THE EXCURSION VESSEL Valley Gem is approaching its Muskingham River dock about ½ mile upstream from the Ohio River in Marietta, OH. I treated myself to one of its tours Tuesday.

JUST DRIFTING ALONG IV—

Tuesday, June 12, Marietta

A Revolutionary War general and a small band of pioneers founded Marietta in 1788. It gained its early fame by being the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory. Remember, Lewis and Clark didn’t even begin their trek through this Louisiana Purchase area until the1800s.

In fact, to this day, the state of West Virginia claims ownership of the entire Ohio River along its border with Ohio. This is from a relic of colonial law dating to the time when West Virginia only existed in the form of Virginia; one of the original 13 colonies, and the Ohio River was the then Western boundary of the country.

One of the highlights of today’s visit to this historic city was an hour and a half ride on the Valley Gem. I regarded the boat ride as a well-deserved rest after spending most of the day touring the city on the bicycle.

I met a friendly gal on the boat ride from New Castle who was touring with her Red Hat Ladies group, and, because she learned I had been a photographer, I was drafted to do a group picture of her contingent molesting the captain of the vessel; all in good fun, of course. He and I had gotten acquainted earlier after he stowed my bike aboard.

The evening concluded once again around the campfire with the Hastings where I learned Jim is a highly talented wood carver to say the least. He shared several of his specialty with me; delicately carved walking sticks made from Alaskan Willow. Outstanding!

I look forward to one day continuing our conversations. In the wintertime. Far South of here.

Wednesday, June 13, Marietta to Nelsonville

After an easy 50 mile or so drive I am now squatting for a couple of days at the Happy Hills Campground about 8 miles south of town, high in the Hocking Hills. The office was not open when I arrived so I dropped the camper, powered up the refrigerator and headed for town.

The plan called for a ride on the Hocking Valley Railway, but, they only operate on weekends, so, plan “B” took me to their marvelous bicycle trail; a 17 mile, heavily forested dandy that runs between Nelsonville and Athens.

While drifting along and savoring the green canopy that offered occasional peeks at the meandering river, the tranquility was bruised by the noise of highly revving engines. Just after my pause to watch a woodchuck lumber through the solitude of the trail I was assaulted by the raucous noise of a very active moto-cross track just across the river.

Fortunately, the trees soon deadened the noise and the relative silence of wind tickling the ears and tires humming gently on the blacktop returned. Over there I saw a catbird and a bit later a wild turkey zoomed across the trail in hot pursuit of what looked like a black, domestic rooster.

I stopped short of Athens because a couple of gals I met from Wooster told me the last few miles were in open field under a blistering sun. That’s where I did a 180-degree turn and headed back to town to see if I could find the Dairy Queen I noticed when I drove into town. Time for another pineapple sundae.

The campground folks were very welcoming and said my camper was fine where I had plopped it. And, I have Wi-Fi service right on my dinette table!

This feels like the kind of evening for doing nothing.

Maybe I will wander down to the pond later and torment the bass population.

Maybe not.