Day 3 2017

One of those great mornings after sleeping so well!! The GAP shares the same valley as the river and an active train route. Very active!! I was prepared for this by reading many journals and bringing along ear plugs. I heard one during the night but otherwise nothing. I got packed up and rolling pretty early because I knew there was breakfast about three miles down the trail in Connellsville. Pretty little town with all the services.

Food!!

I did not hang around because I was anxious to just get riding out there in the trees and countryside.
I had another big day mileage wise and felt strong this morning on the bike. 50 some miles of the same steady upward grind to eventually the eastern continental divide.
I did like this bridge in Connellsville for my friend Richard, especially for the long drop at the end!!

This is one of my favorite sites to take pictures of on my travels. These nice gentleman farms and the love affair people have with their lawn mowers. There is about another five acres that this guy has mowed beyond the left of my camera shot!!

Here are some sights of the trail as I head for the mid-day lunch break in Ohiopyle.

 This is the first of some of the bigger viaducts that they have built to cross ravines and river valleys. This is riding over the Youghiogheny River. If you look up at the top of the curve you can see rafters come into the picture.

Cross over one more bridge to enter the community of Ohiopyle. This is a nice looking town set up for outdoor adventure. They offer rafting, many hiking trails in the State forest and of course the bike trail. I did not have lunch but did indulge in a beauty of a chocolate milkshake!!

Down the trail I go with some more sights, heading for my destination of Rockwood. I did see a bald eagle along here and watched it as it fished the river. Caught a fish on its third dive to the river.

Got to Rockwood and got set up in the campground. It was a good spot as it was a tents only campground. I was only one of about 6 tents spread out in a campground that could hold 50 or so. It was a little strange because the town and thus the camp office and bath house was on the other side of the river. One has to ride back on the trail about a 1/4 of a mile, cross the road bridge to get to it. After a nice shower I found a great joint in town where I had a very good burger and a couple of cold beers.

Once again the active RR was just across the river but the ear plugs worked well. I did not sleep as hard as the night before but still pretty good. Being active all day and sleeping on the ground seems very right for me right now!!

We'll leave it there for now.
Thanks for following along!!
Jim