Wednesday August 8
 |
| Stone Creek Valley, PA Fire Engine |
Woke up at 7am in
Greenwood Furnace State Park and packed the bike so I could get an early
start. Within five
minutes I sighted a
black bear crossing the road.
I got a
good look at him.
My first glimpse at
wildlife!
It was really foggy and fairly
chilly so I pulled over to an old firehouse to put on a jacket liner.
I decided to strap my camera around my neck
so I wouldn’t miss any more prime opportunities at photographing wildlife,
etc.
25 miles later I pulled into Penn
State main campus, no shortage of wildlife here. I found a coffee shop with
wifi. With everything that has happen to Penn State in the last year, I was
surprised to see how busy it was early august. I was there for a good 3 hours
doing freelance work, looking at maps and updating my blog.
I grabbed some quick snacks at a grocery
store and headed out to
Allegheny National Forest. This is the Northern Forest Eco-Region. It’s free to camp in US
National Forests.. saaweet!
 |
| camping spot minister trailhead |
3 hours
later I arrived and set up camp a few hundred feet from a
trailhead right next to a brook.
I went for a 2 hour walk and explored the
forest.
This forest is part of the
appellations with an altitude of approx 2000k feet. It’s truly beautiful and
quite lush with moss and ferns.
I
discovered some wild flowers and other plants I thought to be native to this
region. Luckily a friend gave me an Audubon book of wildflowers and low and
behold, these were native.
There is no
electric or cellular coverage here so I connected my peripherals to my
motorcycle and got to work once the sun was set.
I had several people ask me if I was okay as they
had no clue what the hell I was doing.
Tomorrow I head to Erie
PA where I will visit the
Tom Ridge Environmental Center and explore
Presques Isle Sate Park!
 |
| woody sunflower |
|
 |
| fertile soil |
 |
| aquatic mushroom |
