Day 2 – We both slept well; funny how just driving can make you tired. The cats must’ve slept well, too, because it was 6:30 a.m. before they started wreaking havoc (their way of getting us to get up & make breakfast). We got up at 7 a.m., 50 degrees & very foggy.
We decided to go ahead and leave today rather than staying another night just so we could go kayaking, but we did fit in a great bike ride before getting a late start at 10:15 a.m. We rode all around the Park, much of the area we’d covered by car yesterday afternoon. The lake looked really nice with the mist rising from it, the hills lovely with the slightest hint of color appearing in the trees; 57 degrees, partly cloudy. We added the Pennsylvania sticker to our U.S. camping map (see below). We’ll definitely come back here during off-season again.
Bald Eagle State Park, Russell P. Letterman Campground, 149 Main Park Rd., Howard Township, PA, (814) 625-2775, reservations (888) 727-2757, check-in 3 p.m., check-out 3 p.m., http://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/BaldEagleStatePark/Pages/default.aspx. The State Park is on many acres in the hills on a big lake. Very clean, very quiet, we had our pick of sites off-season. It’s very busy in the summer. There are 3 separate loops for camping: full hook-up (no pets), electric only (pets allowed), & primitive camping. Site #64 – limited shade at all sites in this loop; we had bushes next to one side & a tree on the other side; couldn’t see any other campers. Wonderful bike & hiking trails. Lots of boating, lake allows motorized boats; many boat launches, several marinas, a lodge, cabins, a few yurts, etc. Canoe/kayak launch south where no motorized boating is allowed. Lots of birding here & plenty of bald eagle nests in trees around the lake. Open in the winter for skiing. Full Fall colors would be outstanding.
We drove south about ½ hour & got back on I-80 W. As we approached the Ohio border, it wasn’t as hilly & there were more farmlands. Some road work on the Interstate but not enough traffic to cause major delays. HUGE amount of trucks going both ways. The clouds increased & it became a little more humid but remained cool. As we crossed the border into OH, we saw more farms. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop & discovered that the Ohio Turnpike (I-80 in Ohio) has camping for RV’s at some of their rest stops – good thing to know. 74 degrees.
I-80 heading toward OH
We decided to try to stay the night at Geneva State Park on Lake Erie. We’d seen this Park last Spring when we went for a drive to take pictures of covered bridges, paintings on barns, & do a wine tasting. We called & they had plenty of sites available. Got back on I-80 W until reaching OH-11 N in eastern Ohio; we headed north towards the Lake. Since we were in the area & had enjoyed our stop at M Cellars Winery on the previous trip, we decided to stop by on the way to the campground & get some more wine. Walked away with a case of wine, all of it on sale. The question is where to put it; the RV is packed FULL due to the length of this trip.
Note to Carol & Ted: northeastern Ohio is wine country and wineries, tours, & tastings are everywhere! It’s a big deal here – you should plan on visiting!
We arrived at Geneva State Park at 3:50 p.m. Very nice park near Lake Erie. We drove around to pick a campsite, then booked site #66, electric only, shaded & wooded, completely private & quiet. 72 degrees, humid & partly cloudy. Very few bugs – YAAA.
The campground is only about 1/3 full. Only 4 sites are full hook-ups; they were taken. Site #66 was in the no-pets section, but the ranger said we could take it because we had cats & they’d be staying inside. Plus there was no one camping around us at all. Seeing that during the week it’s absolutely no problem getting a site this time of year without a reservation, made me feel better; the planner in me had been squawking. But when I mentioned how empty the campgrounds were to rangers at both of these Parks we’ve stayed at, they both said they were booked full on weekends. Uh oh, my planning radar is going off again.
We relaxed, had an early dinner, fed the cats, and then I got online & started looking at the weekend ahead. Sure enough, most State Parks were booked; so we went ahead and got reservations for us for the weekend – couldn’t help myself. LOL. Now I feel more secure. To bed early. The girls did great again. All is well.