Winding Down our Camping Season at North-South Lake

Alan and I just recently returned from a week-long camping adventure at North-South Lake.  I love fall in the Northeast – both the crisp, sunny days that are just right for outdoor adventures and the longer, cooler nights that are perfect for pulling up a favorite quilt.  What I don’t like is the fact that, once fall arrives, I know the end of our camping and boating season is near.  Over the past few days, we’ve been emptying our travel trailer and packing our camping gear away for the winter.  Alan is in full “winterization” mode, having to deal with the boat, the new travel trailer and the older travel trailer which is still onsite at our rental property.  Yup, the poor guy is busy as a beaver.

Although our Outdoors RV Creek Side travel trailer is a true “four seasons” RV (with thermal pane windows, extra insulation, an enclosed and heated underbelly and a cold weather package on the refrigerator which allows it to operate at temps down to zero degrees), we don’t usually camp beyond mid-October.  Maneuvering the travel trailer into its “parking place” at home requires backing it up the driveway, across the front yard, around a sharp bend, between two gates and way up the hill to a leveled, out of the way spot.  Although Alan has been hauling trailers of one sort or another for more than 40 years and can generally maneuver anything, anywhere, that sharp bend is tricky to tackle because it gets slick in the rain or snow.  The adjacent drop-off dictates that we err on the side of caution so, once the boat is in its garage and the travel trailers are on their pads in the fall, they generally aren’t moved until we get through the spring thaw and ensuing mud season.  But, I digress.  Let’s get back to North-South Lake – a gem in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

I Just Love These Guys to Pieces!

Last Friday, Alan and I returned from a two week camping trip to Vermont, the Adirondack Coast of New York and our beloved Northampton Beach Campground on Great Lake Sacandaga which is at the foot of the Adirondacks in central New York.  (More about those travels in future posts.)  With the exception of a couple of rainy days and a few showers that didn’t impact our plans, the weather proved to be that wonderful fall combination of comfortable days and cool, but not cold, nights.  This trip was distinctive for two noteworthy reasons:  (1) It was the first trip since both Alan and I left the workforce during which the specter of the construction project at our rental property wasn’t looming in the background waiting for our return and its completion.  That weight on our shoulders was pleasantly absent since we had finished the project toward the end of the summer and we truly felt free to relax and enjoy our travels.  (2)  It was the first vacation in 24 years that Alan and I had taken without one or both kids in tow.  That's nearly a quarter of a century!  Sweet . . . and bittersweet.

Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio - Another Item for the Bucket List!

Despite having traveled through Ohio countless times, our family has never actually vacationed there.  Our overnight stays in the state have always been pleasant but, except for a future visit to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, it hasn’t really been on my radar.  That all changed when I learned about Hocking Hills State Park from Denisa and Mark over at Wandering His Wonders (one of my favorite blogs listed at the right), and I'll tell you why.

But Wait, There's More . . . My Second Most Favorite Road Sign Ever!

In March of 2017, Alan and I traveled to the Apache Camping Center in Everett, Washington, to purchase our new travel trailer – a Creek Side 26RLS made by Outdoors RV Manufacturing (ORV) in the mountains of eastern Oregon.  Prior to picking up the Creek Side, we stopped at ORV’s facility in La Grande, Oregon, to take advantage of their factory tour.  (It was tons of fun – and extremely educational, too!  Thanks, Kevin!)  There are some incredibly beautiful mountain passes near La Grande with sweeping views and, I imagine, a fairly good chance of picking up significant snowfall during the winter months.  So, what road sign did we see that has become my second favorite road sign of all time?  Here it is . . .

Mammoth Cave National Park - and My Most Favorite Road Sign Ever! (National Parks Trip #2)

This post represents another installment in the series detailing the second of our three cross country National Parks camping trips with kids and travel trailer in tow.

Okay, people, I’m finally making good on my promise!  Below is the best road sign I’ve ever seen.  Alan and I, along with our two kids (Ryan, aged 16 at the time, and Kyra, aged 11) had settled ourselves in at the Wax Campground, an Army Corps of Engineers (COE) facility on Nolin River Lake in Kentucky in order to visit Mammoth Cave National Park.  But, on our 20 mile jaunt from the campground to the Park entrance, we came upon this road sign . . .

I'm Back and We're DONE!

Please enjoy these photos of various sunrises and sunsets – they’re a good fit for today’s post about happy endings and new beginnings!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!  I am just so giddy with excitement that I can’t contain myself!  The MAJOR construction project at our rental property is done, done, DONE!  And we are happy, happy, HAPPY!

Meander with Me on the Road to Miscellanea

For those of you who are remembering that I promised to share with you my most favorite road sign EVER in an upcoming post, please be assured that I have not forgotten my promise.  That road sign will appear in the near future along with the next installment of our National Parks Trip #2 story.  Before I get to that, I wanted to share with you some random reflections about a few different topics or happenings that have been on my mind this week.  I don’t know about you but, if I don’t write it down immediately, it will be gone forever!  

"Miscellanea."  What a delightful word!  It sounds to me like it should be the magical town where all singular socks end up, all lost reading glasses convene and all the little screws from the whatchamacallit that Alan said not to lose can be found.  In my mind, the little town of Miscellanea might be found in the middle of the wheat fields of the Midwest or on a remote mountain plateau in the Rockies or even in the Alaskan outback, reachable only by float plane and dog sled.  But, alas, that’s not what Merriam-Webster says.  Merriam-Webster defines “miscellanea” as “a collection of miscellaneous objects or writings.”  And that’s exactly what we have here today.