Return to the Keystone State

  Greetings to all in the Keystone State. We left Michigan on September 9 for Mercer, PA. We set up the trailer in the yard of my old friend TC:

The next day was the opening week of the NFL season and of course we all gathered for the Steeler's game:

The original plan was to watch the game on the big screen in the house but we never made it inside because it was such a splendid day. Basked in sunshine we enjoyed a victory over the hapless Brownies while "tailgating".

  We all enjoyed each other's company, got caught up on life, and reminisced about the past. We also planned our trip to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Doreen and I would get a campsite and TC would rent a camping cabin with Ron tagging along.

The Grand Canyon is located near Wellsboro, PA in north central PA. There was a trail at the campground that led to the visitor center of the state park that the three of them took and Doreen and I drove over.

A very nice overlook:

We hung out each night by the fire and enjoyed the rustic environs:

The men did all of the cooking and cleaning:

Tres amigos:

After visiting the overlook we took a stroll along the trail at the bottom of the canyon along Pine Creek:

We had four different modes of transportation on the trail:

Fifty somethings hearkening back to their inner child playing in the creek:

The scenery was gorgeous:

Ron picked wildflowers for the ladies:

We all had a voracious appetite after a lovely day and returned to the camp.

A rainy day the next day and TC and Chris rested up so Doreen and I took a ride into Wellsboro:

A quaint little town. We had lunch and took a ride to the west rim of the canyon and found the handicap accessible trail:

This was a much better vantage point to view the canyon. Luckily the rain stopped for a while and the resulting mist made for a beautiful scene:

  After a three day stay at the campground we bid adieu to our friends and headed to Jessup, PA just outside of Scranton to stay at Doreen's mother's house. I parked the trailer in my mother-in-law's driveway and use it as my own little getaway:

  We are having a nice dose of Indian Summer here in NEPA with the mercury approaching 90. We attended Oktoberfest at PNC Field, home of the AAA SWB Railriders farm team for the New York Yankees.

The vendors were stationed around the concourse and on the field.

Polka music and German food plus many Oktoberfest brews:

Wiener dog races:

  We were having a pleasant time until Doreen thought she lost her cell phone. After using the restroom we had walked about halfway around the concourse and I stopped to buy some alcohol infused cigars when she said she didn't have her cell phone. She went back to the same restroom to look for it but could not find it. Of course we got separated and lost each other. Eventually we reunited (after the Wiener dog races. I wasn't missing that) and tried to figure out what to do. I was on my phone with Verizon, Doreen was enlisting the help of a Lackawanna County Sheriffs Deputy and I was stressing out. 

  We were now an hour-and-a-half into the lost phone fiasco when Doreen said she was going back to the same restroom one more time. When she came back, her face told the story. She said while in the restroom she decided to make use of the facilities since she was there and, as she got up from her scooter saw her phone on the seat of the scooter.--She had been sitting on it the entire time! Even though I made numerous calls to the phone her butt muffled my ring tone. 

  That is the end of this story. 

Catching You Up

  South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan are in the rear view mirror and we are now in Pennsylvania. The stop in Nebraska was at Two Rivers State Recreation Area on August 22

A very nice campground with interesting options for accommodations like a caboose:

I was enjoying sitting outside during the evening listening to Pirate's baseball on my SiriusXM radio when both of my batteries went dead so I called Allstate Roadside Assistance the next day:

After the batteries were juiced up we took a ride into Omaha. We checked out Lauritzen Gardens Park where two of the largest locomotives ever built are on display:

  The massive locomotives are a tribute to Omaha's role in the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the linking of the east and west with a ribbon of steel.

We took a ride through Omaha's Little Italy section which is marked by a 15 foot tall fork twirling spaghetti:

Next it was off to the Old Market District:

Omaha served as a hub between eastward and westward traveling trains and the Old Market was the was where goods were traded. Now it is a collection of shops, bars, and restaurants.

  Next stop was Sandy Beach Campground in Iowa on August 25. It is an Army Corps of Engineers facility which are usually very nice and very inexpensive:

We were about half way between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. We stayed for a week to catch up on laundry, grocery shopping, and trailer repairs. The snap clip on my hitch bent so I looked for a place to either fix it or replace it. I ended up finding a metal shop that was able to bend it back into shape.

Asia and I hanging out:

We found a nice retro dinner place in Cedar Rapids:

Not much to see or do in the middle of Iowa but we found a National Historic Site called Amana Colonies. Amana Colonies is an isolated village founded by German immigrants that were fleeing persecution in the late nineteenth century because of their religious beliefs. They shunned modern ideas and lived by a principle of sharing the wealth. They wanted to be left alone and found Iowa ideal for farming and living self-sufficiently. Ironically it is now a tourist hot spot.

Wineries and microbreweries plus shops and furniture makers and all the usual ways to spend your money.

Doreen after a couple of samples from the brewery:

The Chicken Dance song was playing in the background and early afternoon beer went right to her head!

Our next stop was Pine Country in Belvidere Illinois on September 1

We had a nice time here over the Labor Day holiday and met some great locals camping behind us. We joined them for the fish fry at the lodge and they gave us a recommendation to go for a good Chicago dog. 

Portillos is a Chicago Land institution:

Next stop was Bear Cave in Buchanan Michigan:

We had a scenic site along the St. Joe river but only had water and electric hook up. The next day a full hook up site opened up and we moved there.

An interesting campground but a little run down. I found the game room and had a flash back to the early 1980's:

Ms. Pac-Man was still 25 cents so I proceeded to put the high score up and then top that about four times.

Lake Michigan was only 12 miles away and we took a ride:

Had to make a stop for beverages and smokes:

We stumbled on a small town called Bridgman:

Two beer tastings and a wine tasting later it was time for dinner:

  That wraps up the trip from South Dakota to Pennsylvania. The Midwest is fairly unremarkable. We did not visit Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and North Dakota. I don't know if we will visit those states but Doreen wants to fill in our map:

 That will have to wait until next year. I am anxious to return to Florida for the winter. I still have a post for the PA visit and that will be soon.