Thursday, May 30, 2024
After work, we quickly got everything ready and hit the road! We enjoyed paninis along the way and took in the beautiful scenery of the drive. The trip toward central PA is always so pretty; there are so many beautiful overlooks, windmills, and, at this time of day, sunset views. We also got to see many different old cars that had left a car show too!
We arrived at our site at dusk and quickly blew up the paddleboard for an evening paddle. It was so calm and serene. That night, we watched the movie Role Play. It was decent. Jeffrey thought it was kind of lame for a spy movie, and while I thought it could’ve been done better, I still enjoyed it.
Friday, May 31, 2024
Upon waking up, Jeffrey very quickly got himself ready for a morning paddle, which turned into an over hour long adventure for him as he ventured to a completely different section of the lake to look at some cliffs. While he was gone, I enjoyed my cereal and coffee while reading alongside the lake.
Once he returned, I went on a quick paddle myself before we decided to check out Trough Creek State Park. We took the short walk to Balancing Rock, enjoyed popsicles at the ice cave, and went to the visitors’ center to receive our state park stamp. Afterwards, we drove to Warriors Path, hoping for a nice break along a stream. However, that went south quickly as we encountered mosquitos, who adore Jeffrey.
On our way back to our site, we stopped at Backwoods Smoke Shack and got loaded fries with brisket. It was quite delicious and had a bit of kick to it! Jeff then took a little nap while I read and enjoyed the lake.
Soon after, our friends Tyler and Michelle showed up. They set up their camp, I heated up the pre-made chili I had brought, and we sat around the fire while we waited for our other friends, Paul and Tayte, to join us. The rest of the evening was spent snacking on s’mores around the fire and enjoying each other’s company.
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Our morning started off with Jeffrey’s adamant attempt at making cinnamon rolls in a cast iron over our stove. This has been an ongoing battle for him across multiple camping trips, and while this was his most valiant and successful attempt, they were still quite burnt. We ended up enjoying coffee and cereal for the most part.
We enjoyed a relaxing morning before heading to Ridenour Overlook, Seven Points Beach, the visitors center, and then back to our campsite. We enjoyed both swimming and bathing in the lake. After a while, we made walking tacos for dinner. Our friends had also brought hot dogs, mountain pie ingredients (for ham and cheese, pizza, AND fruit pies!), and s’mores stuff, so dinner turned into a full-evening event. We enjoyed the fire, even with the ant nest Jeffrey awoke in the log he found to burn, and turned in early.
Sunday, June 2, 2024
Once again, Jeffrey tried the cinnamon rolls, and they were definitely better, but still needed some work. We enjoyed coffee and cereal again and had our last morning paddles before packing up camp. We took our friends back to Backwoods Smoke Shack for lunch before going our separate ways.
On our way home, Jeff and I decided to stop at a few state parks. Our first stop was Canoe Creek State Park where we explored the limestone kilns, which were used to make lime that was then used in the production of steel. We then went to Prince Gallitzin and explored that area a bit. It was very pretty and would definitely make for a fun camping weekend! We are still puzzled as to why they named him “Prince” though. He had some wonderful attributes and accomplishments in all we read about the person behind the name, but nowhere could we find why they refer to him as “Prince” in this state park!
After Prince Gallitzin, we made our way to our final stop, Yellow Creek State Park. It was also pretty and a good stopping point as we were both exhausted and ready to be home.
It was quite a busy weekend filled with friends and wonderful memories!
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