Notes from the Road – The Gas Hog Tour 2008 – Day 12, July 21 Lazy start – I’ve been up a while doing the email thing and other computer work. Judy on the other hand is snoozing away. Though it was cool outside last night we kept the AC on for “white noise†as the campground we are at is a little “close†in terms of the size of the sites and we could hear folks around us. Didn’t even touch a guitar yesterday, but today I’ll need to restring and get ready for tomorrow night’s show at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, WV. The Fiddle is a great, eclectic music room in north central WV and is a favorite stop for acoustic artists traveling this way. I played The PF last year and am looking forward to my return there. It’ll be a Tuesday night show (last year I was on a Wednesday) so the crowd may be unpredictable. Last year I had a really nice crowd (40+), though at show time there were only 3 folks in the room. After a song or two folks suddenly started flowing in, so I’ll see how it goes this year. With travel cut down by fuel prices and the economy I have to be prepared for a thinner showing. If you know anyone in northern WV, send them the info for the show – I can use all the help I can get. So, on to WV. Took I-77 straight up towards Charleston (WV that is) and then turned to the northeast along US-19 to hit I-79. Time for gas and, uh oh, I’ve hit the high dollar part of the country. I was seeing prices of $4.20 and up after leaving $3.72 in Wythesville – almost turned around and went back. Finally saw one at $4.17 and put $50 in the tank (just less than 12 gallons) hoping to see better prices to the north. VERY DEPRESSED!! We hit Buckhannon around 3:30 pm at wandered on past it on US 33 to Middle Fork River Campgrounds – the only camping in the area I could locate by the internet or GPS. It isn’t much, but it’s cheap – less than $15 per night – so what the heck. It’s in the mountains of West Virginia, has hot water showers, and is quiet (hardly anyone else here) so how bad can it be? I’ll let you know. Went down into Buckhannon to pick up some groceries, reload on water, etc. Gas here is only slightly better - $4.09. I still think this is the coolest little town. I think the jury’s still out as far as Judy is concerned – we’ll see. My Internet access is now very limited, so I’ll send what I can, when I can in diary fashion. Time to cook, more tomorrow Tuesday, Day 13, July 22 Wow, thunder storms in Florida can be impressive and West Virginia’s are no small thing either. A serious one with powerful wind and rain hit us sometime early this morning. Wish I had tied down both sides of the awning on the camper – who’d have thought I’d get this kind of wind when I’m pretty well sheltered on all sides by either the trees or the mountain. The rain is not helping my morning plans and if it doesn’t quit it won’t help my crowd for the show tonight either. Hmmmmm . . . To Be Continued . . .