Across Indiana, Ohio and a bit of Pennsylvania to New York

Day 12-13: A short jaunt from Chicago, IL, took us to the Indiana border. We soon tired of I-90. If we were going to drive across the state in a hurry, we at least wanted to see some of the countryside. (Besides, I-90 is a toll road). The ride on Highway 20 was more pleasant--we swept past rolling farms and came across towns with great names like Mishawaka.

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Of course, driving country roads also meant occasionally getting stuck going 20 mph behind farm equipment.

We could have passed, but he soon turned off, and we got a better look.

Some kind of spraying rig?

After Mishawaka, we dropped down to Hwy 6 via Hwy 33, passing the town of Goshen along the way. We spent the night in Auburn, IN, about 20 miles from the Ohio border, and set out the next morning for day 13 of our trip--another heavy travel day.

Beware Sundays, apparently

Part way across Ohio, we realized we were getting mixed messages.

Maybe one is the result of the other-- I'll let you decide which led to which!

Mostly, Ohio was open roads, fresh air, beautiful weather, and wonderful sights to indulge our senses.

 I didn't even notice the rainbow above the crops at right until I put the picture on the computer-- the danger of looking at the world through a camera!










Thie only big city we got close to was Cleveland. This picture was taken from the freeway. We'd hopped back on I-90 to pass the city, then jumped back to Hwy 20 to follow the edge of Lake Erie into Pennsylvania.

Cleveland, Ohio

The Cuyahoga River flows through Cleveland into Lake Erie

Loved this series of stacks on a factory

The land became increasingly hilly and forested as we traveled from Ohio to Pennsylvania, then on to New York.

 A small piece of Pennsylvania skirts Lake Erie between Ohio and New York. The strip is only about 40 miles wide, and we zipped across to a lovely KOA campground outside a little town called Westlake in New York, right across the road from the lake.


 We arrived early enough for a stroll around the campground, which had a tinkling stream near our site and a placid pond reflecting the delicate, lacy pattern of trees on the other side of the stream.

A stream near our camp site

Then we ambled over to the park across the road for a look at Lake Erie. The marina down the road didn't attract us like this quiet, sun-dappled wood with birds twittering and small animals scratching in the leaf litter.

Lake Erie

 An evening drive to watch the sun set behind the lake in the west,

and the moon rise over vineyards in the east... 

 ...brought us back to our campsite and the new tent we'd purchased after the fiasco with our ancient, dusty tent in Idaho (see 4/14/12 post). I hadn't been able to get Greg to camp again until we tossed the old one and got this cutie.

Home Sweet Home!

Finally, we're in New York!  That sounds like "back east" to me. Join us next week as I coax Greg close enough to Niagara Falls to feel the mist!