in Cass to reserve a campsite, but no one ever answered the phone. I decided to find something in Marlington. Since it was just past 8:00 the local motels were opening up rooms that had been reserved by travelers who had failed to pay or show up by the 8:00 deadline. I found a room, but at $80 I decided to go up the road and try our luck in a campground.

We arrived in Whittaker campground shortly after 9:00, just as light was fading from the western sky. There were tent sites available, thank goodness. We quickly set up our tent and I started a fire in the dim twilight. We enjoyed the warmth for a while. The night in Kentucky had been surprisingly and pleasantly cool, and it was nearly too cold here in West Virginia at nearly 3,000 feet of elevation.

Campgrounds got more expensive each night. In Kentucky we paid $10, which I considered high but reasonable. In West Virginia the fee was $15, which seemed to me outrageous for a mere spot on the ground, some firewood, and access to rather small and rustic showers and toilets about 200 yards up a steep hill from our campsite. By the time we got to Shenandoah National Park with its $15 entrance fee and $14 camping fee I was not about to pay the $1 for five minutes in the shower. Thus, we spent Sunday quite dirty until we got to the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore.

Saturday we packed up and drove back down to Cass to get our train at 10:45. Just a few minutes after we arrived at the Cass Railroad Station the steam engine pulled up to the platform with five observation cars for tourists. Jeri and Gloria bought hamburgers and hot dogs just in time to bring lunch on the train with us.

Engine Number 6 pushed us several hundred feet up to Whittaker Station. This was the newest engine on the Cass railway, being only about 53 years old. I enjoyed seeing the black smoke and white steam blasting through the forest as we enjoyed the 45 minutes of the ride up to the station. We even had a view of our campground at one turn in the track.

At Whittaker Station we saw some old cars from the Cass railroad and lumber company and enjoyed about 30 minutes to walk around and gawk at the old stuff. Then the whistle blew and it was back on the train for a thirty minute coast down the hill with break squeaking the whole way. At a switch back we stopped to let two other engines push a longer train up on their way to the top of Bald Knob, an adventure that would take nearly five hours. I was pleased to get back to Cass just before 1:00.

We looked around the little village of Cass and witnessed a fine little historical documentary in a theater where a lovely model of the town and railway stood in front of the screen so lights could beam down on the diorama to spotlight some place that was being explained in the film. After several minutes in the gift shop we were ready for our next stop.

Just fifteen minutes from Cass we came to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WV. We arrived with one minute to spare before the 2:00 tour, which featured a short film about radio astronomy and a buss tour of the telescopes. One of the oldest telescopes on display had been built by a scientist in his backyard out of lumber and various spare parts during the 1930s. The machine still works, and was the inspiration for all radio telescopes that have followed.

After enjoying the radio telescopes we had another couple hours of winding road to follow on US-250 through the George Washington National Forest. The road crossed six or seven ridges, going up, then down, across a valley, and then up another ridge. After the third ridge I kept thinking that every next ridge would be the last one before we found a gap or river we could follow into Staunton, Virginia. Compared to the torturous twists of US-219 which we had experienced the previous evening the marvelous meandering of US-250 wasn’t so bad.

We made it to Staunton just before 5:00. We took a short stroll through a beautiful old women’s college on a hill overlooking the old part of the town, and then took a peek at the outside of the home where Woodrow Wilson was born. We didn’t, however, stay long. We went up to Elkton for dinner (Taco Bell and, as usual, a McDonald’s cheeseburger for Sebastian). A few minutes later we were motoring south on Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park to Loft Mountain where campsites were still available.

After pitching our tent (at about 7:10 pm.) we walked down to the showers and camp store to see what could be seen. Sebastian ran off down a path and got on the Appalachian Trail. The map I was using deceived me into thinking we could hike up the trail a short distance and then come back on another path so we could attend an 8:45 ranger program. However, the trails were much longer than the map indicated, and after a two-hour swift march in the dwindling light we arrived back at the ranger area at 9:40 just in time to say good night to the naturalists. Of course, the walk was lovely, with all sorts of loud bird calls. We also saw a deer very near the trail in one clearing. The trail was extremely well maintained, and the grasses and trees on either side gave the whole walk a special feeling. I had to carry Sebastian for most of the last couple miles of the hike, but he is still light so I didn’t mind.

As we were walking back to our tent the moon still hadn’t come out, and we had a terrific view of the stars. The lights to the east and west of the Blue Ridge were also clearly visible, as the day had not been particularly hazy.

July 12th.

After another cool night with a full moon we got up early and had the campsite all packed up by 8:30. We drove north through the park on Skyline Drive to Big Meadows where we had breakfast in the restaurant and visited the interpretation center. We only stopped at a few overlooks on our drive through the park, and we felt no need to hike again after the previous night’s evening ramble.

By 1:00 we arrived in Dinosaurland about 15 miles north of Front Royal and the Park’s north entrance. The plaster dinosaurs and prehistoric animals excited Sebastian, but after about 20 minutes of running from dinosaur to dinosaur he was ready to spend a nearly equal amount of time in the large gift shop trying out all the many dinosaur toys.

By 2:00 we were in Front Royal getting on I-66, which took us all the way to Washington, DC and my cousin’s home in Springfield, VA, were we arrived at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

We had about five hours with my cousin. He and I took Sebastian to a nearby park where Sebastian rode a merry-go-round while his wife and Jeri and Gloria sat on the screened back porch and enjoyed conversation as they watched the birds and squirrels visit the various feeders.

We had dinner with the Rufsvolds in a wonderful Chinese restaurant before heading north through Washington and on to Baltimore. By 10:00 we were checking into the Hyatt for our two night stay.

Monday the 13th I stayed in the Hyatt to attend the conference and present a poster while the rest of us went to Washington. In Washington they saw the Union Station (they took a train), and saw the outside of the White House, Capitol, and Washington Monument. They also enjoyed the inside of the Natural History museum and National Gallery. We had dinner in a crab restaurant in Baltimore with the other scholars from Washington University attending the conference.

Tuesday the 14th I attended the conference in the morning while Jeri and Gloria got our things packed up to leave. In the afternoon Gloria and I took Sebastian to the Aquarium where we watched a dolphin show. The aquarium was a little over-crowded, and certainly over-priced. But we all enjoyed it anyway. After the aquarium we went to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum for an hour. Having seen that, we visit Fort McHenry to see the site which inspired the national anthem. By 7:00 we were on the road to Washington. Seventy-five minutes later we arrived at the Cutshall’s home in Boyds, Maryland.

Wednesday the 15th we visited the Great Falls of the Potomac, very near Washington, DC. From there we went to the Bull Run battlefield, which is called the Manassas battlefield in Virginia. From there we took a drive through the country, stopping in Leesburg, VA to see General George Marshall’s home (just the outside of it) and the Louden County historical museum. (I took Sebastian to a playground while everyone else walked around Leesburg). We crossed the Potomac on White’s Ferry and had some more little country roads to travel down before we got back to Boyds, arriving home there shortly after 5:30 pm.

Thursday the 16th. Jeri and Gloria went to Rockville to buy books in a Chinese bookstore. We left around 11:30 and took I-70 and I-68 through Maryland to the National Road (US-40). We took this up through Pennsylvania, stopping at the Fort Necessity battlefield for about 90 minutes along the way. We got off the road in Uniontown and ended up in Connellsville, about 12 miles northeast of where we wanted to be. We cut across the country on small county roads until we found I-70, and then made our way as quickly as we could over to Wheeling, West Virginia.

We spent a couple hours visit (and getting to) the Hindu temple in northern West Virginia. We had dinner in Zanesville, Ohio just before 10:00pm, and made it to our hotel in Columbus Ohio, despite some road closures and detours, by 11:30 pm.

Friday the 17th we slept in and checked out of our hotel just before noon. Then we spent a couple hours in downtown Columbus Ohio visiting the state capitol and a large shopping mall. We made it to the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio at about 3:30, which gave us 90 minutes to see everything. At about 4:40 we went to the special hanger on the air force base to have a twenty minute glance at the presidential planes such as the recently retired Air Force One jet.

At 5:00 when the museum closed we took some pictures of the planes sitting outdoors, and then drove to Indianapolis, encountering a burning truck and a thunderstorm on the way. With the time zone crossing we gained an hour so we were able to arrive at my dad’s home at 6:10, just about exactly the time we had predicted.

Saturday the 18th we visited Conner Prairie in the morning through mid-day and made a two hour visit to the Children’s museum in the later afternoon.

Sunday the 19th we went to a playground in Zionsville, IN in the morning, and then stopped at the Indianapolis Art Museum for about 45 minutes on our way down to Greenwood where we enjoyed a concert by my sister’s band from 3:00 to 4:10. We got pizza and groceries after the concert and were back on the road on our way to St. Louis by 5:00. We stopped in Terre Haute for a dinner at a Chinese dinner (not a very good dinner) and a quick drive around the Vigo County Courthouse. We arrived home in St. Louis at about 10:20pm.

List of planned trips. Travel Home Page. My Home Page at University of Illinois.