We are headed to Titusville, PA, to ride several bike trails and to test everything in our new camper. Our first night is in the Wrights Orchard Station Campground near Altoona, PA. We could not believe where our GPS was telling us to turn; into a rental storage facility! However, hidden behind the storage buildings was a beautiful little campground with perfectly level sites and groomed grass and flowers everywhere.
Saturday
We decided to avoid the interstates today and enjoy the scenery. Well, let’s just say that western PA has lots of narrow, hilly, winding roads that get your GPS confused! But we did see many small towns and lots of beautiful scenery before we reached the Oil Creek Family Campground. The campground was packed with folks, mostly from the region. Gretchen took one look at the bathrooms and said she was not stepping foot in one again! The bathrooms here definitely make the list of the worst 5 we have ever encountered! Thank goodness our Mini has a full bathroom!
Sunday
After a leisurely start we rode the Oil Creek and the Queen City trails to Titusville; beautiful tree canopied paved trails! On the way back we stopped at the Drake Museum, the site of the first oil well in the world.
The museum has a working replica of Drake’s well that pumps oil from the spot 69.5 feet beneath the earth on the exact spot of the original well! (They recycle the oil pumped). The interesting tidbit is that Drake’s financial backers had sent him a letter to halt funding for his drilling days before he hit oil...but he had not received it! Oh, and the layer he hit oil in was so small, had he drilled two feet to the left he would have missed it. So luck was on Drake’s side, he drilled the first successful oil well in the world and the oil boom in western Pennsylvania was initiated! Note: although many people became wealthy from oil revenues, Drake died a pauper.
We loved the museum, well done and very educational! Total miles today - 25 miles.
Monday
Another day, another beautiful ride on the Sandy Creek Trail. We found the access parking lot at the Belmar Bridge, a 1,385’ span high above the Allegheny River a little south of Franklin.
First, we rode the paved, tree canopied trail east along Sandy Creek as it gently climbs to the terminus at Van. Along the way we passed through a tunnel!
Sandy Creek is a pretty meandering stream through a forested area with few signs of civilization on the eastern end.
After returning to the bridge, we rode past quite a few mansions along the Allegheny River to the trail's end 5 miles down river. Today we logged 25 miles upon returning to our car.
Thunderstorms were in the forecast but we rode under blue skies. However, by the time we returned to Franklin, the clouds darkened and it rained so hard we could barely see to drive on our way back to our campground!
Tuesday
Today we planned to ride the Allegheny River Trail north from Emlenton about 15 miles. Two tunnels are on this section, the Rockland (2868’) and the Kennerdell (3350’).
We met these folks from Pittsburgh at the Rockland Tunnel and shortly thereafter, we became a trail work crew. A storm last night blew trees down across the trail about 10 miles from where we started. We cleared room to pass around two trees but a huge tulip poplar centered on the pavement halted our progress. So we never got to the Kennerdell Tunnel. We logged 21 miles today and the scenery was beautiful!
After our ride we visited Foxburg, the only town we saw in the region with some upscale amenities. It must be the place where the people who own mansions along the river hang out on weekends!
Our last stop was at the Kennerdell Overlook. The tunnel goes under the mountain eliminating the trip around the oxbow in the river. In the photo below, we were standing on the land between the oxbow in the river.
Wednesday
Eastward ho, driving across PA on Interstate 80 to see Priscilla and Phil was our destination today.
We arrived at their new house with the grand view late afternoon and Phil gave us a tour before Priscilla got home from work. Your house is spectacular guys! We are so happy you made your retirement dream come true.
Thursday-Saturday
We had a great time hanging out with Priscilla and Phil. Thursday we went for a hike in the state game lands and Susie and Jim joined us for dinner. Great seeing you guys. Friday we hung out with Phil while Priscilla worked and met Sue Byerly for lunch! Great seeing you Sue! Saturday Stephanie came in the morning so we got to see Natalie again and meet Luke for the first time. What a treat! Thanks Stephanie. And thank your Priscilla and Phil for you hospitality and friendship! BTW, I still think your homestead needs a name!
In the afternoon we drove to Harpers Ferry to our campsite in the KOA.
Sunday
We met Sally in Frederick for brunch at the White Rabbit Gastropub to celebrate her 65th birthday! We all ordered the same thing, the item that convinced Sally to choose the restaurant...Fried Green Benedict. Imagine a biscuit with a fried green tomato, topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce with a sprinkle of savory salt. It was great! Happy birthday Sally!
After lunch we drove to Thurmont to see if Pryors Orchards market was open for the season. It was with a very limited selection so Gwen and Sally will have to return in a few weeks when the peaches arrive!
Next stop was Cunningham Falls State Park. We all remembered being at the falls decades ago so we decided stop and see if it was as we remembered. After hiking the trail (total 1.5 miles) to the falls, we all agreed our memories failed us!
Monday
We stayed in Harpers Ferry today since we are stopping at our RV dealer to have a few things fixed tomorrow. However, it was easy to pass the time between touring the battlefield and visiting Charles Town.
Tuesday
Warren fixed the leak in our toilet and he fixed the brake problem we've had with the Aliner and now with the Mini. It was the brake controller. The new one he installed seems to work beautifully; it's like driving another camper/vehicle combination!
We had a great shakedown trip. We love the Mini, it is very comfortable and not too big to tow with ease. We had some great bike rides, enjoyed our visits with Priscilla, Phil and Sally plus Warren fixed the few problems we encountered with the Mini. Oh, and the best part was that the toilet leak was discovered when I was in the bathroom!
Tuesday
Warren fixed the leak in our toilet and he fixed the brake problem we've had with the Aliner and now with the Mini. It was the brake controller. The new one he installed seems to work beautifully; it's like driving another camper/vehicle combination!
We had a great shakedown trip. We love the Mini, it is very comfortable and not too big to tow with ease. We had some great bike rides, enjoyed our visits with Priscilla, Phil and Sally plus Warren fixed the few problems we encountered with the Mini. Oh, and the best part was that the toilet leak was discovered when I was in the bathroom!
