Out East - The Alleghenies and Skyline and Blue Ridge Parkways - Report #1

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Len and Jo

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Apr 25, 2005
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Pennsylvania's Route 6 across the Alleghenies and the Delaware River Loop

Route 6 was the longest continuous highway in the U.S. until 1965 when Route 20 claimed the title.  Route 6 runs from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts.  Rte 6 from Warren to Scranton crosses in northern Pennsylvania is very scenic.  It follows old Indian trails, crosses the Allegheny National Forest, and is close to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

The Delaware River Loop is a magnificent scenic drive around the Kittatinny Ridge.  It goes through both New Jersey and Pennsylvania and covers about 100 miles of roads.  The north end is at New Jersey High Point State Park and the south end is at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Kittatinny Point visitor center.  The drive starts at Kittatinny Point visitor center (where I-80 crosses the Delaware River) and going clockwise routes 615 north, 521 norths, 23 south, 519 south, 206 west, 521 south, and 94 south back to the visitors center.

Geneva on the Lake State Park has about 100 camping sites and most have electricity and can be reserved in advance.  The park is in excellent condition with new paved roads, camping pads and freshly redone restrooms and showers.  Of the many sites only 5 were occupied the evening of May 20th.  The camping fee was $26 per weekday night and a dollar more on weekends.

Ate lunch at Snubby's in Warren (at Hickory St and Route 6 intersection).  The wraps and French onion soup were very good.
If you want to see the really old mansions in Warren, get off Rte 6 and go one the streets just north of it, such as Fourth Street.  6 east from Warren goes though the half-a-million acre Alleghany National Forest.

The campground (30 sites) at the Leonard Harrison (Pennsylvania's spectacular Grand Canyon) was closed to camping.  We stayed at the Canyon Country Campground (Good Sam's) just outside the park.  They said the State Park campground was closed for two years for renovations and then opened for three days this April and then was closed again.  Expected to open again in June.  Assume not all of the renovations went well. The Canyon Country Campground is very small and tight, but also very clean and the showers are in excellent shape.  The camping fee was $27 per night.  Only two camp sites occupied this evening but they are 100% booked for the holiday week end starting tomorrow night.

Eggs in a bag!  We used our hot pot to do more than warm water this morning for tea and coffee.  We put scrambled eggs in a zip lock bag in the pots boiling water.  Kneaded the bag every minute or so and in 3-4 minutes had hot cooked scrambled eggs ready for breakfast.  Got the idea from my Girl Scout sister.  Another day we will have to try pouching some eggs that way.  No dirty frying pan to clean or Colman stove to put away.

Went to the scenic overlook at Leonard Harrison SP this morning.  We were here maybe 10 years ago and the view is still wonderful.  The temperature is in the low 40's, windy and hints of rain.

Many of the old river towns along the route have beautifully restored homes.  The town of Towanda is really one to drive as slow as can along Route 6 as it goes through the town on the western side.  The houses line both sides of the highway and it was hard to drive slow enough to take them all in.

Last year on our US-2 trip we had no trouble camping during the Memorial Day weekend, indeed with so many campgrounds and the western areas low population density we could tell no difference except that maybe some grounds were getting near half full.  Not the same story here in the east.  The state campground sites appear to be almost 100% advance reservations and parks are 100 percent booked.  We called ahead to get  a site for tonight at High Point.  No reservation needed for Thursday night but starting Friday they are full.  We got to High Point just before the Ranger office closed (4:00pm) and had to wait because of a group in front of us.  It appears that the Governor of New Jersey wants to close ALL State Parks to help balance the state budget.  Lot of talk in that regards.  When we got to the window after 4pm they said site 17 was available and for us to take it and come back at 9:00am in the morning to pay for it and that we could also have it for Friday night.  Ya.

It was chilly this morning, but I think the rain is finally gone.  After breakfast we drove back to the office register for one more night, went back to camp to put our card on the post, and took off for the day to do the Delaware Cut circle.  We found The Gap and Kittatinny Point Visitor Center (closed for season yet) found a map and drove the Old Mine Road which follows the Delaware River.  It's a very pretty forest road.  Stopped at Wallpack Center (an 1800s historical rural town), but it's only open on weekends. We walked around the village a little.  Drove through Peters Valley Craft Education Center and by Dingmans Falls on the way back to camp.  We took about eight hours for the trip but really needed twelve hours to see it all.

Retraced our route to Peter's Valley Craft Education Center to tour the shops.  There was only one because it truly was an education center and the shop sold what the students made.  Really neat stuff.  We spotted a young bear, maybe one year old, running at the side of the road.  It ran off thru someone's yard as we came near, but we got a good view of it.  They really can run fast.  We also saw some deer a couple times this morning before entering PA again.  Then it was on to Dingman Falls by way of a VERY narrow toll bridge.  We had to stop each time a car came the other way: The falls were very pretty: high over 2 tiers of rock.  The walk in was all on boardwalk or smooth tightly packed gravel which made the walking very easy.  We then headed south-east along Routes 209 and 222.

Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway ending at Smoky Mountain National Park


We stopped at a diner for a late lunch so no supper is necessary tonight. We were concerned with finding a place to stay with this being Memorial Day weekend.  Stopped at 5pm at a private camp about 6 miles off the road.  It's an "interesting" spot: lots of families together, lots of kids, lots of dogs.  Lots to watch.  We have a shady spot on a small river which makes it nice.

Beautiful day today.  Sun is out and nary a cloud in sight.  The approach to Gettysburg is through small towns where homes and shops are within an arms length of the road.  If a person were standing on the porch you could shake their hand from your car window.  We are driving south along Routes 222, 30, 15, and 340 today.  Speed limits vary mainly from 44 to 55 mph with a few spots of 65 mixed in.

We stocked up on groceries and ice today (Weis Market 1800 Roosevelt Ave. York, Pa. - north side of Route 30 at Roosevelt Ave.) and got some shrimp and cocktail sauce to have for lunch.    We also will use up much of the lettuce we have left for a salad.  Weis Market was very large and complete grocery store, had great looking meat and reasonably priced gas pumps.  But no wine....rats!?must be Pennsylvania.  We stopped for lunch on the south side of Gettysburg National Park.  There was a quite short road inside the park named Howe Rd. and it had several shade trees and several monuments to Union divisions that stopped there in reserve for Little Round Top and other places.  A fitting Memorial Day weekend stop.

Looks like we will make Front Royal today sometime after 3:30pm.  Front Royal is at the north entrance of the Skyline Drive.  There are two private campgrounds near there and a national forest one about 30 miles down the Skyline.  We will figure out what we will do when we get to Front Royal.  Holiday weekend they may all be full.  The Harpers Ferry area is really busy.  Lots of kayakers, rafters near the Potomac and may people on foot at the National Park.

Oh, oh gas is 'only' $3.79 or so in the Front Royal area.  Oh, oh.  The outside temperature is now up to 80F.  We are staying the night at the Front Royal/Shenandoah RV Park.  The park is a former KOA park and is located on Koa road. 

Because of the shrimp and salad lunch today we are having a small late supper tonight.  A simple meal.  One can of Campbell?s vegetable soup supplemented with one quarter cup dried corn, peas, and macaroni.  Also some chopped carrots and a small can of green beans.  Boiled the hard stuff until soft and then dumped in the soup and green beans.  A simple but good one pot supper.

The couple camping next to us just got a 10 year old Roadtreck 190 and it really looks in excellent shape.  They have slept in it twice in their driveway and now are taking there first trip this weekend.  They think they like it.  We ended up talking to them for over an hour and a half tonight looking rigs over and comparing notes.  Tomorrow we start the Skyline Parkway.
 

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