Mike and Beth's Adventures

Background The Lincoln Highway holds a fascination for many people.  This is easy to understand as it was the first transcontinental automobile highway in the United States.  It connected New York to San Francisco.  A fellow named Carl Fisher provided the leadership which organized automobile enthusiasts and industry supporters to form the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA).  This group selected the route for the highway and worked with local resources to create an improved coast to coast highway.  Route selection was completed in 1913 and the goal was to complete a rock covered highway in time for the 1915 Pan-American Exposition in San Francisco.  It was estimated that a hardy and self reliant traveler could make the automobile trip from New York to San Francisco in about 30 days. The East Coast had a head start as wagon roads had been laid out and  improved over time.  In Pennsylvania the Lancaster to Philadelphia Turnpike, the Conestoga Trail a...

Alexander Wiper In early June 2025, I toured Gettysburg Pennsylvania and its Civil War Battlefield.  My Great Grandfather, Alexander Wiper, fought here in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment.  The purpose of my visit was two fold.  First, I wanted to more completely understand the clash between the Union Army, commanded by General George Meade, and the Confederate Forces, commanded by General Robert E. Lee.  Second, I wanted to learn more about my Great Grandfather's Gettysburg experience. Alexander Wiper had immigrated from Scotland to the United States 5 years prior to joining Company I of the 63rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, at the age of 16, on August 19th, 1861.   From Civil War Soldier Data Base I don't know what motivated him to enlisted.  Perhaps he needed a  a steady paycheck and he felt being a soldier was a better adventure than being a coal miner.  He did not have a formal education as recorded in the US Census of 1870. The 63rd d...

The Nassawango Blast Furnace Our final stop, before rendezvousing with family, was a recreated early 19 th century village called Furnace Town.  It is the home of the Nassawango Iron Furnace, which operated between 1830 and 1845.  Low grade iron ore was reduced in a primitive blast furnace for use in regional industries.  Iron ingots were sold for blacksmiths to craft into nails, household objects, wagon parts, and for components used in ship construction.  The annual output of the furnace was approximately 700 tons of ingots. Furnace Town Visitors Center The blast furnace has been designated as a Mechanical Engineering Historic Site.  The only power available to operate the furnace was waterpower, which was used to turn a water wheel to operate a large bellow to inject a continuous stream of air into the furnace.  It was very clever considering the technology of the time. The Village of Furnace Town The Workshop Where Brooms were Manufactured Special Gr...

Beth and Orville Wright launch the World's First Powered Manned Flight As we neared our scheduled rendezvous with family in Maryland, our trip north accelerated.   We switched gears a bit and followed a pattern which illustrates how we integrate other activities into our travel routine. The way we do this is to reserve a period during the day to hit the gym, a market to reprovision, refuel the van,  and find a spot to spend the night.   We have a nationwide membership to Planet Fitness.   This gives us access to all their facilities, including their showers.   From examining towns along our route of travel, we found the town of Dunn North Carolina allowed us to complete all of these tasks within a tight radius just off the freeway.   Enjoying the Massage Chair at Planet Fitness The first stop was the gym.   We completed a good workout to offset the sedentary nature of van travel.   Next was a nice hot and unlimited shower.   This avoide...