Pennsylvania Dutch Country

     Our rides on Thursday and Friday were no longer in the steep, difficult Alleghany Mountains, though they had numerous small-to-medium ups and downs. On Thursday, we rode 58 miles from Fort Littleton to Lancaster, PA, leaving at sunrise to beat the heat. We arrived at our destination -- the Lancaster Marriott -- at noon, and were pleasantly surprised to find Carol's father Martin Beer and aunt Hilda Grauman waiting for us in the lobby. They had driven the 40 miles from Kendal, the retirement community in which they live, to see us and have lunch with us.
     Friday's ride was a fascinating 43-mile route from Lancaster to Kendal through Pennsylvania Dutch country, an area with a sizable Amish population and numerous Amish farms. The Amish are a group who practice simple living and avoid most modern conveniences, such as electricity from power lines, in-house telephones, and motorized vehicles such as cars and tractors. They originated in Germany and German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and the term "Dutch" is probably a misnomer based on a misspelling/mispronunciation of "Deutsch" (the German word for "German").

At lunch on Thursday with Martin Beer and Hilda Grauman in Lancaster, PA

Carol passing an Amish horse & buggy

An Amish farm with a buggy in the driveway

The next three pictures are from our wonderful ride from Lancaster to Kendal, with Intercourse on route: