Hiroshima bomber headed for restoration

WASHINGTON -- The Enola Gay, the plane used in the bombing of Hiroshima, is headed for restoration and then will be put on display two years from now, much as it looked in 1945.

The plane that ushered in the atomic age has been transported to a storage and restoration facility in Suitland, Md.

In recent years, the front portion of the plane was seen by about 4 million visitors at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. That display followed the cancellation of a larger and bitterly contested exhibit about the birth of the nuclear age.

The plane will not be seen publicly again until December 2003 when it will become a centerpiece of the Smithsonian's new Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va.

When the $300 million Udvar-Hazy center opens, the plane will be displayed among more than 180 aircraft, 100 spacecraft and related artifacts spanning a century of aviation history.

Rafting competition coming to West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- More than 20 whitewater rafting teams will gather in West Virginia Sept. 22 for the three-day World Rafting Championships. The competition has never been held in North America.

Men's teams from Russia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States have confirmed they are coming to the Gauley River showdown. Women's teams from New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Slovakia and the United States also are coming.

The main race is the downriver race, in which teams go down the Upper Gauley at noon Sept. 25.

The Gauley ranks among the top 10 whitewater rivers in the world and is considered one of the proving grounds of expert paddling, with steep treacherous rapids that require precise maneuvering and raft handling.

Signs mark George Washington's march

HAMILTON, N.J. -- New Jersey officials have unveiled the first of about 60 roadside signs to mark the "Washington Victory Trail," the route of General Washington's army as it moved through six towns on the way to the famous battles of Trenton and Princeton in the Revolutionary War.

Visitors and locals alike will know the roads the Continental Army used for a crucial 10 days of march and maneuver that began with the legendary Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River in 1776.

This winter, historical associations will mark the 225th anniversary of the campaign when American fortunes were at their lowest.

Historian Richard Patterson, director of the Old Barracks Museum, did the research and said it was not easy to delineate the precise routes from 200-year-old maps. Parts of the route in Ewing, for instance, are conjecture.

Harley-Davidson will mark 100th anniversary

MILWAUKEE -- Harley-Davidson, America's largest maker of motorcycles, is planning a yearlong celebration of its 100th anniversary, beginning with a five-continent road tour and ending with a party in Milwaukee the company expects will draw 200,000 people.

"It's going to be big. It's going to be worldwide," said Kathleen Lawler, vice president of communications for the firm. "Harley-Davidson can guarantee it's going to give you goose bumps."

The celebration will kick off in July 2002 after a Harley dealer meeting in Milwaukee.

The company said it will welcome Harley owners and enthusiasts to join The Open Road Tour, which will include weekend-long stops in North America, Australia and Japan. The tour will end in 2003 with two events in Europe.

"Every place you go in the world, people understand Harley-Davidson," said Moose Speros, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.

The celebration then will return to the United States, where riders will join tours to Milwaukee for the celebration's grand finale with a big-name concert on Aug. 31, 2003, along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

-- From wire reports