Day 42 -- Delaware to Rocky Fork Lake, Ohio -- 125 Miles

Last night's camp was an extraordinarily well-tended camp with paved access roads, small patios for every rig, and a propane filling station for the seasoned traveler (photo left). It was also one of those camps that has everything a family with kids would love, from a swimming pool, to a miniature golf course. The only thing it didn't have was a low price. We paid $53.00 with the Good Sam discount. It would have been close to sixty without the card.

Tonight we're in a camp called Rocky Fork for it's proximity to Rocky Fork Lake (photo below right). Once again the camp sites are wonderful. The access roads are paved as are all the sites. There is a beautiful lake just 150 feet from our door, a camp store 150 feet in the other direction, and the whole works is surrounded by acres of greenery.

The very best thing I discovered when I checked into our camp site was a full-fledged ice cream parlor just waiting for me to select my favorite salted caramel truffle ice cream. Life is certainly good when that happens.

Today we continued our meander southwest from Akron, Ohio on Route 42. For the most part, we rolled along through field after field of either soy beans or corn. Both these plants are beginning to show signs of frost damage, indicating that the growing season is finally over and fall has arrived.

The very best thing about meandering along the two-lane farm roads in central Ohio is all the tiny towns that you get to see. Some of the town names we saw were: "New California," "Plain City," "London," "South Charleston," "Washington Court House," "Jeffersonville, and "Boston." We even remember passing signs for "Lexington and Concord," though I can find neither on the map this evening. But if you like vintage architecture as we do, you will definitely find some fabulous Victorian houses and commercial buildings on all these rural roads as you pass through these historically-named towns, some of which date to the early 19th century.

People who like vintage commercial buildings often like structures connected with the beginnings of the automobile culture. I found a super example of a Pure Oil Company gas station in the town of South Charleston, Ohio. I looked up the history of the Pure company filling stations. According to Wikipedia: "the Pure Oil Company was an American petroleum company founded in 1914 and sold to what is now Union Oil Company of California in 1965."

Pure Oil Producing Co. was incorporated in 1902. In 1904 a refinery was built on the Delaware River which received 600 barrels per day (95 m3/d) from the United States Pipe Line. This increased to 1,800 barrels per day by 1906."

"Beman Gates Dawes and his brothers, whose Columbus-based Ohio Cities Gas Company had begun in 1914, made an offer of $24.50 a share for the company. Dawes was building an Oklahoma refinery, and Pure Oil had production capabilities there which would benefit his company. The Pennsylvania company accepted the offer and made $22 million in profit on the sale."

"In 1920, Ohio Cities Gas Company's name changed to Pure Oil. In 1926, the headquarters moved to Chicago. Refineries were located in Ohio, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Texas. A Pure Oil Gas Station, built in 1933 and located at Saratoga Springs, New York, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978."

It's these 1930ish Pure Oil Company gas stations, constructed to look like small English cottages, that draw the most attention. While I have seen a few of these this summer on our travels, today was the first time that I could conveniently -- and safely -- stop and photograph one.

Fortunately, many old filling stations have gone through some adaptive reuse and have emerged from lying vacant for years to become flower shops, ice cream parlors, real estate offices, and a host of other "cottage" businesses to ultimately survive the bulldozer's blade.

Though the Pure station seen here is vacant and disused, I have high hopes that someone will come along and save this excellent example so that it may serve the public for another few decades.

Tomorrow we plan to continue our southward sojourn towards Adams County on the Ohio River. It has been my contention for a few years that my great, great grandfather, John Heath Preston Jones, lived in Adams County for a time because his father and brothers had settled there. I have no proof that these folks with the name of Jones are related to me. At present it's just a strong hunch. Perhaps when I pay Greene Township, Adams County, Ohio a visit tomorrow or the next day, I will come away with additional information that will help me solve this mystery. After all, I found three generations of the Davis family in Akron's Glendale cemetery. Maybe my luck will hold.

So if you see us out on the two-lanes, be sure and wave cuz The Happy Wanderers are wishing you happy travels and exciting destinations.