Westward Bound

Woody Outdoors Blog has returned! Once again, it focuses on a trip-this time a big one! I am thrilled to be able to join my son Tyler on a cross country trip to California. After deciding to take a semester off from classes at PSU to gain some more experience, Tyler was excited to learn he was chosen to fill one of two seasonal EE/Interpretive positions with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. He'll be working at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont, CA, just north of San Jose and south of San Francisco.

(SORRY NO PHOTOS-IT WAS DARK, LATE AND TOO COLD TO STOP)

DAY ONE-THE TREK BEGINS
We started our journey late today, January 24, 2014, by leaving Pottstown and bunking down for the night in Columbus, OH. Man oh Man! Pennsylvania is a long state, and when you drive it after dark, it gets even longer! Like the past few days, the temperatures in PA have been frigid, barely making it to 20 degrees F during the day. It's a tad warmer here, although the wind is pretty wicked. Not as much snow as the 10" we got on Tuesday, but still cold. After looking at the forecast, it looks like we are getting out of PA just in time, with more snow and freezing cold temps on the way. Not to worry, though, I'll be back in Pennsylvania in just a little over a week and I'm sure some of this beautiful winter weather will still be here waiting for me!

As we approached Columbus, Tyler trapped me into a major debate about highway signs (route numbers). His whole focus was on the shape on the sign, of where the highway number was in. This was because Ohio's highway route number signs are inside the shape of the state Ohio. When he tied to prove his point to me, we didn't see a sign for another 40 miles. I believe he was starting to hallucinate. He then proceeded to tell me that Pennsylvania was no different. We have our route numbers in the shape of a Keystone. I disagreed. He whipped out his phone, Googled it, and shoved a picture of all the states' highway signs, and their shapes, in my face, as I struggled to keep the car out of the median strip! Yes, we were bored. No offense to the state of Ohio, but it was a long, dark ride, and it was getting late. Let's hope the trip gets a bit more lively tomorrow!