Over the river and through the woods….to boots’ house we go!

Howdy folks!  Yesterday, we crossed through the last bit of the Appalachian mountains into State College, PA, where we are staying with a good friend named Boots!! The appalachians have provided some incredible views of the rolling pennsylvania valleys and the small farming towns within. The cornfields and kind hospitality are seemingly endless.  We sure have been taken care of with support from two different town sheriffs and a mayor who offered the town park for our nights stay.  On thursday, we trekked through a the town of Centralia, a community that has been almost entirely evacuated  since the late 60′s due to a fire in the coal mine.  Only 5 households remain!  The town still burns underground and we stopped to see the smoke billowing from the hills.  It was certainly an erie sight on a crisp fall day.  

Friday was a healthful day with hearty biking and plenty of fresh fruits and veggies from local farmstand.  We must give a huge shout-out to our friends at the Woodland Gatherings Flower Shop and Farmstand.  Our new friend Roberta helped us pick out the most ripe and delicious peaches and fresh veggies.  As we got  ready to saddle up on our bikes, she ran out of the shop with four Hershey’s bars in hand, providing even more fuel for our afternoon ride.  Thanks so much Roberta!!!

 We took a rest day today and experienced some Penn State culture with the wild tailgating at a football game, Penn State creamery ice cream straight from the penn state cows, and the MOST epic rope swing of all time and ever.  In fact, picture the most epic rope swing you possibly can.  Ok, this rope swing was TEN TIMES more epic.  OH YEAH!!!

The Appalachian mountains have been incredible!! They are just so darn pretty.  Plus we feel pretty buff having pedaled up and down quite a few mountains over the past three days.  Excitement  since our last post has been plentiful including horse & buggy sightings on the road (woah!), meeting up with Boots for some biking fun and hanging out fun, and home-cooked meals two nights in a row with plenty of dessert to fulfill our serious sweet tooth.

So…tomorrow we head south, to avoid the new chill in the air and boldly go where we’ve not been before. 

Until the next, happy trails.