Well it has been a crazy and stressful year to say the least. Sometimes life happens and we get sidetracked with extra unanticipated circumstances. Fun jobs get put on the back burner for another day and start to collect dust. The good news is we did get a few camping trips in since the last post (plus one failed attempt in the winter). Grrr Icy roads are bad news. Nothing like driving three hours to get to a campsite only to find that the last mile is covered in a sheet of ice and not to be attempted by any sane person at the hour of 8PM in a town that rolls up at 5PM apparently. Better safe than sorry of course.
So anyway on to the camping and big news at the end so keep reading. Three camping trips were made in the last year (not near enough!) plus a trip to Tennessee. <<<kind of a disaster with the dog on 4th of July. I'll just leave it at that.
We chose Tuscarora State Forest all three times. Someone in charge there really knows what they are doing. There are almost 100 designated camping locations scattered throughout the ENTIRE FOREST. That means Total. Peace. and. QUIET. There is no other campsite close by....aaahhhhhhhhh. :) What a peace of heaven. The first spot we tried was very easy to get to. It was about 1 mile of a paved two lane road.
So anyway on to the camping and big news at the end so keep reading. Three camping trips were made in the last year (not near enough!) plus a trip to Tennessee. <<<kind of a disaster with the dog on 4th of July. I'll just leave it at that.
We chose Tuscarora State Forest all three times. Someone in charge there really knows what they are doing. There are almost 100 designated camping locations scattered throughout the ENTIRE FOREST. That means Total. Peace. and. QUIET. There is no other campsite close by....aaahhhhhhhhh. :) What a peace of heaven. The first spot we tried was very easy to get to. It was about 1 mile of a paved two lane road.
This was an over night with just Riley this time. Good quality time with the RyGuy for Memorial Day weekend, 2015.
The next trip was in July with all of us. We tried a different spot that looked interesting.
The next trip was in July with all of us. We tried a different spot that looked interesting.
To our surprise, because I did not see this on the forest map, this spot was right at the start of a walking trail.
It wasn't much at first, but the longer we walked the prettier it got. And then we even found a cool stream. We also found a snake that was not at all impressed with us taking a hike in his back yard. So he told us to get lost. Rachel just about stepped on him walking up on him sunning himself so maybe that was it. (Note to self: HIKING BOOTS!)
But we really enjoyed this site. On the downside? Quite a trip to get to it. Miles of one lane gravel road that several times had a steep drop off down one side. GPS was also spotty back here, most often we are able to get in but for some reason it doesn't work on the way out. I learned to bring regular maps too. Yes, they do still make those old things. Ha!
But we really enjoyed this site. On the downside? Quite a trip to get to it. Miles of one lane gravel road that several times had a steep drop off down one side. GPS was also spotty back here, most often we are able to get in but for some reason it doesn't work on the way out. I learned to bring regular maps too. Yes, they do still make those old things. Ha!
Third trip: Back to the first spot. We were so close to going for two nights but we saw the return of THE GREMLINS. And why was that??? Well, I am sorry to say that we have a disease for which there is no known cure. I thought the camper bug went into remission when we bought the pickup camper. It was quiet for a little bit but then Jason had to get a new truck for work. A Chevy 1 ton Dually diesel *swoon*. Oh, and that means it can carry a LOT more weight. Now we were looking at campers with slides for a bit more room :) Found a great deal and had to take it of course! But, as always..have to work out the gremlins!
Say hello to the new (2006) Lance 1181! The last truck/camper combo were referred to as Bonnie and Clyde. I call the new set Beauty and the Beast! So back to the first Tuscarora spot we went for our first venture out with them. A snafu with the wiring for the lights cost us a night, but that ultimately worked out for the better as the lp sensor decided to wake us up at 3AM to let us know the batteries were too dead to start the generator. :) What fun! We still had a good time. And no, it was not a disaster because we always carry a booster pack for such a gremlin.
Rearview Mirror:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good: Tuscarora State Forest, the new screen room, a bigger camper and truck!
The Bad: Unhappy snake, 3AM alarms, wiring plug in for the lights
The Ugly: Still dealing with the camper disease!!!
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good: Tuscarora State Forest, the new screen room, a bigger camper and truck!
The Bad: Unhappy snake, 3AM alarms, wiring plug in for the lights
The Ugly: Still dealing with the camper disease!!!