Nov 3, 2020 - Intercourse and Chocolate, what could be better?

We got to the truck stop outside Lancaster at night. Uneventful, nothing to report (thankfully). We slept in like usual and headed straight for Roots Amish Market. This market is super cool and only open on Tuesdays, and we timed it to be there by Tuesday. It's got several buildings of various things for sale--random flea market stuff, antiques, signs, clothes, and so much awesome, local meat, cheese, soap, candles, and sweet treats. There's a restaurant as well. - We spent a good while walking around, the weather was perfect. There were a...

Nov 1, 2020 - Gettysburg

We stayed the night at a truck stop not too far from Gettysburg, I think it was about an hour away. While we drove there I worked. We got there at around 3PM. One thing that I've noticed since the time change is how late afternoon feels more like late evening, with the sun slanted and close to going down. I just remembered, while we were in Missouri we noticed that the sun never got directly above our heads, just circled around high above us. (We only noticed because we were desparate for solar power). I've never really noticed that about...

Oct 31, 2020 - Katie's Spooky Wedding

Katie's wedding was on Halloween, as you all know. The ceremony was a traditional church ceremony at her local church in the small town she lives in of Newell. The whole town was like four blocks long. It was in a bunch of hills, and unfortunately, we're having trouble with our brakes still despite replacing them. Something else is wrong. So every time we would brake going downhill, the whole van would shake pretty violently. Not good. We gotta get that fixed entirely when we go home. But anyway! We stayed at a truck stop the night before...

Oct 30, 2020 - Pittsburgh

We had to stop at an RV park! We were out of power, and didn't have enough driving hours for me to simply work while we were driving using the car battery. The endless clouds and rain did it, blocking out any solar power. I thought that might happen in the northeast. Zac found an inexpensive park along our way on the Ohio side. We got there right as the office closed. Our spot was right by the office and the bathrooms and showers, which was nice. While we were at this park we explored a little and found a really cool playground with huge...

Oct 30, 2020 - Ohiopyle

Today my cousin Katie who's wedding is the reason we're up here invited me to a dinner thing after the dress rehearsal. It wasn't until six. I had wanted to see Ohiopyle yesterday, but it had been raining so hard we decided not to. But today it was raining a bit less so off we went. It was only an hour from where we were and where we had to be in the evening. We got there and the falls were absolutely gushing with nasty brown water from all the recent rain. Definitely not like I remembered, but still cool nonetheless. - Maybe now I should...

Oct 17, 2020 - Black Gold discovered here!

I started out the afternoon (once the day warmed up a little) by visiting the nearby town of Emlenton. It boasts the highest bridge in Pennsylvania. It used to be the highest bridge in the USA! I came over that bridge and looked down at Emlenton yesterday when I arrived. Speaking of my arrival, I tried 3 campsites to try to get level! Because I was put on sites with a rising grade, the back jacks were taxed every time, which threw the switch in the engine compartment. I tried putting enough blocks under them but to no avail. After the third...

Oct 3, 2020 - Nescopeck State Park

Checked out of the hotel around 10. Other than Frances Slocum, this park is the closest to the hotel, about a 25-minute drive. After 11 by the time I arrived and fooled around a bit. I hadn’t looked at the park map real closely so when I arrived, I was a bit surprised by how primitive the park is. There is a fairly nice sized park office/visitor’s center but is only opened M-F 8-4. The map indicarted the only restrooms for the park are inside the visitor’s center. When I got to the lake parking lot, fortunately there was at least a porta...

Oct 2, 2020 - Beltzville State Park

Left the hotel at 9:45. The park is right off I-476 so even though this is the longest distance I traveled this week it was fairly easy to get there. Between pulling over to finish a phone call, stopping at the park office, and getting my bearings at the trailhead it was 11:30 until I hit the trail. Most recreation guides have trail descriptions and mileage included in the them but this park had a separate trail guide which I had to pick up at the office then I spent 10 minutes or so deciding which trails I wanted to hike. Decided on the...

Oct 1, 2020 - Lehigh Gorge State Park

As indicated on Tuesday, today was the bike ride through Lehigh Gorge State Park. As forecasted, an abundance of sunshine, but the trail runs on the west side of the river so in the afternoon it was mostly shaded. I was surprised how full the parking lot was when I got there but there was a train leaving and the streets of town had a number of people strolling around also. Dad and I had done this ride several years ago so I had a good idea of what to expect. As we did then, I chose the 25 mile route from the multiple options. I was a little...

Sep 30, 2020 - Hickory Run State Park

Full day. Left the hotel at 9:45. By the time I stopped for coffee, arrived at the Fireline Trail trailhead and prepped for my hike it was shortly after 11. Did a loop hike that included portions of the Fireline, Gould, and Skyline trails. Based on the portions I hiked, I’d say this amounted to about 3 miles. The Fireline Trail initially heads directly west from the parking lot along PA 534 for about a half mile to an overlook that provides a nice view of the Lehigh River and Gorge (where I’ll be bike riding tomorrow) looking...

Sep 29, 2020 - Frances Slocum & Archbald Pothole State Parks

Juggled the plan for today. Originally intended to go to Hickory Run and hike the Fireline Trail. However, the weather forecast was calling for rain and the Fireline Trail description indicated it was “open, steep, and rocky”. I thought it might not be prudent to hike such a trail in the rain. Opted for Frances Slocum where based on my reading the trails would be more conducive to hiking in the rain. Park was only 20 minutes from the hotel so I was there by 10. The park is named after a 5 year-old Wilkes-Barre girl who was kidnapped by the...

Sep 28, 2020 - Ricketts Glen State Park

Left at 8:45 this morning and arrived at the park at 11. I was a bit surprised how full the parking lot was for a Monday. The recreation guide indicates this lot, Lake Rose, often gets full on the weekends and I can believe that would be the case. There are other lots available but it is then a mile or so hike just to get to the falls area. On the internet there was one of those lists, the best state park in each state. Ricketts Glenn was the one identified for PA, specifically for The Glens Natural Area which is why the park got on my...