A Long Drive Into Canada

Across The Border

Another OK breakfast at this hotel and I’m ready to go just after 10 am. Android Auto in the car is not taking my pre-planned Maps routes, something I recall from last year as well. But I didn’t pay enough attention to it then, I’ll have to figure it out this year though. Canada here I come!

(Note: towards the end of the trip I did figure out what was going on – essentially Maps will always calculate the fastest route between start and end points when you start navigation. Dragging a route on screen when planning, then saving it, is ignored when loaded live. The way to force Maps to go from one point to another, say if you want to visit somewhere or drive on a specific highway, is to use discrete intermediate stops along the way, not dragging the route. Even then there are some quirks which I won’t waste more space explaining. It was very frustrating having spent time planning each day’s route to then have Maps thinking it knows better…)

The first part of the drive is alongside the Susquehanna River but with heavy cloud cover and no sun, what could be a nice drive is just OK. It’s cool outside at 77º F and the cloudy conditions continue until early afternoon. This is a shame, as I drive through some forests and ever changing landscapes on a 4 lane freeway – fast, clear, nothing technical – but the gloomy weather puts a downer on things.

But this is just the start of a long day on the road. 330 miles and 6 hours according to my pre-trip estimate, though Maps said it was even longer when I set off. I stop in Philipsburg at a Sheetz gas station and get a made-to-order deli sub for lunch later, as I’m unsure what might be available when I’m driving through the Allegheny National Forest.

The route is taking me through small towns and countryside. The weather is brightening up and it’s getting warmer. It was the low 80s in Philipsburg and partly sunny, so the drive is perking up. There’s a mix of farming and light industry roadside. For the next 100 miles or so it’s a 2 lane highway, meandering along, making for an interesting drive.

Once into the Forest there are hills to climb and descend, not-too twisty bends and a good speed is generally maintained. The odd truck does slow me down though as it slowly crawls up a hill. What is noticeable is the lack of any turnouts or places to pull over and eat my lunch. This was the case on US-322 W earlier as well so there’s little in the way of photo opportunities either, other than a couple of places in the Forest. It’s nearly 2 pm when I can finally stop, in Ridgway, using a church parking lot of all places as it was the first place I saw on entering the town.