2010 - Sept. 28 Ole Bull to Promised Land State Park, PA

When we got up this morning, we learned that Joe & Loretta had gotten lost on the way to Ole Bull State Park. They blamed it on the GPS, but after reviewing maps and discussing their trip, the only thing we could figure out was that the last thirty miles of what should have been a four hour trip took them over three hours!

Not only did they get lost, but they went down a dead end road and jack-knifed the trailer into the rear fender of the car while turning around. That definitely left a mark!

So, we just decided to forget about the recent past and head east. By 4:00pm, we were setting up camp in Promised Land State Park, about 25 miles east of Scranton, PA. We only drove 187 miles today, but that's not bad when the speed limit on most of the roads was 45mph!

For supper, we had turkey burgers and all the trimmings while discussing the day's travels. The weather improved in the afternoon and we were treated to some beautiful Pennsylvania fall colors. Time for bed now, but there's no pitter-patter of rain drops on the roof to lull me to sleep. No matter. It won't take long.

2010 - Sept. 29 Promised Land to North Kingstown, RI WalMart

Pretty uneventful day. Drove thru Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and into Rhode Island. We stopped at a visitor center to find out about camping. We called a few and they were closed for the season, so we asked the GPS where the nearest WalMart was. Twenty minutes later, we pulled into our free campsite. We're about 220 miles from Glen, NH where we'll be for four nights with a group of about 45 Aframes. We should have no trouble making it tomorrow.

This is the first time I've drunk beer in a WalMart parking lot!

2010 - Sept. 27 Girard to Ole Bull State Park & Fairview Camp

We left Jim & Sandy's around 10:30 this morning and stopped by my cousin, Ron Weislogel's house in Fairview, about 4 miles east of Girard. After a short visit with Ron and his wife, Kathy, we stopped by Ken & Georgia Prather's house to show them our camper. They weren't home, so we left a note on their door and headed for Ole Bull State Park.

The weather was lousy, but we took our time on the hilly, curvy roads and arrived at Ole Bull at 5:15pm. After taking a few minutes to unhitch the camper and pop it up, we headed up the mountain to see if I could still find the old hunting camp where I spent so many great times as a kid with my grandfather.

After leaving the campground and traveling about half a mile, we turned onto a Joerg Run Road, the first of three dirt roads on the way to the camp. Things got a little hairy after we turned onto the Twelve Mile Road to travel the last couple of miles to the Fairview Camp. The road was so muddy that sometimes when I turned the steering wheel, the car would keep going straight. That's a bit disconcerting when running off the road could mean a trip down the mountain the hard way! Luckily, there was a solid base under the mud so we didn't sink very far. Some of the hills were so steep that the wheels spun as if on ice, but we made it to the camp without mishap.

The camp has had a complete overhaul since the last time I was there, in 1999. Vinyl siding, beams on pilings to reinforce the floor, new windows, and I'm sure many more improvements that I couldn't see from the outside. We walked around the camp, took some pictures, and headed back down the mountain.

Instead of going back to the camper, we went to Cross Fork, a town of 60 people about six miles south of Ole Bull. Legend has it that this is where Gabby Hayes first performed on stage. I remember the old hotel where he performed, but the people in the bar where we ate dinner said it burned down many years ago.

After dinner, we headed back to Ole Bull expecting to see Joe & Loretta in their reserved campsite next to ours. When we got there, the campsite was unoccupied. We sat around for a while, but the rain on the roof made us sleepy, so we turned in. Marsha heard Joe & Loretta arrive around midnight, but neither of us got up to greet them.

We'll see them in the morning. 



 

2010 - Sept. 26 Stayed at Jim & Sandy's Last night

Well, yesterday was a nice day for a drive, so we went all the way from Mattoon to Girard, PA in one shot. It was a 620 mile drive from home. We arrived at Jim & Sandy's last night about 8:45 their time. We visited for a while and finally hit the sack, in the camper, sometime after midnight.

Today, we went to North East, PA, about thirty miles from Girard, to the annual wine fest. It was a good time, but would have been better if it hadn't drizzled rain all afternoon. However, the rain didn't keep us from tasting some pretty good wine.

Didn't take any pictures.

2010 - Sept. 25 From Home to Mattoon on our Way East

We left home this morning and headed to Mattoon to watch Adi's soccer game before heading east toward Glen, NH. The plan is to leave from Mattoon and camp somewhere between there and Girard, PA where we will spend Sunday night with our old and dear friends, Jim & Sandy Anderson. Monday, we'll make our way to Ole Bull State Park, about a four hour drive from Girard, and meet up with Joe & Loretta Amen from Decatur, IL.

Joe and Loretta are stopping by the Aliner Factory in Mammoth, PA to get some work done on their camper. After they meet us at Ole Bull State Park, we'll continue on to Glen, NH where there will be about 45 Aframe camping units gathering to see the fall colors and take a cog train ride to the summit of Mt. Washington. After the Gathering of Aframes, we and the Amans will go farther east to spend a couple of days in Acadia National Park on Desert Island off the coast of Maine. After we have our fill of Maine lobster, we'll make our way to Nashua, NH to have dinner with my cousin, Anne Elizabeth Frens, whom I haven't seen in many years, then wander toward home, arriving by October tenth.

We'll see how things go.

2010 - Sept. 11 Grayson's Nose and Adi's Soccer Game

Last Saturday, we went to Mattoon to see Adi's soccer game. Grayson got more attention than the soccer game due to his bout with the sidewalk a few days earlier.