First stop

For the next week I will be living in my Road Trek camper van as I travel from my home in West Virginia to my family’s home in southern California. My original plan was to travel into Tennessess and visit family members but with the recent death of my cousin I chose to go to Columbia, South Carolina where she was to be burried.

From the eastern panhandle West Virginia I crossed into Virginia on I-81 which is a road I normally avoid because it is so full of trucks but now I find myself driving a truck and it seemed to best way to get where I am going without much fuss. I-81 traces paths and routes made by wildlife, Native Americans and early pioneers which make sense when you realize that it runs parallel to the Blue Ridge Mountains and probably offered some shelter from weather blowing in from the west. The valley is very fertile and is still has lots of farms. The Blue Ridge is named after its bluish color that is easily seen from this distance. That color comes from the isoprene released into the atmosphere by trees, mostly oaks and poplars. This mountain ridge is part of the Appalachian Mountain range.

I eventually broke away from I-81 and then drove on into South Carolina.  I didn't stop to take photos but I did want to share the start of my Big Adventure as I had promised friends.