Barnstorming

Last week while in Pennsylvania, our travels took us past a handful of Mail Pouch Tobacco barns. There were a few I was unable to get shots of as we zipped along the Turnpike. That left me feeling like I’d missed something.  I want to go back and photograph them.

With the help of ohiobarns.org, I was able to pinpoint the barns that eluded me. I was also able to map a ton of West Virginia barns using the information on their site. West Virginia, motorcycle, barns, farm land… score! For me that is the making of a great ride.

My Goal

I would like to string together some barn sites and make a long weekend ride through the great motorcycling state of West Virginia. At this point I don’t have anything more than just a dimly lit light bulb of an idea. But, with so many markers in great areas how can I go wrong?

Mail Pouch Barn Markers - West Virginia

For More Information on Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns:

• Mail Pouch Barns – Wikipedia
• Ohio Barns – Mailpouch.org

On Saturday morning when Kenny and I left the house, I didn’t have very much of a plan for our motorcycle ride other than I knew that I wanted to try to see the two most southern of New York State’s Mail Pouch Tobacco barns.

The first barn we would visit was in Orange County near the town of Walden. Unfortunately for us the barn was set way back on someone’s property so we had to take our pictures from quite a distance away. I have traveled the road that this barn is on many times yet never spotted it before. I guess it just goes to show you that there is always something interesting to be found and it can be hiding right in plain sight.

The second barn which was in Dutchess County sits right down the road from Wing’s Castle, which we’d visited several years ago. If you are in the area do stop in. It is quite fascinating to watch someone’s ever-evolving dream come to fruition.
 

In the interest of turning lemons into lemonade, being trapped behind this rolling roadblock provided us with the impetus to stop and let some distance stretch between us and them. The Layton Country Store which was just up around the bend provided us with a perfect lunch spot. With its folksy red paint, old fashioned porch screen door entrance and wonderful Mail Pouch Tobacco sign, the store has been open for business since the 1820′s. The two of us tired but smiling, sat alone on the charming front porch with our delicious sandwiches and watched the bikes trickle by. It was another quiet and delicious moment in this life.