Today we took off on a drive. We left home and headed towards the town of Beallsville. We then took State RT 26 to woodsfield, Oh. We stayed on 26 through Woodsfield all the way to Marietta Ohio. this route is called the Covered Bridge National Scenic Byway, it cuts through the heart of the Wayne National forest. It was beautiful. The road was a twisty, turny road that wound through some of the prettiest countryside I have seen in a while. We saw many old farms, barns, new houses, and the Little Muskingum River, which the road follows most of the way. We found 3 covered bridges, got out and explored them and took pictures.

When we got to Marietta, we ate a late lunch and headed up route 7 along the mighty OHIO river. It was really beautiful. I wondered what it had looked like hundreds of years ago when the first settlers reached its banks? We encountered some rain, then it would clear a little. Saw some wild turkey, and geese, and many squirrels. We didn't see many cars on RT 26 but there were a good many on RT.7. My kids had not been this way before so they saw a lot of interesting sites that they enjoyed. It was a fun afternoon! I noticed a few farm stands still open, and many people having horses. I was surprised at the number of abandoned old farmhouses, especailly on Rt 26. It would be nice to see them alive again, with children playing in the yards and running in the fields. I hope you all had a good day.

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), October 14, 2001

Answers

And if those old farmhouses-and barns could talk...wouldn't you love to hear what they would say.

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony@countrylife.net), October 14, 2001.

We took a drive Saturday through the Boston Mtns, part of the NW AR Ozarks. The trees on the northern side of the mountains were gorgeous!! They have not been this pretty in a few years, due to dry summers and falls. The southern side is still pretty green, but a couple of weeks should have both sides looking great. I think the oranges are really bright this year.

-- Ivy in NW AR (balch84@cox-internet.com), October 15, 2001.

We like to drive around, also. When we see abandoned farmhouses, we make a mental note of it. We're willing to work, and if they come with a bit of land, we'll be checking out the owners as soon as we have our permanent visas in hand. There aren't many around here, but we sure saw a lot of them in New York state. Lived in one, in fact, and fixed it up as our rent. Drove by it this summer and were happy to see that it is no longer abandoned.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 15, 2001.

Yesterday we drove up to my brother in laws family-they live about half hour from Louisville--takes us about an hour and 45 minuets to get there, so we don't go as often as we would like. Beautiful day for driving and we all had a great time. It must have been a good trip becuase everyone here got up pretty cheery on Monday morning!!!

-- Kelly in Ky (ksaderholm@yahoo.com), October 15, 2001.

I had to chuckle at this thread. A long time ago, we lived in the city, in a picture perfect house, in a picture perfect subdivision. Every Sunday, we would go driving in the country. How we loved to be out in the clean, fresh air! So...we moved into a OLD farmhouse on nine acres. Now, we don't have time to take rides anywhere! If we aren't cutting wood, we're gardening or some other chore. And you couldn't pay us enough money to move back to that picture perfect house!

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), October 20, 2001.