Shenandoah National Park 5-16 & 5-17-13

Okay, so we’re into 2013 now! We’ve had two visible modifications done to the Jeep at this point: a roof rack/basket, and a light bar. I’ll discuss those more in detail in a later post, but their functions are obvious.

Catch Up & Review: 2012 Part 2 – Moose River; Lewey Lake

Our summer vacation consisted of stays at two of our favorite places – Moose River and Lewey Lake.  In Moose River we took a spot next to Sumner stream, and were later joined by The Amy & Dan Clan (which includes them, their son Daniel and their dog); they took the next campsite up the road.  They told us they’d heard reports of moose sightings at Helldiver Pond, so we walked in to the pond to check it out.  The moose is there in the early morning hours, though, so no luck for us.  On a future visit we’ll have to set an alarm so we can go see him!

Catch Up & Review: 2012 Part 1 – Ocala National Forest

Enough time had passed since we moved to Florida and we really needed to do a good camping and hiking excursion down here.  It’s quite different here, in that summer is not the ideal time for these activities.  It’s really, really hot, and the insects are relentless – a perfect combination for misery!  Winter, on the other hand, is a lovely time to be outdoors for the most part.  Temperatures are moderate and the bugs are greatly reduced. 

So at the end of January we grabbed our backpacking gear and headed up to Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area, in Ocala National Forest.  The trailhead is next to the Juniper Springs Recreation Area Campground where we paid to park our car.  We wanted to avoid any vandalism that might occur at the trailhead, which we read reports of online.  We hiked to Hidden Pond, stayed overnight, and hiked back.  During the daytime it was about 80 degrees, and we were in the sun most of the time.  We wore pants as usual, and worked up a pretty good sweat.

Catch Up & Review: 2011 Moose River ; Wanakena/Five Ponds

In the summer of 2011, our vacation was spent mostly in the Adirondacks, after visiting some family. First leg of the camping trip was at Moose River Plains Wild Forest; we spent three nights there. It was awesome as always. One of the campsites we’ve always wanted to stay at but is always occupied was finally vacant, so we grabbed it. It’s a really pretty spot by the water.

Catch Up & Review: 2010 Part 3 Moose River

For our final camping trip of the year we spent one last weekend at Moose River at the end of August. The campsite we chose had been oddly decorated off to the side. Someone put a lot of effort into this rock arrangement, and they arranged some long grasses on the ground and in the trees. It was very strange, and I have no idea what it means, if anything.

Catch Up & Review: 2010 Part 2 Forked Lake; Lewey Lake

Our next trip was at the end of May to Forked Lake in the Adirondacks.  It is a primitive campground, and all the sites are walk-in or canoe-in.

Catch Up & Review: 2010 Part 1 Central New York; Moose River

We did a couple of day hikes near Syracuse in April, one at Highland Forest and one at Morgan Hill.  After a long winter spent indoors we get a bit stir crazy, so even seeing the little common things gives us a thrill.  We did find a clump of frog eggs in a mud puddle, and also saw a flock of turkeys in the woods.