Day14.....August 20, 2013.....to Allegheny National Forest

Left the Cuyahoga area, heading for PA.  Drove by Kent State Univ and wondered what young people today think of those protests and killings.  About a 4-hour drive on back roads, and I mean back roads.  There weren't even highway numbers.  George navigated, and I drove.  He has a great sense if direction which I completely lack.  We ended up on a beautiful road in the foothills of the Allegheny Mts.  The farms were almost all Amish.  Beautifully- kept farms and houses.  Amish children were out playing; buggies in the driveways; and tons of washing on the clothesline....must be laundry day.  

The park has dozens of national forest campgrounds, so we were able to be picky.  Midweek and almost no one here.  We hit the trifecta with the site....flush toilets, immaculate showers, and a good firepit for cooking....all for $15.  We are going to create a campsite rating system, which I will describe tomorrow.  

After setting up camp, we took a drive through the park.  I wanted some wine with dinner, so we found a little town.  It was quite poor.   It is interesting to see how each state has different liquor laws.  PA is one of the strangest.  They have beer stores, with only beer in large amounts.  If you want a 6-pack, you buy it in a bar.  For wine and liquor, you go to a state-run liquor store with a sorry variety of wine.  

After our purchase, we decided to go to something called "scenic area" on the map.  My stomach kind of felt funny when we passed a sign saying "pavement ends".  Of course, we kept on going.  It was a one-lane gravel road.  It was a beautiful forest with 200-year pines.  However, there were pockets of private land where they were cutting down trees and fracking.  There were signs on some of the side roads saying "no Shell trucks".  I can understand how environmentalists and townspeople can clash, as it was obvious that there is poverty and unemployment in the area, but really sad to see the landscape destroyed.

A word about the pop-up.  Here are some pictures of us getting it set up.  George is a bit of a perfectionist so uses a level to make sure we are even.  I am in charge of the cranking. Then he uses a power drill to put down and take up the stabilizers.  The camper is really easy to set up.  We just lift up the 2 sides and lock in place

We settled in for dinner....another salmon dish of course ....stir-fry.  Not bad.