Our last night of our trip took us to Greentown, PA and the location of Promised Land State Park, a 12,000+ acre park located on the Pocono Plateau. We could imagine the park would be hopping in the summer, but only a few sites were open this time of the year in the Pickerel Point campground, and staff were no where to be found.
The online reservaton system told me the only site left was an ADA assessible site, which I should only reserve if no others were available. When we got to the site, there was no aspect of the site that met ADA standards, which is a drag for people who need those accomodations.
I pitched our tent with views out to the lake, while Glen hooked us up to electric and the dogs sniffed around for tasty treats left by other campers (and subsequently got yelled at each time they started rooting around).
This was an impressive oak located on Conservation Island - likely cut down at some point, with the stump sending up five sprouts (only three are visible in this pic.)
We took a walk over to Conservation Island in the afternoon sun, reaching there along narrow park roads. There were quite a few of what looked like three-season cabins and cottages which, it turns out, the state leases out. Not sure what the back story is there.
Conservation Island is located the ~400 acre Promised Land Lake, fed by several streams in the park.
The presence of yellow birch, beech and hemlocks told us we were almost home. I was surprised the hemlocks I looked at closely did not appear to be infested with hemlock woolly adelgid, which was good to see.
The forest had a beautiful carpet of what I think is common club moss.
We had quite a bit of time to cook up a supper and ended up using both stoves to make a pot of rice, some lentil stew and some sauteed veggies. It was a feast and we went to bed on full stomachs. The only thing missing was a cold beer (or any beer) for me, but I got over that.
We slept okay, though I managed to pitch the tent on a bit of a slope, so I was sliding around on my mattress and struggling for comfort last night. That's okay - the experience will make sleeping in our actual BED tonight even more sweet.
As I write this, we've arrived home. One final blog post to come. Life is good.
Here's a sneak preview of our arrival home. : )
Looked like you had a great trip. Welcome home!
Good morning and welcome home! I woke up during the night to the sound of rain and thought of you NOT having to sleep in the car!
Thank you so much for 'taking me along' on your vacation. I enjoyed all the wonderful photos and the stories that went with them. Already looking forward to next time!
Welcome home!
What a beautiful and amazing journey you have shared with us here. I’m so glad that you’re safely home. it was a pure treasure to be allowed a window into the magnificence of the sacred lands you visited. Some of those expansive southwestern sunlit landscapes are now etched in my mind like a balm for the soul on soggy chill grey mornings like this one. May the home fires welcome and warm you as you reintegrate and digest this glorious adventure. 😊✨❤️ Deb)* FH
I would guess your happy to be home ,Glen looks wiped out in his chair with a warm fire going,Thank You for letting me kinda go with you on your great adventure, especially being home recovering from triple bypass surgery,your postings were a welcome diversion !