Shawnee State Park, PA

It was a great relief to settle into our latest camp here at Shawnee State Park, near Bedford, PA. What stark contrast from the close quarters and dog-kennel-esque canine population back at the Misty Mountain camp to the park environment all to ourselves. We finally put up our dog fence a few hours after we were here because one other camper set up within sight. The dogs were free up until then. Now there are several campers nearby, but no other dogs! It's been great (bark-free). Here is the rig at Shawnee:


Our trip here was not without incident, however. First, when we stopped to stretch at a rest area, we noticed with alarm a twisted piece of aluminum hanging from the side of the Whale. It was the remains of our bedroom window, which apparently came unlatched and was sucked open by air pressure, and battered to smithereens. I removed the dangling frame and we continued on to Bedford. Here's a "before" shot:


Another bit of excitement occurred here at Shawnee. We took a drive around the campground to check out the sites, ever searching for the perfect camp. We found ourselves on a narrow gravel loop on a slope. We got most of the way around, using four-wheel drive to keep traction, and then came to a curve with big trees on both sides of the road's edge. I didn't think we could fit through! Backing all of the way around was out of the question, too. There was a pull-through site parallel that didn't look much better, but did look do-able, so I maneuvered into it. Well, once in there, what looked like an easy exit turned out to be nearly impossible. It was a very stressful few minutes as I backed and turned, trying to gain a few inches here and there to clear big trees and make the turn. Well, I was successful, but for a while it looked like I was going to need a tractor to come in and extricate us. A very close call.

Once settled, I set to work designing and fabricating a new window. A replacement will take weeks to get, and although the screen is fine, no window will be uncomfortable during the cold nights expected in the next few days. So, I bought some plexiglass and weatherstripping, cut up a couple of our dog fence suppports and a plywood shim, and made myself a new one. I am pleased that I was able to do it such that it can still open and latch shut like the original.

"During":

"After":

Also, we now have hanging baskets of petunias, cucumber and tomato:


Lots of trails here at the park, from hilly backwoods trails to wide gravel bike paths. Here we are taking a break to let the dogs swim next to the levee:



Today is Mother's Day, and as we did not see a breakfast place near here, I made Nancy's favorite out-for-breakfast meal: sausage gravy & biscuits. In lieu of a rolling pin I used an empty Ketel One vodka bottle!:


Here is Nancy about to enjoy her meal:



Happy Mother's Day to you! (You know who you are!)