Still at Ives Run

Hi, I'm back.

Well last Monday 10-15 when Brad got back from the farm we actually got some work done.  It took us about 4 hours to clean up the camp grounds.  After that we just hung out and had dinner here at the camp.

Tuesday more work, we went out to the tent sites (primitive sites) and had some things to clean up out there.  Not bad, but it kept us busy for the day.

Wednesday was a busy day for us.  Some how we had a lot of people leave and the the camp sites were a mess.  It took us all day to get them cleaned up.  Just had dinner here at camp. 

Thursday we took the gator and did a drive out Railroad Grade Trail (approx. 3 miles), picking up trash while enjoying the warm day. We did all the boat launches and did a quick drive through the camp ground. It keeps us busy, gives us some exercise and gets us out to meet people. We then got ready and headed over to the VFW for wings.  

Friday was a not so fun day, Brad wasn't feeling well, so I headed into town to do some shopping and get out of the house.  I got back, put the stuff away and then we did a load of laundry here at the camp ground, to get Brad out of the RV for a while.....nice walk to laundry area.  We just had something easy for dinner, then off to bed early.

Saturday, Brad was feeling better and headed up behind the camper to do some hunting, seeing a couple of deer in the process, but nothing close.  He got back, went to get propane and then I headed into Mansfield to do some shopping.  I was looking for a dress, but no luck.  I got back  and Brad headed out to another spot for hunting and while he was gone, I made a fire and just relaxed enjoying the evening. 

Sunday we headed over to the farm, just to check out the house and while we were there we did a 3 hour hike around the property.  We were checking out the damage from the seismographic people....pretty bad.  It was a beautiful day and we both enjoyed the hike and checking out the fall colors in the process. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/FallColors?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj7uLK4web70AE#

Well I'm not totally caught up, but I quit for now.  I have added a link of some of the foliage.


Diane

Week at Ives Run

Good morning. 

 

Fall Colors

Monday 10-8-12 we worked on the stone walls around the visitors center.  It was a chilly day and by the end of it we were glad to get back inside and get a hot shower. 

 



Campground Tree



Tuesday was more of the same work, but it was a much warmer day.  We actually finished the stone walls and worked on raking up some piles of leaves that some college kids raked up and left lay.  It takes about 25 min. just to get the gator so we can work, so we acutally got about 6 hours in on Tuesday.

 

Wednesday we cleaned up the flower beds (cutting down the dead stuff) and only got in about 2.5 hours.  We then headed into Mansfield for gas at Sheetz (.60 off a gallon) and had dinner at the pizza shop.  It was kind of a slow day for us, but it seems to be that way a lot of days.

 





Bull on the Loose

Thursday we took the day off and headed to town.  Brad needs sneakers, laundry needed done and so did the grocery shopping.  We left camp about 10:00 and didn't get back until 3:30.   We then went for a drive over the back roads, heading to the VFW for wings.  It was a beautiful ride, nice views, and a run away bull, needless to say I took his picture from inside the car.   

Mountain Top View

Friday we spent most of the day trying to get a gator that didn't have a flat tire.  First they replaced the tire with a tire off a parts gator, but till we got about 3 of the camp sites cleaned up, the tire was flat.  Dina came into the cg and picked me up to go get the car, and she spoke with the maintenance people again.  This time they took a tire off one of the maintenance workers gators, followed me back and replaced the tire again.  All this taking about 2-3 hours, but we finally had a gator that worked and we finished cleaning the camp sites.  We then headed over to Kate and Tony's to hunt.  I saw two doe on my way into my spot and didn't see anything else until I stood up to leave, then I saw three deer run and a deer grunted behind me.....ugh.  We headed back home for grilled cheese and soup, it was getting cold and they are calling for a hard freeze.

Well, Saturday morning we got to 22 degrees and frozen water pipes.  The pipes in the cg froze solid and it took until about 9:30 for them to thaw out.  We then showered and headed into Wellsboro for a perscription for Brad and stopped at Dunhams for lunch.  Kate called, her and Annette were headed in to town, so I met up with them and we went shopping, while Brad headed back to camp to hang out with the guys.  After that us girls headed to the Moose and ended up not getting back to camp until about 6:30-7:00.  Annette and I had something to eat, then Brad and I headed home....the hunters had no luck again today. 

Sunday morning we got up to 60 degree temps., what a change.  They are having a trail challenge today (4 mile run/walk through the mountain), so we have to meet up with Dina about 11:30 to see what our job is going to be.  Brad and I got our jobs assignements which is to stop traffic into and out of the cg when the race started, which ended up taking us about about a whole 1/2 hour.  We then walked down to the finish line and watched about half of the people come in.  We walked back to camp and Brad decided to go on a scouting trip in the game lands behind the cg.  I took him down and dropped him off and picked him up about 1 1/2 later.  We had chicken wraps, watched some TV, and swept up Lady bugs all evening,  I guess that 74 degree day brought them out.  

Today Brad got up and headed over to the farm.  Someone wanted to talk with him about Christmas trees and I'm just hanging out, working on the blog and enjoying another warm day.  It is 66 degrees at 10:30, but they are calling for rain later....hope it holds out until tonight.

Diane

 

Site Move in Ives Run

We got all settled into the new campsite on Tuesday, so Wednesday we were back to work.  We got about 7 hours in, then had dinner here at camp.  


PA Grand Canyon

Thursday we took the day off and did some leaf looking.  We went over to the PA Grand Canyon, Leonard Harrison State Park and then to Colton Point State Park.  It was a fairly warm and partly sunny day so there were a lot of visitors at both the parks and most of the scenic overlook stops had at least one car parked at it.  We went to the VFW for the wing night special and were back at camp by 8:00. 

 

Friday we are back to work.  By 3:00 we managed to use all the mulch that is here, so our day is done.  Back to the house, shower and pack up the car, off to Kate and Tony's for the weekend.  Brad is hunting and I plan on hanging out with the girls. 

 

Beautiful Hillside

Saturday Brad didn't get up until 5:30, thinking he over slept flew out of the bedroom, only to find out that it is raining with Glen and Tony just sitting in the living room starring out the window.  Glen finally went out about 7:00, Brad and Tony stayed in the living room.  Finally Tony started breakfast about 9:00 and Glen must have smelled it cooking because he was in about 9:30.  The rain continued, so the guys were laying around camp and us girls got ready to go look at a couple of double wides that Kate was interested in.  We left around 10:30, looked at a bunch of double wides, stopped at the Moose, VFW and grocery store.  We finally made it home around 6:00, just as the guys were coming in.....no deer.  We had steaks and a salad for dinner, the guys got cleaned up and headed to bed around 10:00, Annette was right behind them, I went to bed around 11:00 and I think Kate slept on the chair. 

 

Sunday everyone planned to leave by 9:30, so Brad and I got out of there by 8:30.  We headed home, made coffee and about 9:30 Brad headed over to the tree field to meet Keith Krause.  I scrubbed the Shower and bathroom while he was gone, took a walk and managed to put together a pot of Chili.  He got home about 1:00, we had a little lunch, walked a little, did some laundry and just kind of lazed around a little bit.  We ate about 6:00 and Brad is now out for a walk while I work on the Blog.  It was a fun weekend, always a good time with the Ochenriders.

 

More later, Diane

Hammond Lake, Tioga County

Hello, I'm back.  Wednesday 9-26 we worked on the stone wall and got a couple of loads of mulch.  After work we got cleaned up and headed over to the Knoxville VFW for sub night.  We didn't hang out too long, headed home and off to bed a early, both tired from the day's work. 

 

Thursday we worked on the wall, but mostly hauled and spread mulch.  We quit early and headed into town to do a load or two of laundry, and by this time Lynne called her and Rick were about half way here already.  We got back to camp about an hour before they pulled in, and the four of us ended up having hot dogs for dinner and s'mores.  While up at our site, Lynne was walking Bailey when she slipped in the mud and bent her knee back to the point of pulling a muscle or two....ouch. 

 

Friday we got up, Lynne and Rick were moving sites, so Brad and I headed into town for breakfast.  Then since it was a rainy day, we decided to head up to the Corning Museum.  We didn't get there until about 2:00, got something to eat and did some shopping....so no Museum tour since they closed at 5:00. We left there and headed back to camp.  We didn't get here until about 6:00 and since we had a late lunch, we ended up not having dinner until about 9:00, which was just hog maw sausages.  I don't think we even had s'mores....we were too full. 

 

Saturday we planned on doing an 18 mile bike ride and since Lynne's knee was hurt, a wine tour in Wellsboro.  We had breakfast, called about the tickets for the wine tour....all sold out, oh well, into Wellsboro and a shopping day will do.  Brad and Rick wanted a Starbucks coffee, so we headed to Dunham's and then they headed into the Gas Light for a burger and Lynne and I headed out to do some shopping.  We went back to check on the guys, ended up having a beer and playing a game of Galaga (talk about old memories), then her and I headed out again.  We were in the second store when Brad finally called looking for us.  They met us out side and we headed back to the car.  I don't think were stopped at any more stores, just a quick hustle through town to the car (that was their plan).  Rick was making us dinner tonight, so we dropped them off and headed up to camp to get what ever we needed for dinner and snacks.  We had chicken, baked potatoes, and home canned squash.  After that we had mountain pies and s'mores and just sat around the fire.  Lynne and I walked Bailey a couple of times, checking out the other campers and comparing the camp fires, I think Rick and the guys across the street were having a campfire battle (who's is bigger). 

 

Sunday, Lynne and Rick are packing up to go home, but do take time out for breakfast up at our site.  They finished packing and we walked down to see them off, then just kind of hung out for the day.  We didn't do much and had the left over hog maw sausages for dinner (they we smelling up the refrig.)  Lazy day and early to bed....how does that happen.

 

We got up Monday toast for Brad and Yogurt for me, then off to work.  We started about 9:00, had a quick sandwich for lunch and then didn't quit until 4:00.  We had a ham steak for dinner and again off to bed early.....this time because we worked hard and are tired.  We did manage to go for a little drive to do some spotting, but no deer.

 

Bear Cub

Today they are calling for a rainy day, so we head out to breakfast.  After that we head out through Tioga and find a new road to explore.  We ended up going over 15 finding a valley that we have never ventured into before.  We saw 4 or 5 deer and on our way back out we saw a bear cub, the poor thing looked scared, like its been running for awhile and we didn't see mom at all.  We headed around a hair pin turn, and here is the cub again, stupid me, Brad stopped and I jumped out of the car to get a picture, after I get back in the car I realize what I did and am glad I didn't see mom (but I did get the pic).  We get back and the two gate attendants have left, so we plan on moving to one of their sites.  Since the rain has held off and there is barely a drizzle we decided to move today.  We packed up what we needed to and moved about 100 yards. not far, but it gets us into the sunshine and out of the damp, cold woods.  We pull in, get level and when I walked around the front of the RV, I notice all this mud up the front, I know the RV didn't do a nose dive into the mud so I call Brad over to check it out, and we both agree it looks like paw prints about 4 to 4 1/2 foot up the front of the RV including the moss and mud.  Never thought much about it, but the grill was knocked over this morning and we just thought it was a raccoon.  Now that we look at that again, it could be a paw print on the top, now I'm really glad we moved. We finally get everything moved, settled in then run off to town.  We get back, have chicken for dinner, and I'm just hoping the bear doesn't find us here.  Diane and Brad

Moss on RV

 

Possible Paw print



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