Some rest areas along the interstate are quite inviting for a stroll about or a picnic. The various oaks and maples of this one in northern Virginia are decently old and produce good shade.
Since I was traveling alone, I decided to break up the trip coming and going with overnight stops. My first night from northeast Tennessee was in northeast Pennsylvania at Lackawanna State Park. It was evening by the time I arrived. I ate supper and then decided to take a hike around half of the lake, being split in half by a bridge. I walked across playgrounds, play fields, and picnic areas to a short jaunt in woods before I came to the dam.
The lake is the narrowest here at the dam between the low ridges.
I feel as though the spillway is up against a man-made cliff from which the stone was quarried to make the dam.
The woods here were almost entirely lacking in shrubs and briars with many herbaceous varieties, predominantly ferns.
The lake in late evening is peaceful.
You can see here the bridge that I must go over to return to camp as I stood at the gravel beach of a creek entering the lake.
Everywhere in the woods were the remains of walls made presumably by landowner farmers in years past. Use what you have on hand as building material. It is estimated that there are 240,000 miles of stone walls in New England, sufficient to reach from there to the Moon.
Fishing at dusk on a still evening makes for a peaceful scene.
The next morning, I traveled up through eastern New York. The following two pictures are of a pullout along Lake George.
The contrasts of blue and green, flat and steep produce a picturesque scene and a good one to relax for lunch, I might add.
NY 185 crosses Lake Champlain at the narrows of Crown Point. The bridge is an arch truss with the arches pinched in toward one another, I believe to both reduce costly material and strengthen the structure.
My destination this second day was Essex Junction, VT, where my great nephew lives. Upon arriving, he immediately asked if I would like to go for a hike. So, he drove us up into Smuggler's Notch and we hiked up to Sterling Pond near the top of the mountain. A friendly neighbor took our picture beside the sheltered waters.
As I hiked at low and mid-elevations, I saw this abundant four-petaled ground cover. I texted my sister-in-law in Tennessee who knows ever so much about wildflowers. She replied within 4 minutes, "Canada Bunchberry." Its range comes as far south as Virginia, explaining why I don't remember seeing it in Tennessee/North Carolina.
Back at Smuggler's Notch, we explored the talus field boulders. Many were huge, have good climbing, and are stacked up sufficiently to allow walking underneath.
Here is the wall from which they fell.
We explored a bit on the East side of the Notch in a wash. I picked up a curious rock, finding what appears to be an Eastern Red-backed Salamander who was sheltering beneath.
After the hike, my great nephew took me to see the von Trapp Lodge. Afterwards he took me out to eat at the von Trapp Brewing Bierhall. I have no interest in beer, but I did do some considerable justice to the meal. It was a fine afternoon and evening with much catching up done about our lives.
Next morning we went to his church, worshipping full-hearted, hearing an excellent sermon, and finding significant fellowship afterwards. You can see him at left with his newest interest.
The trip was only 2 1/2 days young, and already so much had happened. Stay tuned to see what other blessings that I received on this trip. Life is good because God is good.
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