Continuing South to Georgia

Map of this blog's locations click this link to open the map

From our stop in Saint Clair Pennsylvania, we have about 800 to 900 miles to go before we get to our next reserved campsite on Skidaway Island near Savannah Georgia, and 12 nights to play with in picking our stops and route. We plan to continue down I-81 to avoid Baltimore and DC traffic. We had considered stopping in Martinsburg West Virginia since there are lots of good geocaches in that area, but we have stayed there three times with our last stop in October of 2016. We figured we owed it to ourselves to see someplace different so we picked an Elks Lodge in Front Royal Virginia. Why there? It was about 200 miles away so it made for an acceptable distance. Plus, it is the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park. 

The drive to Front Royal was an easy one and it was a pretty nice day weather wise. There is only one 30 amp electric outlet and another rig was parked there and using it. But that’s okay, we can easily boondock here for a couple nights. The next morning, we head over to Shenandoah NP. It was a mostly sunny day but was rather chilly and very windy. Skyline Drive runs the full 105 mile length of the park. There are pullouts fairly frequently along the drive with pretty amazing views at each of them. Five miles in from the entrance is the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center. 

View from Dickey Ridge

Dickey Ridge Visitor Center

We stop to get some park info and ideas of what hikes we might want to attempt. Given the weather conditions, we knew we weren’t up for a long hike today. Just across from here was the Fox Hollow Loop. It’s only 1.2 miles long but was enough to get the blood flowing as we hit the uphill section on the way back. 

We continue our drive south and stop just past mile marker 10 at the Compton Gap parking area. We wanted to try the hike to Compton Peak. It's about a 2.4 mile round trip. Most of the hike is along the Appalachian Trail. As we were crossing the road to the trail, a couple of serious AT hikers were crossing with us. We chatted a bit before they headed up the trail. We managed to keep up with them but it helped that they each had heavy looking backpacks with all sort of gear and we were traveling light. About a half mile from parking, a ranger, walking the other direction, stopped the two AT hikers and asked them for their backcountry permits. It was hard to tell from their reaction if they were prepared but we passed by them and continued to Compton Peak. There were a fair number of people at Compton Peak West. There isn't a lot of space there, so it took a while before we got our turn to take in the view. The trail down to Compton Peak East was a bit more challenging and at the end of this side trail, we were not impressed with the view of something called Columnar Jointing. Probably worth skipping.

We continued driving south on Skyline Drive and stopped at pullouts when the view looked interesting and there was room to park. At the 32 mile mark is the Thornton Gap entrance. From here we headed west out of the park and then drive back to the lodge. That evening it got very cold and although we were thinking of staying another day or two, we got up the next morning and decided to continue south. Boondocking in near freezing weather isn't our idea of a good time.

The town of Waynesboro is near the southern end of Shenandoah NP. The Elks Lodge there has two 30 amp spots. We hope that we can score one of them which would make our stay in colder weather a bit more tolerable. One nice thing about Elks Lodges is they don’t have check in or check out times. It’s about 100 miles so by leaving after breakfast we end up getting in around lunchtime even with a fuel stop along the way. As we pull into the parking area, we find no other rigs so we will have power. The views from the RV parking area are quite nice here. Cows were grazing in the field adjacent to the our spot. 

Our Spot at Waynesboro Elks Lodge

View from Behind Our Motorhome

The lodge wasn’t open yet so we ate lunch and headed to a nearby town park to do some hiking and geocaching. Betsy Bell Park is in the town of Staunton, about 10 miles west of camp. We enjoy a couple mile hike and get a handful of caches along the way. When we get back to the lodge, we have a neighbor and the lodge is open. We head in to the bar to settle up for the two nights we plan on staying there. There was a pretty good crowd and we end up talking to many of the members that seemed to be some of the friendliest we have run into. We ask the bartender if they have limits on how long traveling Elks can stay and he says nope. We will need to consider coming back here when we have more time to spend.

Overlook View at Betsy Bell Park

The following morning, we head back to Shenandoah NP - to the Rockfish Gap entrance. This is the 105 mile mark along Skyline Drive. We have a very nice day and plan to do a couple “real” hikes. Our first stop is near mile 94 at Turk Gap. We plan on hiking to Turk Mountain at 2981 foot elevation. It isn’t the most strenuous hike we have done being about 2.5 miles round trip with 850 feet in elevation gained. The view from the rocky peak was quite nice. It wasn’t a busy trail, so we had the top to ourselves while we sat and rested for 15 minutes. 

Trail Markers in Shenandoah - Not Pretty but Functional

View at Turk Mountain

Next, we drive further north to milepost 90 to the Riprap parking area. This gets us to the Appalachian Trail which we hike north for about half a mile before taking a left onto the Riprap Trail. It was a nice hike and there are a couple great stops along the way. Calvary Rocks is an interesting rock formation right along the trail although our real destination was a place called Chimney Rock. It is a tall column rock outcropping that sticks up just off the trail. I climb out on some of the smaller surrounding rocks but don’t see how I could safely get to the top of Chimney Rock. Shortly after we arrived, three college aged women arrive and they surveyed the situation and eventually made their way across the gap and onto the rock. I guess that’s what good about being 20 something instead of 50 something. We turn around and head back the way we came making for a 3.5 mile hike with 900 feet of elevation gained. We know there is a lot more we would enjoy in Shenandoah NP but it will need to wait for a future trip. 

View at Chimney Rock

In trying to determine our next stop, we thought the Richmond area might be nice. There is an Elks Lodge we could have tried but we decided it might be more fun to check out a state park on the southwest side of town. Pocahontas State Park is a big park with lots of trails for hiking or biking. The campground has a newer loop that has nice big, level sites. About half the sites are reservable online while the other are first come first serve. Coming in on a Wednesday has its advantage. While I stopped at the dump station, Chris drove the loop and picked out a few sites she liked. Then I drove back and we picked one of them. 

The next day we picked out a couple trails to try out. On the south side of the park is the Otter Lick Loop trail. It is a 2.3 mile hike, mostly along a nice wide forest road. At the trailhead, we met a local with a fat tire bike just about to head out. We chatted with him a bit about the bike to see how he liked it. There are times when I think this type of bike would be good although from what we saw of the trail we took, our mountain bikes  would do just fine. 

Large Mushroom Along Trail

After lunch back at the rig, we drove the short distance to the parking area for the Beaver Lake Trail. This was a really nice and easy 3.5 mile loop mostly along the shore of Beaver Lake. As we went along the trail, Chris spotted a cluster of mushrooms growing inside the rotted out center of a fallen tree. It made for an interesting photo. The one end of Beaver Lake was a dam although I suspect it was man made or extremely ingenious beavers!

Beaver Lake

Hidden Mushrooms

"Beaver?" Lake Dam

The following day was to be a very rainy one. Not ideal, but it gives us a chance for a break from the hiking. We head into Richmond to the REI store. I had been having issue with my handheld Garmin 550T GPS receiver. The power button is the weak point of the unit. A week or so ago, the button bit the dust and I had fabricated a replacement from the clip of a cheap plastic pen. It took a bit of work to file the new button and got it to fit and work, but it seemed to do the trick. Given how much I have used this Garmin since I got it over 4 years ago, I figured I could splurge for the newer model. I had ordered it online from REI and had them ship it to the Richmond store. The one I got is the Garmin 750T. It has an identical form factor to my old one meaning my RAM mount for the bike will still work. But this one has both Bluetooth and Wi-fi capability! I’ll need to see how well it works. Once the rain started, there wasn’t much to do so I headed to the library not far from the campground. We seem to check out a great many libraries as we travel the country and have found wi-fi speed to range all over the map. Some have been so slow, we just leave after realizing how painful uploading a blog or doing anything will be. This library has now taken the top spot on our list. It had over 100 Mbps down and over 200 Mbps up!

Button Fix on Garmin Oregon 650T

The following morning, Chris went grocery shopping. Not her favorite thing to do but today was different. We had seen signs for Wegmans in the area and she found one not too far from the campground. For those not familiar with Wegmans, it is a grocery store chain centered out of Rochester NY where we lived for 30 plus years. But it’s not just any grocery store. They seem to be special. I remember years back, we would even take visiting family members there just to show them the store. After coming back with loads of groceries, Chris’ comment was it felt like she was back home in Rochester being in the store. Ah the simple things we gave up by living in our motorhome full time.

That afternoon we went for short walk on another trail in Pocahontas SP. Given how much rain we had the day before, the trails were in remarkably good and dry condition. Originally we were a bit concerned given one of the trails we intended to hike was called the Muddy Buddy Trail! There were some creative geocache hides along the way. Pocahontas SP is on our list of places we should come back to for a longer stay. Four nights wasn’t adequate to check it all out or any of the other things to see in the Richmond area. 

Fungus Tree

Geocache Hiding Spot

Mushroom with Odd Drapery?

We now have four days left and 500 miles to get to our spot in Georgia. We decide to just do a quick overnight in Rocky Mount North Carolina. There is an Elks Lodge that has two 30 amp spots. Being Sunday, this lodge wasn’t open but this just meant we wouldn’t need to contend with parked cars. From what we had read, it wasn’t clear whether the outlets would be turned on when the lodge isn’t open. Before I bothered to navigate into the spot next to the pavilion, I got out my multimeter and found we were good to go. We didn’t know what the rate to stay was and when Chris walked around the lodge to see if there was any place to even drop an envelope with a check in it, so found nothing. Twenty minutes after arriving a car pulled up and a he headed to the rear entrance. I stepped out to say hi and ask him what he knew about us camping here. He was a member of this lodge, but unfamiliar with the camping setup. We asked if he would place a check at the bar so the bartender could deal with it the following day. Problem solved.

After he left, I realized this might be the ideal place to wash the rig. There were no signs saying we couldn’t, and nobody here to complain. So we spent an hour making the motorhome look shiny again. It had been some time since it had a bath. We head into town before dark just to check out the area. The old mill district is undergoing what looks to be a revitalization effort. There are all sorts of shops and restaurants with others under construction. Admittedly we really didn’t get to experience much of Rocky Mount, but it was better than nothing.

Old Water Tower

Water was High

Our next stop was going to be an Elks Lodge in Sumter South Carolina. They had a few RV spots with 30 and 50 amp connections. It would get us close to the area where the South Carolina state star is. What’s that? You ask. Each state has a series of 51 geocaches that are arranged in the shape of a star. The containers are not at the locations posted but are at different coordinates that need to be solved. We have done the stars in the states of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. We don’t tend to go out of our way to find the star in each state, but if it happens to be close by we might. When I solved for the final coordinates, the caches seemed to be along a trail through a forest in South Carolina southwest of Sumter. 

South Carolina Star

The drive to Sumter was a bit over the 200 mile maximum we try to stay within, but it would allow us to stay put for 3 days straight. As we turn onto the road where the lodge is, we see construction signs. Fortunately the bridge being worked on was just a hundred feet or so beyond the lodge. The bigger problem was the lot where the RV spots are located are on the other side of the road beyond a locked gate. The lodge wasn’t open on Mondays and we didn’t, luck out by finding somebody there to ask. The construction guys were not able to help us either. It looks like the lot where the RV spaces are situated was going to be some sort of haunted house for Halloween. 

We hadn’t really had a plan B so we get back in the rig and see what our options were. Poinsett State Park is about 20 miles away and from the description, our rig could fit. Some reviews for the campgrounds complained about the road conditions, but when Chris called to check for availability, she asked about the roads. The ranger asked if I was a nervous driver or experienced. He said we would be fine and we head off in order to get there before they close. The last mile or two of road into the campground was narrow but with no traffic coming the opposite direction I didn’t have trouble. Chris got us a site and we unhitched the Jeep. The drive into the campground was steep, narrow and changed to gravel partway through. I just took it real slow trying not to clip any trees in the process. For the three nights we planned on staying here, it would do just fine. In fact, the trail with the 51 state star caches was only a couple miles away from camp.

The next morning we pack a lunch and drive to the southern parking area for the Palmetto Trail where the caches are located. Just as we hop out of the car to gather our things for our hike, a dog walks up to check us out. He is wearing a couple collars with antennas and even had some sort of lights on one of the collars. The number 93 was somehow marked onto his side. He seemed friendly enough but wouldn’t come close enough to let us investigate more thoroughly. Obviously 93 was some sort of hunting dog and we figured he was just leading the pack and we would run into others as well as the hunters associated with him as we started our geocaching hike. 

From our parking spot we had caches in all four directions but the majority of them were north on the Palmetto trail so we started that way with the plan to go until just before lunch, then head back to the car, eat and attempt the ones along the road and the few south on the trail. The trail itself was for the most part okay although there were several areas with deep, loose sand which made for slow hiking. We were finding most of the caches but not all of them so the overall pace wasn’t too fast. After getting a bit turned around on the main trail and some side trails, we eventually got about half of the star caches done and turned back for lunch. 

We got back to the car several hours later and as we came out onto the dirt road to head to the parking lot guess who was there to greet us? Yup 93 with his tail wagging quickly as if he had been patiently waiting for our return and was happy to see us. Obviously we were mistaken about him being on a hunt. It seemed more likely he was lost. He still didn’t want to approach too closely even when we poured water into a container for him. I knew a sure fire way to get him close enough to read his collars. We had ham sandwiches for lunch. It only took a small amount of ham and he was right at my hand. Chris read off two different phone numbers and I wrote them down. 

A quick call to the first one (good thing we had cell service) got a response. The owner was on his way and was glad to hear 93 was okay. He figured he would be there in half an hour or so. We finished lunch and 93 licked out our yogurt containers just like our dog Shelby would have and had a drink of water. Then he laid down in the shade by our Jeep. After 45 minutes, the owner still wasn’t there so Chris headed out to get a couple caches while I dog sat. When she returned, she watched 93 and I headed down the road to find the few caches in that direction. I was just a thousand feet or so from the car when I saw a pickup truck bouncing down the dirt road towards me. The owner had made it. I finished up the cache and walked back to chat with him. 

"93" Resting

Turned out he was out with his hunting dogs yesterday over by a swamp area a couple miles away. When he finished up, 93 had gone missing and even with a GPS tracking collar, he was unable to locate him in the dark of night. So he gave up around 11 PM and headed home to be able to get to work at 6 AM today. His plan was to come back after work and look for 93 when we called him with the news. According to the tracking collar data, 93 had wandered around for over 30 miles in the 24 hours he had been out. I suppose that’s why he was so laid back - he was tuckered out. He got into his crate in the bed of the truck and we said our goodbyes. 

The next day, we drive to the northern parking area for the Palmetto Trail and headed south. From the looks of thing, a fire had come through here within the last year or so. It made a mess of things and definitely made it really tough to identify the actual trail. We just used geocaches as our indication of where the trail must have been. We eventually get to an area where the trail was much better and easier to follow. We ended up finding 46 of the 51 state star caches. The following morning we head out of the campground and again don’t run into any traffic going the opposite direction. Next stop: Savannah Georgia. 

Rockland Maine and Wandering South

Map of this blog's locations click this link to open the map

We’re already a quarter of the way through October and need to get heading south. We have needed to turn on the heat many of the evenings and the weather forecast is starting to at least mention the word snow in northern Maine. We identify an Elks Lodge in Rockland that sounds nice and is about 150 miles away. So that’s the next destination. Fortunately in the week we have been in Lubec, some of the construction issues we ran into on the way up here are now a little better. There are still one way sections but at least what was a dirt road on the way up is now paved. The Rockland lodge is well off the main road on what seems to have been a very newly paved driveway and parking lot. Glad we didn’t show up during the paving since that would have screwed up our plans. The “camping” area is off to the side in the lawn but includes 50 amp electric. They have a water faucet on the side of the building we use to fill up our fresh water tank before picking an orientation on the lawn that is reasonably level and offers a great view. All this for $10 a night!

Our View from Rig at Rockland Elks

Star Shot

The following day we head back north about 20 miles to Camden Hills State Park with the goal of getting in some hiking. We had scoped out a set of trails that would give us a nice loop hike. Things started out pretty good. Parked at the trailhead to the Megunticook Trail and started up. When we hit the split to see Adam’s Lookout, we headed that direction. In hindsight, this was a poor choice. It was downhill for part of the loop that we just needed to make up for on the other half and there wasn’t really any “lookout” to be had. Just skip that side trail and head straight to Ocean Lookout. There were about ten other people at the lookout and the views were pretty dramatic. The fall colors were in overdrive mode and were quite the sight to see. You can see the town of Camden, the port and the ocean beyond. 

Leaves in a Stream

View Over Ocean

Great View at Ocean Lookout

Intense Fall Colors

Overlooking Camden from Ocean Lookout

From here, we continue up the trail that goes to the peak of Mount Megunticook. We didn’t see others along this portion of the trail. I suspect most people just hike up to the overlook and then head back down. At this point, we are on the Ridge Trail but know we need to find the Jack Williams Trail that will head halfway down the hill and then run parallel to the Ridge Trail just a few hundred feet lower in elevation. Even though the trails up to this point had been pretty well marked, we just couldn’t seem to find the trail down. As we head down the hill, we sometimes think we are on a trail, but then it just disappears. The park should spring for a fresh coat of paint to mark this trail. Eventually, the trail becomes more obvious and we continue along planning to intersect the Megunticook Trail again. We do get to a point where we could see up to the viewpoint above and see people looking out. If they saw us down there, they likely wondered how we got there. We finally made it back to the car after nearly 7 miles of hiking. Our recommendation is to be like the normal people - hike up to the Ocean Lookout and then retrace your steps back. You’ll save some miles and see the best part of the loop we did.

Another Nice View Along Trail

Looking Back Up at Overlook

Our ~7 Mile Loop

Just up the road from our parking spot is an even more popular viewing spot - Mt Battie Overlook. It’s much more crowded here because you can drive to the top and park with only short walks to see the views below. It is about 500 feet lower in elevation then the one we hiked to but the views are nearly as good. Although by then, the storm that was to be coming in had brought in lots of clouds and some pretty strong winds. We headed to three nearby geocaches before calling it a day and heading back home. The rains did come and the next day was a wet one. We decided to extend our stay here a couple more days to get in a few more destinations. 

Panoramic View from Mt Battie Overlook

View Opposite Ocean

Port at Camden Maine

Mt Battie Tower

The weather improved the next day so we headed a little southwest of Rockland to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. It was a surprisingly popular spot for an overcast morning. It cost $3 per person to enter the grounds whether you drive in or walk in. When we first arrived, the lighthouse tower wasn’t open yet but there is a lot to see around the grounds and in the museum in the small house next to the lighthouse. It is a pretty picturesque spot. The rocky shore has very interesting rock formations.

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

Old Warning Bell

Rock Layers Lead the Way

Another Warning Bell

Rocky Coast

After checking out the immediate area around the lighthouse, we headed along the rocky shore over to a geocache 700 feet away. Since this area isn’t part of the lighthouse park, we were the only ones out in this area. All along the shore were rocks that have been tumbled to smooth shapes. Some are small, on the order of fist sized while others were several feet around. What was most fascinating about them is they all seemed to be different colors and patterns. It isn’t clear what phenomena or event has caused this section of the shoreline to be covered by rocks with such a variety of patterns, but it is quite neat. They would have made for an incredible cobblestone house or wall if only we could sneak them out of here without arousing suspicion. 

Cairn Building Area

Beautiful Rocks

More Rocks

When we got back to the lighthouse, it was now open for tours. We ate our lunch to allow time for the initial influx of visitors to subside. A volunteer greets visitors on the way in and gives a brief background of the lighthouse, and then as one group leaves, another is allowed up the stairs. Like most lighthouses, the stairs are a spiral design until you get near the top, then you have a short section of ladder to climb through the small opening to get to the light. Our group of four, dropped down to three when the other wife decided here fear of heights was going to win. Chris persevered and slowly made it up and down the tower. The cloudy weather greatly diminished the views and since we aren’t able to get out on the catwalk around the outside perimeter, pictures through the glass have lots of reflections. It was still worth the visit.

Stained Glass in Museum

Oh Buoy!

Spiral Staircase to Light

Light and Fresnel Lens

View from Tower

Part of our goal for the day was to get a few more geocaches so that we could complete our 12,000 find milestone. We had picked out a highly favorited cache in the area and planned to make it our milestone cache. This one was back in Rockland at the breakwater pier. The 4300 foot long breakwater was started in 1881 and took 18 years to complete! Being Maine, the whole thing was built using granite. The top surface is about 16 feet wide but the whole thing is at least double that width. At the tip of the breakwater is a lighthouse and a geocache. We started our journey out and from the looks of things, it was a good thing the tide was a couple hours past high tide. I suspect if you attempt the walk at high tide on a windy day, you’ll be getting wet. 

Rockland Breakwater - Lighthouse Barely Visible at Far Right

Chris Starts Walk Out

Lighthouse In Distance

Getting Closer

Plaque on Lighthouse

Top of Lighthouse Almost Visible

The amazing thing about the top surface of the granite is just how level the thing is. Yes, there are some gaps between the split blocks and if you’re not careful, you could easily twist an ankle or worse. But since the blocks were all split, not cut, the top walkway is quite flat and level. Roughly midway along the walk, there is a single 16 foot stone that spans the width of the walkway. Based on the size of these stones, each block is likely on the order of 2 or 3 tons which may explain why it took so long to construct it. Once at the lighthouse end, it is difficult to actually see the light tower since it doesn’t stick up much higher than the surrounding house. A boat ride would have given a much better view. We managed to find our cache without drawing suspicion from others out for a walk.

Heading Back to Shore

Full Width Granite Block

Looking at Breakwater as Clouds Break

The next day was to be another rainy one but we had saved an indoor activity in town for just an occasion. The Maine Lighthouse Museum is in the downtown area. It isn’t a huge place but it does house quite the collection of fresnel lenses, fog horns and other lighthouse related memorabilia. We spent an hour or more just wandering around the place learning all about Maine’s lighthouses. We have seen quite a few of them during our 8 weeks in the state. Many of the ones we haven’t seen can only be reached by boat, so seeing them all would take a fair amount of planning. After the museum, we went just a few blocks away to Bixby and Company - a small chocolate maker. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as the Theo Chocolate in Seattle, but we did sample a few types that were sitting out and watched some activity going on in the production area. It looks like this is a 2 or 3 person operation but the samples were good.

Entrance Sign

Picture of 70 Maine Lighthouses

Second Order Fresnel Lens

Fog Horns

Interesting Boat Planter

With cold weather on the way, we decide we need to continue our trek south. Our 55 nights in Maine were definitely fun but it feels like we barely scratched the surface. The next stop is on the northern end of the Massachusetts coast. On our drive, we stop in Yarmouth Maine at what is now a Garmin facility. We had previously stopped here several years ago when it was owned by DeLorme. There is a three story tall globe that spins around. Being a Sunday, the place was closed but the parking lot was nice and big and made for a good lunch stop. 

Salisbury Beach State Reservation is just a few miles south of the New Hampshire border. It wasn’t too busy this time of year, but from the looks of the beach area, I suspect this place is quite busy during the summer months. We only book our site for two nights to give us a chance to check out the area. We walk along the beach after getting camp setup. It is a fairly peaceful location this time of year. The following day, we drive across the Merrimack River into Newburyport. This is obviously the tourist town associated with the camping area. We had a dreary morning to walk along the river and check out some of the shops in town. When the rain finally did come in, we found a pizza place for lunch then off to the library we went. 

Salisbury Beach State Reservation

Late Afternoon Along Beach

Dune Area

Lots of Boats at Newburyport MA

Unique Art in Newburyport

Old Rail Bridge Over Merrimack River

Seahorse Framed by Arch

Large Buoy

Needs His Raincoat

Our next goal had been to drive west through Massachusetts and camp just inside New York, but I mentioned to Chris that we have never found geocaches in either Rhode Island or Connecticut so we come up with a side trip to remedy that. There is an Elks Lodge in Putnam Connecticut which is very close to Rhode Island. If we get in there early enough, we could go out for our geocaches and only need to spend one night in the process. The lodge was easy to get to but is at the end of a dead end residential street - never a great feeling when driving the motorhome with Jeep in tow. Right in front of the lodge was a huge tent like you would rent for a wedding reception. Of course we were supposed to park on the opposite side of the thing. Fortunately the lodge was already open and we went in to check with the bartender. They have another gravel area off the lower parking lot and we are welcome to setup there. They don’t have utilities but for one night we will be fine. 

We figure out which geocaches we wanted to go for in both states and first drive over to Buck Hill wildlife management area in northwestern Rhode Island. As we parked and started on the trail, we saw the warning sign about needing to wear blaze orange whether you are hunting deer or not. We have the vests and hats, but they are back in the motorhome so we just do the couple caches by the parking lot instead of the better sounding ones along the trail. Note to self, keep our blaze orange gear in the car! From here we drove back to Connecticut and parked at the trailhead to a rail trail. There are a series of caches places along here and we go until just before sunset before heading back to the rig. The work crew was just finishing up the tent removal but we had no need to move to the other parking area.

View Along Rail Trail in Connecticut

With our finds in these two states, we are down to just 6 more to go - North and South Dakota, Montana, Kansas, Alaska and Hawaii. Four of those are going to be easy in the motorhome. The next morning we reverse our course and head back to the Massachusetts Turnpike and head west. Having our EZ-Pass transponder works out well for our drives in the northeast. It hadn’t been used in years, so it was good to know it was still active. We just need to remember to shield the one in the Jeep so we don’t get double billed since the one in the motorhome is configured for our towing a vehicle. Our next goal is a KOA in Saugerties NY. The drive went well and the park wasn’t super crowded. The campground is very wooded and navigating the turns around trees required a slow drive - much slower then the woman in the golf cart leading us to our spot. With full hookups and cable, it was a good spot for Chris to get caught up on laundry. 

We really hadn’t done any planning as to what we might do from a sightseeing standpoint while In Saugerties. We got in early enough to head out and check out the Saugerties Lighthouse. There is about 1/3 mile walk out to the lighthouse from the parking lot. Several geocaches along the path warn about checking the tide tables. We have grown accustomed to dealing with the tides while being in coastal Maine, and yes Saugerties is along the Hudson River. But it is over 100 miles from the ocean, we were somewhat flabbergasted that the tide impacted this far upriver. As luck would have it, we were near low tide although high tide was only 3 feet higher. Part way along the trail was a small shack with half dozen muck boots in different sizes. I guess even if we had come during high tide, we could have borrowed the boots and kept dry feet.

A Small Rainbow on Way to Lighthouse

 

Nice Touch - Borrow Some Boots

View Along Hudson River

The lighthouse is pretty and with the late afternoon sun had a nice glow to it. The “residents” were unloading a small boat with plastic bags full of coal. They had a few dozen of them and when we asked them about it, this was the heat source for the home. I can’t say I have ever seen bags of coal for sale but apparently they can be purchased. 

Old Place

But Pretty Place

River Side of Lighthouse

1869

As We Head Back

That evening, I tried to determine what we would do on our “off travel” day. It was then I discovered that where Saugerties is located, we were wishing easy driving distance of four New York State counties that we had yet to find geocaches in. There are only a few bridges across the Hudson, so it was going to take about a 50 mile drive to complete the loop. Upon looking for other things to see or do along this drive, we discovered Olana State Historic Site. Even though we had never heard of it, it sounded like an interesting thing to at least check out.

The next morning we headed south and crossed over the Hudson. Even this far from New York City, there was a toll to cross the bridge! We grabbed a couple caches in a park and ride area before heading north. Olana is just across the Hudson from the town of Catskill. The property consists of 250 acres of rolling wooded landscape. When we arrive, we see if we can purchase tickets for a tour of the home. Tickets were available but we would need to wait 90 minutes or so. We figure this would give us a chance to walk on some of the trails and find a few geocaches on the grounds. The owner of the house and property was Frederic Church - a painter from the mid to late 1800’s. Apparently a fairly well off painter given the appearance of the home and property. Situated on a hill, there seem to be nice views in just about all directions. There are creative bent wood benches scattered about the property where there are nice views of the river or the distance Catskill Mountains. 

Beautiful Setting

Unique Bench with a View

House from Trail Below

Olana Perched on Hill

Modern "Artwork?" on Grounds

Overlooking Mountains

Ornate Home

At noon, we show up with 8 other people to get a tour of the inside of the home. Our volunteer guide was a wealth of information about the owners, his artwork and his thoughts on architecture and decorating. It is definitely a unique place. Now owned and run by the NY Park Service, the place is well maintained and was a fun thing to see along the route. The decorations were not to our liking but given the timeframe the home was constructed it probably was a work of art. It was an eclectic and extremely busy decorating style. 

Detailed Entrance

Arches and Stencilling Everywhere

Front Door

Arched View

Detailed Frame

Fancy Fireplace

Reading Room

Staircase

From here, we head back across the Hudson and aren’t charged while heading in the westbound direction. We stop for a quick and late lunch before heading to the RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary for a bit of a walk and to get a couple caches in this next county. It was a nice afternoon for a walk and the first part of the walk was along a road next to some meadow areas before heading into the woods. There is a substantial observation tower that looks to have been built as part of some overzealous Eagle Scout’s project. It was a nice way to end the day and see a pretty part of New York State we haven’t experienced before.

Huge Eagle Scout Project

The route we picked to head south might seem a bit haphazard or at least out of the way. To a great extent, it was chosen mainly to avoid I-95 through the major east cost cities - Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and DC. Since we really don’t want to visit these places right now and we truly hate the traffic that comes with them, we have purposely headed further inland and plan on coming down I-81. We were even going to swing through Greensboro NC to visit friends until we found out they weren’t going to be home and were on a camping trip. 

As we continue to wing it, we stop about halfway between Scranton and Harrisburg Pennsylvania in the town of St Clair. It’s just a simple Walmart stop. One that is far enough off the expressway to hopefully be a little more quiet. This stop gets us nearly halfway to our next reserved spot in Savannah Georgia. Often when we are doing the overnight stops at a Walmart or the like, we will go out for dinner or at least pick up something from nearby. We found a restaurant a few hundred feet from our parking spot and stopped in for a great meal, beer and even some decent live music. If you happen to find yourself in the neighborhood for some reason, we can highly recommend Vito’s Coal Fired Pizza and Restaurant. The best part was we didn’t have far to go to get home.