I learned about the Ohio River today, as we traveled from Ohio, and across the southern boundary of Indiana. The Ohio River Scenic Byway covers three states along 967 miles of natural and cultural history. Leaving Casstown this morning, our route took us south toward the river, and we chose to follow the blue dotted line, curves and all, in order to see the countryside. The first part of our route wasn’t too impressive, and I wondered what the “scenic” really meant.
We had been on winding roads so much of the time, and decided to take a bit of a break around Louisville, and followed the Interstate for a time before dropping back down to the river again. It was a great decision, because from the town of Sulphur on state route 66, through Evansville, we followed the river through forests and farmlands and river towns rich with history.
The town of Madison was especially inviting, with 1500 buildings and all 133 blocks of the town listed on the Historic Register. A point of frustration for us, especially on a scenic byway, was the lack of places to stop and park and actually see the river. The road was incredibly narrow and winding, with no shoulders at all, and no place to stop.
But finally at the tiny town of Derby, we found a lovely park along the river, and a big barge happened to pass by at just the right moment. I love the signs telling about the history of what we are seeing, and as silly as it seems, these sign photos really help me to remember the stories of where we have been. This sign was especially good, with a clear panel that made my photo look like something framed rather than an actual scene. Made me laugh.
We followed the barge along the river until we came to the Cannelton Locks, where again there wasn’t any place to park or pull over. High on a hill above the locks, however, is the Eagle Ridge park, and as we walked out to the overlook, we got to see our barge going through the locks.
Continuing toward our destination of Henderson, Kentucky.
Today was my 65th birthday, and it was great to spend it exploring some part of the world that is new to me. Sometimes birthdays are strange, and I find myself waiting for the band to come marching through. Most of the time, there is no band, but in this case, since I was traveling, it didn’t matter! I talked to my children and to my dearest friend back in California, and the chance to connect with family and friends was a good thing. Cell phones are an amazing thing.
After our busy morning, Millie again brought out another meal, including her luscious potato salad, and Don suggested that we tour the Air Force Museum of Flight in Dayton, Ohio.
We enjoyed the museum thoroughly, one of the best we have visited. In addition to many informative displays, there were beautiful historic airplanes displayed hanging from the roof of the huge hangar that housed the museum.
After our museum visit we made the rounds of family living nearby. Millie and Don have 3 daughters with husbands and kids, all living close enough for good family time for everyone.
Susan and her family hosted us for supper at their home and Stephanie joined us. After supper we drove to Amy’s home to visit with she and her husband and kids. It was a wonderful time with family and friends and down home Ohio hospitality.
Leaving the western edge of Pennsylvania, we traveled toward the Ohio River, attempting to stay on back roads in order to see the countryside. 
Once in Ohio, however, the challenge was on. Southeastern Ohio is formed in the worn down foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in addition to narrow winding roads, there are many small towns just a few miles apart, surrounded by meandering rivers and rolling hills. 
Our maps were too small a scale to have all we needed, the iPhone didn’t work at all, so I had only the GPS to figure out our route. Garmin Girl was as frantic as I was, because trying to type in a town and a street took some time, and often we were there before I could get it all figured out. Mo was driving, and I think by the time we got to Casstown I was more worn out from navigating that she was from driving all those curvy roads.
Another reason for driving the back roads, was to drive far enough south to see a bit of West Virginia. Just across from East Liverpool, on the Ohio River, is the small West Virginia town of Chester. We saw the big bridge crossing the river, and managed to find our way across, meandering through town thinking we could cross back to Ohio on the Newell Bridge. Maybe not! The Newell bridge was very narrow, had a weight limit, and a toll! Instead we meandered back across the interstate bridge and again found our way south and west through the back roads of Ohio. Of course, we did this in order to add the state of West Virginia to our travel map! I have heard several ideas about how this is done, but the one we follow is that if you drive in the state, you get to claim it!
The forests in this part of Ohio have been logged and burned repeatedly, and are somewhat scraggly. We were on a road that showed a dotted blue line, meaning it was a scenic route, but we couldn’t find any signs saying what scenic route we were viewing. We spent the day winding along the hills, through small towns and farms, until we reached the portion of Ohio that is reputed to be a center of Amish culture. 
The AAA book on Ohio listed the restored town of Roscoe as a “Gem”, and being directly on our route we stopped in to view some of the shops and buildings. It was charming, with a nice visitor center, and a living history museum that might have been interesting if we had the time to actually spend. 
Instead, Mo dropped me off on the extremely narrow street at one end of town and picked me up at the other, after some time for me to shoot photos of some of the structures. It was very hot, something new for us, since we have had cool rainy weather for most of our trip. At this point, we followed Mo’s friend Millie’s advice and detoured north to Berlin.
Don and Millie relocated to Ohio a few years ago in order to be close to their three daughters, all living here with their husbands and families. I had visited Don and Millie with Mo when they lived near me in Oakhurst, California, near Yosemite, and was delighted to see them again. The driveway led to a beautiful brick home on 7 wooded acres, with huge lawns, a creek, and an RV pad for the MoHo, complete with water, electric, and sewer. Perfect! 