Nomad exploring life wherever I am
There’s something so enticing about going under the surface of the earth, especially on a steaming hot day in the South. Skyline Caverns was the perfect stop on my way up to Harper’s Ferry last month, since it features an average temperature of 58F below ground. Sign me up!
Somehow, I’ve managed to stop at my friends’ house in Lancaster almost every year. Turns out it’s quite a convenient stopover for both north/south and east/west routes, as well as having good medical people, tire places, and other trappings of civilization. My timing has usually been great for seeing Peg’s diverse and beautiful collection of day lilies, but this year, I was a tad early for that show. I had to “settle” for enjoying her clematis collection.
You might think twice about staying at a place called “Hungry Mother.” I sure did. Turns out it’s a local legend involving the original settlers (Native Americans) vs. newer settlers (white people taking the land) and somehow a child saying “hungry, mother.” Sure, let’s go with that. Meanwhile, the park itself is yet another jewel in the crown that is the Virginia state park system. A lake, hiking trails, cabins, two campgrounds, fishing, swimming, this place has a lot going on. Two fun facts about this park: it is one of the six original Civilian Conservation Core (CCC) parks that…
If you thought Lancaster County had cornered the market on covered bridges in Pennsylvania, you’d be wrong. Somerset County holds claim to ten such bridges, so of course I went in search of some of them one sunny afternoon. And by “in search of” I mean that there’s not one website with all the GPS coordinates of these things and even Google Maps didn’t get a few of them right so I was literally searching the countryside at times. Oh, well, it was a pretty day and the countryside, both forested and farmed, was lovely scenery, easy on the eyes….
One thing you learn quickly as a full-timer is to make sure you’ve got a solid plan for each of the big summer holidays. Memorial Day kicks off the summer camping for many people, so it’s not the weekend to wing it. I’d reserved at Black Moshannon almost six months out because that’s about how fast campgrounds are filling up for the holiday weekends in 2021. And sure, enough, the campground was completely booked, except for one sweet spot. Which wasn’t where I landed when I arrived…