From Cowanesque to Hammond Lake

Cowanesque Lake from the
Campground

Well we are back, still in Tioga County work camping but now we are at Ives Run and actually have Internet access.  It is amazing how much we missed technology.

 

We did our normal trips around the lake on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, got the Nelson Falls area cleaned up along with all the overlooks and boat launch areas.  We did go to the VFW for subs on Wednesday and ran into Denny and Mike, it was nice to run into old friends. 

 



Band Comp.

Friday after work, I packed up and headed down state (plan to spend the day with dad).  I got to Dillsburg about 7:30 and just hung out at Lynne and Rick's while doing a load of laundry.  I got up Saturday and headed over to meet dad for lunch at the Atlantic Bread Co., where Dave and Karen joined us.  We finished there stopped at Costco's, over to the post office then off to visit Aunt Lida.  My heart does go out to her, big changes and she really isn't liking them.  Dad then headed out to do whatever he needed to do and I headed to the storage unit.  Dug through the boxes, and I think I got all the hunting stuff.....time will tell.  After that, off to Cedar Cliff HS to watch Brittany and Ally perform in a band Competition, then over to Mel's for a piece of Peanut Butter cake, made by Monique. 

Peanut Butter Cake

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday I got up, back to the storage unit for somethings I forgot, then to lunch at the American Legion, with Dad, Lynne, Deb, Jim, Karen and Brittany.  After that we stopped for some pumpkins and gourds, then I hit the road for home.  I got here about 6:00, sausages for dinner and a long day planned for tomorrow (ha ha). 

 

Monday Brad headed out to do the rounds and I packed up the RV.  I had the little stuffed packed when he got back and together we finished and hit the road.  We left Cowanesque Lake and headed over to Ives Run CG, on the Hammond Lake (a 30 min. drive).  We found our site, got set up and had burgers for dinner.  We do have Internet and phone service here, but being in the trees, no satellite service, so only 2 channels with the antenna, and of course, nothing you want to see is on either of them, so off to bed early. 

 

Tuesday we met with Dina, the volunteer Coordinator, and at 9:30 when she still hasn't shown up, we go looking for her.  She asks us if we can try to fix the stone walls that has fallen over, so this time, the job isn't quite as easy, but for 20 hours a week, not that bad.  We didn't work today, instead I went to the grocery store (the cupboards were bare) and Brad washed some more of the motor home.  We got the groceries put away, went for a walk, then had chicken and veggies for dinner.  After dinner we went for another walk, then headed back to camp.  We watched a little TV then off to bed. 

 

Today is Wednesday, but I'll try to post again tomorrow, so I'm off to work, Diane

 



Work Camping, Tioga County

Good Morning, and a rainy one at that. 

Saturday Brad got up and went to work, while I stayed back at camp and worked.  I made the brownies, and deviled eggs, cleaned the RV, took the trash and recycle to the dumpsters, and just finished showering when he got back about 11:00.  He got cleaned up and we headed over to the pavilion where the picnic was.  We walked and everybody else drove, they did offer us a ride on their way by....but the walks are always nice.  We had Turkey, rolls, squash, green beans, and about 3 different typs of potatoes and beans.  Brownies, chocolate cake and apple spice cakes for desert...needless to say, we didn't leave hungry, and even had left overs to brings home.  We just hung out the rest of the afternoon, a couple of walks around the campground and off to bed. 

Sunday we both got up and went to work.  Brad had started cutting up some branches that had blown down, so we finished cleaning that up and then did our normal rounds.  had lunch in town then came back and Brad once again headed out for a bike ride.  My sinus we bothering me, so I showered, got out my lounge chair and rested in the shade.....ahhh.  He got back and we got dinner ready, left over chicken on wraps.  Watched some TV, then off to bed.  



Campground pic from
across the lake

Monday we got up to a phone call, there is no water at the house, but the renters had gotten ahold of  the local well guy and he was coming out about 1:00.  So off to work we go, first breakfast at the dinner, then we do most of our normal stops.  We got back about 12:30 and Brad got ready to head over to the house.  I headed over to the shed, got the gator and did a ride out the Moccasin trail.  I picked up some trash and decided we can keep ourselves busy there for a while.  There is a lot of branches that need cut back, benches that need to be weed wacked around, then I headed back about 3:00 (nice ride if nothing else).  Brad didn't get home until almost 6:00, so we had a late dinner of pork chops, dishes done, and then Brad headed to bed about 9:30, me about 10:30.

Tuesday, it is a very rainy day.  We just had breakfast and are getting cleaned up to head to town.  We have laundry to do, we are returning the booster we bought, it works well for the computer, but doesn't help the cell phones.  We will look for another, hopefully we'll be able to find one to suit our needs.  Well I'll be back, when ever we get a signal again, Diane.

Long over due Blog

Well here I am, back 2 weeks later, and a busy two weeks it has been.  We headed down state Tuesday August 28, and had a very busy week.  Wednesday and Thursday I was over at Aunt Lida’s, helping dad and doing a lot of visiting.  Thursday night we helped Chris and Thom hose out the barn for their wedding on Saturday, then Friday we all went to Aunt Lida’s, Rick, Brad, Dave, Karen, Karen and myself.  By the time Brad and I got there, most of the stuff was loaded in the trailer to take over to her new place, so off we go.  We got her settled in, as best we could, then back to the house, off to good-will and the storage unit.  We all got out of there by 3:00 or so. 



Chris, Thom and
the Wedding Party
 

Saturday Lynne and I got our pedicures and manicures and spent the day running around.  We ended up getting Grady for a while, and as we were headed  back to Lynne’s he fell asleep, so we drove around awhile so as not to wake him up.  We finally get back to Lynne’s at 2:00, hurry back to camp and get showered for the 4:00 wedding.  It was beautiful, the ‘barn’ was decorated nicely, Chris was beautiful and all the men were very handsome.  We were at the reception until about 8:00 then back to camp, Brad to bed and me about an hour later. 



Magic Lantern launch



Sunday 2 Sept.  Today was a rest up, clean up, and stock up day.  We cleaned  up the  motor home and went to the grocery store.  Lynne and Rick came over for dinner and a good time was had by all.  We noticed a crowd gathering at the big field so we walked over check it out.  They were launching magic lanterns.  They we beautiful as they drifted through the evening sky.  We talked a little while before Lynn and Rick headed home.

Mon 3 Sept.  It is labor day and we labored for several hours.   Helping  Dad and Aunt Lida continuing to  get her house cleaned out.  Back to Lynne and Rick's for the traditional  burgers and fixing for dinner.

 



Tue 4 Sept.   Another busy day.  We had to take the motor home in for inspection and some minor work.  We were up, unhooked and rolling out of campground by 8 AM.   It was after 5PM until we  got back.  Our old campsite was under water so we found a new one.  We didn't bother to hook up since we are leaving in the morning but we did have to move all the stuff from our old site.  We went to Lynne and Ricks and had chicken wraps (they were good) back to camp and off to bed.

Wed 5 Sept.  Big day today.  We are heading to Tompkins campground to try our hand at work camping.   We arrived around 4pm, found our site and settled in for the night.





Thur 6 Sept.    We are not meeting the  volunteer coordinator until Sat.  So we spent the day talking to neighbors and settling in.  We did manage to get to Mansfield and buy a bike rack for the back of the car.  We hope to try it out tomorrow.



Brad on the 12 mile ride



Fri 7 Sept.  Bike rack Thursday = 12 mile bike ride on Friday.  We packed some food and waters and went for a ride.  12 miles may have been a bit much for the first day but we made it.  We bought some corn and tomatoes on the way home to have with our burgers.  We headed off to bed early.

Sat 8 Sept.  We finally met with the coordinator around 10am.  She was really nice and the job seems to be perfect(picking up trash and looking after a few satellite areas).  We talked to the neighbors(Annie and Roy) they are really nice too.  They are during the job now and are going to show us the ropes on Monday.   It was a rainy dark day, so we went to WalMart and then stopped at  the visitor center to watch a training film.

Sun 9 Sept.  Another grey rainy day.   Our last day before we return to the work force(part time anyway).  We headed up  to New York did some shopping, had dinner at Olive Garden.  We returned

cleaned up the camper and headed off to bed.

 

Mon 10 Sept.  We headed out with Annie and Roy to learn where all the sites are we need to clean up and where the 'Gator' is (yea Brad is happy).  We then headed over to Ive's Run and did the key exchange.  Got some t-shirts for Brad, stopped for lunch and back to camp.  We had dinner here and headed off to bed. 

 



Tues 11 Sept.  We got up and headed out for our work camping again.  We did all the sites, which actually takes about 4 hours.  Not hard work and gets you out and walking for the morning, then back to camp.  Cleaned up, packed up and off to Lynne's.  We are going to the Hershey show and do laundry while we are there.  We didn't get there until about 6:30, waited for Lynne to come home, then out to dinner and off to bed by 10:00. 

 



Wed 12 Sept.  We were out of Lynne's by 9:00, stopped for breakfast, then off to Hershey.  We walked, walked and walked some more.  We were there until about 5:00, back to the Shirks' then off to the Pizza Grille for dinner.  It was about 9:00 when we got home, so Brad headed to bed and Lynne was packing for her trip to the beach with Toni.  I sat and watched TV until about 10:00 then off to bed for me. 

 



Thur 13 Sept.  I was up in time to see Lynne and Toni before they left, then into the shower, load up the car and off to Hershey again.  We were there until about 3:30, hot and exhausted we headed over to Sheetz for some iced tea then the long trek back to Tioga County.  We stopped in Williamsport for dinner and to stop at Radio Shack, but made it home by 8:00.  We put the laundry away and got ready for the next day.

 

Friday 14 Sept.



 

Brad on the Gator

Well here I am all caught up (with Brads help) and it has been a long day already.  We got up and headed out to work about 9:00.  Worked til about 12:30, stopped for lunch then worked some more.  Nothing hard, just hot in the sun.  We got back to camp and Brad suggests  a bike ride, I tell him to go ahead, I didn't go, achy knee.  I stayed back and  did my nails, showered, etc.  The work campers and rangers are having a picnic tomorrow, so I worked on getting the eggs ready (I'm taking deviled eggs and brownies) and waited for Brad to get home.  We are just having Chicken wraps for dinner and I think it will be an early night for us. We did buy a booster that seems to work well for the computer, so we hope to work on the blog on a regular basis. 

Later,
Diane and Brad