We headed south out of Pennsylvania and soon entered western Maryland, making our first stop of the day at Maryland's I-68 Sideling Hill Welcome Center, near Hancock. Flashback: We were last here in 2020, when Tom's cousin Kelly drove us back to Cumberland from D.C. after we bicycled the C&O Canal Towpath.
I-68 Sideling Hill Welcome Center, Hancock, Maryland
Sideling Hill
Since we were so close to our old cycling grounds, we left the interstate to drive along National Pike to Town Hill Overlook, across the road from Town Hill B&B in Little Orleans, Maryland, where we stayed during the first night of our big bike trip. The overlook still lives up to its reputation as the “Beauty Spot of Maryland.”
Town Hill Overlook, the Beauty Spot of Maryland
Trip high point number 10: From far western Maryland, we slipped back north a few miles to reach Mount Davis, Pennsylvania's highest point, at 3,213 feet. This is the land of the Pennsylvania Dutch, and we found ourselves having to pass a couple of horse and buggies on our way in.
Mount Davis, Pennsyvania – Last high point of the trip
Highpointing America, from sea to shining sea
Mount Davis is located in Forbes State Forest. A tower has been built at the peak so that you can climb above the treetops for 360-degree views – of more trees. There was a family of Pennsylvania Dutch high-pointing here today as well, so that was fun.
Mount Davis Observation Tower
Bird's-eye view of the treetops
Tom on the tower top
We sought out the geodetic survey marker and then found some historical plaques with disclaimers promising to be more woke in the future, as soon as they could figure out what words would be acceptable to say. It was a beautiful day for a 10th high point to round out our trip.
Group selfie with survey marker
Jana on the Pennsylvania peak
Woke wording to come
Most of the remainder of the day was spent driving south through West Virginia. Then once we reached Virginia, we decided we were close enough to Tennessee to bring it on home instead of unpacking and repacking the car yet again. At one point, a low-air sensor came on for one of my tires, and we almost pulled over to spend the night and sort things out in the morning, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Shwew! We pulled into our driveway at 11:00 p.m., having driven home from Maine in two days!
Back in Tennessee with Davy Crockett
Total trip miles: 3,257 miles
Total trip high points: 10 (nine states, plus D.C.)
Total high points to date: 25 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico. More to come...
Parting shot: Jana lounges 70's style