J and B and Lady Blue: Black Moshannon State Park, Cowans Gap State Park,Pennsylvania; Big Meadows Campground, Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park; Claytor Lake State Park, Virginia; JomeokePark Campground, Crosswinds Campground at Jordan Lake, North Carolina; Cheraw State Park , South Carolina; and some pictures from New England summer.

From Ives Run COE Campground in Tioga, Pennsylvania,we take Route 15(instead of Route 287)south t.o Williamsport, From there we follow U.S. 220 south to Philipsburg and Black Moshannon State Park. Above is a great gift to the park. A bench made to look like an open book. The open pages are painted with scenes from Black Moshannon.

The lake and the trails.

And on the back of the bench, a night scene from a camping spot , Complete with lighted tent, campfire, and a full moon through the trees.

A good hiking trail around the lake. Note the bat house on the post.

One of the gifts of the Fall is being able to see things like this huge wasps nest.

Signs of active beaver around the lake. They had a section close to the walkway that was roped off to protect a beaver lodge.

All the states do their lodging differently. Most have campgrounds. Some have shelters. And some, like above, have full service rental cabins. This one has an indoor and outdoor fireplace, grill, and more. No water service inside though. Not quite full service.

Next stop follows US220 south to US22 southeast to US522 south to McConnellsburg. Then state Route 75 north to Cowans Gap State Park.

Many choices for hikers from easy to very difficult. This one is part of the Great Eastern Trail and connects to Greenwood State Park. Also 2 miles of the Tuscarora Trail(110 miles) passes through the park and connects to the Appalachian Trail. It was actually built parallel to the AT( to the west) when it was feared that the AT would be closed due to over development before the 1968 National Scenic Trails Act.

You can just set out your chairs here for the afternoon and enjoy the view.

Picture from an earlier age when the Susquehanna River was known for the Lumber production. In 1897 Cross Fork, above was the third largest producer of lumber in Pennsylvania. By 1920 it was a ghost town.

The west branch of the Susquehanna River

Some great color along the camp roads in Cowans Gap.

On to the next campground, one of our favorites. We take Route 75 south to Route 30 east to Interstate 81 south. That gives us a good scenic ride out of Pennsylvania, through a short section of Maryland and a short section of West Virginia into Virginia. We like to keep heading south on Interstate 81 to Route 66 east to Front Royal . Then we prefer to head south on Route 340 to Luray. Route 211 then takes us up to the Skyline Drive. Since we are later this year, there is much less traffic on the Drive.(October 28 to November 1)

Some larger farms in Virginia

Jan and I take our chances at getting into Big Meadows Campground in the Shenandoah National Park. But it is after the main season of leaf peepers and there are plenty of sites in the Non-reservation section. Actually, at this time, there were no reservations at all. This hawk greeted us in front of our campsite.

A number of deer roamed by our campsite. This young buck was grazing about fifteen feet away when I was filling a water bottle.

There was a large cold front that came through with lots of rain and wind. The plus of that was a very clear day afterwards to view the sights from the Drive.

Some colors were just coming in while others had already passed.
Big Meadows Campground was at 3,600 feet.

The red of the bushes and trees gives a different fall view.

Hard to avoid the haze. Visibility up here used to be over 100 miles at one time. But now it grows shorter every year with the pollution.

From Big Meadows we head a short ways down the Drive to Elkton and Route 33 over to Route 81 south. The exit before Dublin takes us over to Claytor Lake State Park, another favorite.
Foliage is still bright here on the trails

Who??

A nature statement for the little guy?
A very healthy looking pine tree growing out of an old stump.

These colors around Claytor are looking a bit less than on the trails.

On the lower section of the park. Very few out on the water today.

Leaving Claytor, we head a short distance down Interstate 81 to Interstate 77 south into North Carolina. A little ways into North Carolina we branch off on Route 74 towards Winston Salem. Along the way we take the exit for Jomeokee Campground in Pinnacle near Pilot Mountain. This campground used to be a dairy farm . Now the owner has a 100 site campground and a side business of metal work.

A great view of Pilot mountain from our site.

Not at all crowded. If you decide to stop here, keep in mind that they do not take credit cards. Cash or check only.

One of the older buildings. A familiar look with the metal roofs and natural wood sides. From here we catch Route 66 to avoid Winston Salem, Then we catch up with Interstate 40 and Route 421. Then its Route 64 to Crosswinds Campground at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.

We really enjoyed catching up with friends Bob and Elaine. Bob and I shared the smallest office space ever for about 33 years. They treated us to a great tour of Raleigh and Cary. So many things so close by.

Adding a few pictures here from the summer visit to New England.
Friends Nancy and Dave with their granddaughter Cora Mae.

From earlier in New Hampshire, Alison and Jan on a rainy day.

Lady Blue is right at home at North of Highland Campground. Mostly a tenting campground with a short dirt path right to Head of the Meadow Beach in North Truro, Cape Cod. Dry camping.

This picture was taken at the Bookstore Restaurant in Wellfleet, Massachusetts . Hard to get everyone together at one time, but quite a few made it here.