American Discovery Trail: A Fork in The Road

Gazebo at the Rose Hotel, Elizabethtown

Today we are at Elizabethtown, Ohio, in the far southwestern corner of the state, and for the only time on the American Discovery Trail, we have a choice of paths ahead of us. We can veer left and take the southern route, which is a couple of hundred miles longer and stays in Ohio only one more mile, then goes through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. Or we can turn right onto the northern route and head straight north, staying in Ohio another 59 miles, then go through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Colorado. The two routes converge in Denver, and then there is only one route from Denver to the California coast.
 

The decision was made long ago, before I started on this hike, so today we leave the eastern section of the trail and begin the central portion - northern route. Still in Ohio for a couple of weeks, but past a major trail milestone.

We passed the tomb of William Henry Harrison, who was president of the United States for 31 days before dying in office. Harrison was the first of eight presidents from Ohio (so far), the last president born a British citizen (in the colonies), and the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, who became president himself in the late 1800's.