Aurora in Healy, March 2023

Me & C

Roaming: Shenandoah River to the Alaska Range

Day One, 5 States and 1 Goose

We have started the 4,300 mile drive to Healy, Alaska!  We can check off Virginia,  West Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania, and most of Ohio. 

Goose at Cuyahoga Valley NP

Weather was all over the place with a lot of rain, some sun, and even some hard snow (though it didn’t accumulate).  We stopped at Cuyahoga Valley NP as it only added about 2 miles to our trip. 

I am thrilled to be on our way and making good progress.   We are planning a beeline route and hoping to arrive in Healy after about 4,300 miles on April 14.  Last year, we left March 2 (https://roaming-nature.com/2023/03/02/day-one-luray-to-zanesville/)  and drove 4,800 very cold and snowy miles to get to Healy over 16 days.  While I enjoyed our side trip to Jasper (https://roaming-nature.com/2023/03/09/day-eight-jasper-national-park/) and our full day off in Whitehorse last March,  I’m looking forward to doing the trip differently and WARMER this time.

Goldfinch on serviceberry in VA

We are staying at an adequate Days Inn just off the turnpike in Wauseon.  Shortly before arriving at our hotel we passed some huge tomato greenhouses in Delta, Ohio.  45 acres of greenhouses!  Some had pink lights and others had yellowish orange lights.

Melissa Rudacille

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6 responses to “Day One, 5 States and 1 Goose”

  1. Anna Wyse Avatar
    Anna Wyse

    Melissa, I wish I had known your route, I know the exact motel you are staying in, my parents live just off the next exit and they have a whole extra house that you could have stayed in. Just keep that in mind for the next time you are through that area. I should have hitched a ride… I have been thinking of you all, hoping you got the truck tires rotated and had good weather. Oh is Martha ever enjoying her scope, nearly every night she looks for things….except last night when she played soccer and scored all 3 goals….well she probably did look through it when she got home. I miss you both already something very comforting about having you a phone call away.

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    1. Melissa Rudacille Avatar
      Melissa Rudacille

      Crazy! I thought your parents were further south, but no idea why I thought that… So good to hear from you 🙂

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  2. donnamcleod7 Avatar
    donnamcleod7

    I bet you are glad to be

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    1. Melissa Rudacille Avatar
      Melissa Rudacille

      We are glad to be heading north! Take care.

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  3. Elton Yordy Avatar
    Elton Yordy

    Glad that your travels have started well in spite of cold and snow! Stanley had hail and then sleet, and then snow flurries! Follwed by a brief blast of sunshine. 

    We enjoyed Cuyahoga NP, but it was much warmer when we were there! Looks like the river is up too.

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    1. Melissa Rudacille Avatar
      Melissa Rudacille

      At least we didn’t have hail on our drive! Great to hear from you 👍

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