6/8/13: Saturday, June 8: Hey, Wait a Minute!! I'm brewing cups of tea with the Super 8 room's handy little coffeemaker.

   After yesterday's drive on old U.S. Highway 221, I'm seriously questioning whether I can return home in just 10 days by taking U.S. Highway 6. I had imagined that even if two-lane, it would be more like U.S. Hwy. 395: lots of four-lane sections, freeway-fast, straight and often flat for long stretches. Not so 221, which was more like a rotini noodle. It took me 3 hours to get from Boone to just southwest of I-81, a distance more like 90 some tortuous miles, with getting lost  2-3 times.  Beautful, but…. Even U.S. Hwy. 6 was fast and relatively flat from Bishop through Nevada and Utah.

   Oops, must find faster route home!

   Oh, well, that's a Tomorrow Worry.

   LATER: Holy Cow! I'm near Hagerstown, MD, and even went through a bit of West Virginia on my way! Favorite state for scenery so far: North Carolina. Sunny, hot, and muggy today, but I'm grateful for the good weather. It looked cloudy over the peaks to the east, though I was somewhat tempted to try to get back on the parkway. But i've had enough for a while of narrow, winding, wet, foggy roads.

   Tomorrow, Gettysburg for a couple of days and a couple of guided tours, I hope. I can't hope to see or understand this immense series of battles by wandering around by myself. Why the Battle of Gettysburg strikes me to the heart puzzles me: 46,000-51,000 dead and wounded over those three days. Why? Why? I do not truly understand. Does anyone?