On this very hot and humid day we got off to a late start. We followed my Uncle's directions to the Susquehanna River, where we crossed and entered the state capital, Harrisburg. Our path took us right up to the capitol building, as various government employees were milling about. We looked around briefly, had a cold drink at a nearby delicatessen, and then headed out of town on busy US-22.

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A few miles outside of the city limits, we left US-22 and got onto SR-39, in a place called Linglestown. Our lunch break was in their town park, where what appeared to be several able-bodied young people partying away the afternoon. I suppose school was still out but their banter was all about booze, drugs, partying, getting completely loaded, and music. It was a tad disturbing to me. We decided to move on before they noticed us. In their state of altered consciousness and excitability, the potential for trouble existed.

From Linglestown, we had a good climb to Piketown, where we got onto SR-443. On that route, we passed through the Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, where 443 was simply a quiet country road. Further on, it wound through some beautiful farmland where the farmers had planted a variety of crops. This was different from the big farms out in the Midwest and West, where there were huge amounts of acreage with one or two crops. The variety of crops here was pleasant to look at, as well.

When we reached Pine Grove, it began to rain. We sought cover under a pavilion in the town park. The locals, in their distinctive Pennsylvania Dutch accents, had directed us there. A bit later on, when we had become settled in, the locals all started pulling up, in the adjacent parking lot. Many of them had various muscle cars, which were popular at that time. This was a hangout spot where the locals gathered to shoot the breeze and/or compare notes on their various vehicles. At one point, I thought we wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. Then, as soon as it got dark, they all left as suddenly as they had arrived. It was very quiet after that. We slept well and undisturbed after all.