Eddy & Frances 2023 Teardrop Blog

This beautiful state park was only 100 miles from our last stay in PA, but it's on a deep gorge along the Genesee River, billed as the Grand Canyon of the east.  The park is long and runs along the river, but relatively narrow.  It has numerous hiking, biking and equestrian trails  We had a surprise stop along the way in Bradford, PA where we visited the Zippo/Case museum and store.  The two companies merged and now share this building near the Zippo production facility. We once again passed through Amish country and the area looks promising for cycling.  Hopefully, I'll be able to unlock my bike this time. This park in NY was voted the most beautiful state park in the US at some time in the past.  Polls and surveys like that don't really mean a lot, but this is a pretty place.  I was especially impressed to find this in a vacant campsite adjacent to us.  Since no one was using it we clai...

We are enjoying Memorial Day Weekend and our 30th wedding anniversary near Warren, PA.  We are in the rousing company of 30 of our newest friend's kids and their bicycles and electric scooters.  It's fun to watch the kids play.   We've discovered that the stainless steel for the St Louis arch was fabricated in Warren, PA. We are just a few miles south of NY, near the Allegheny reservoir.  We visited Rim Rock and Heart's Content scenic recreational areas.  Tonight we have dinner reservations at Forester's Tavern for an early anniversary celebration.  They are closed tomorrow. For those who don't know, it's hard to beat the quality of pretzels that you can find in PA. We drove about 30 miles up to Chautauqua Lake, NY and discovered this statue of Lucille Ball in her childhood home of Jamestown, NY.  We had intended to cycle around the lake, but I left the keys to the bike rack back at the c...

While driving from Ohiopyle towards our next camping stop in the Allegheny National Forest, Frances spotted a very famous town on the car's GPS.  So now, I'm realizing a life long dream of visiting Punxsutawney, PA.  While it may not be as bustling as it would be on Groundhog Day, it couldn't be any more amazing to me.                 Paunxsutawney Phil

We spent a night here in 2019 when we rode the GAPCO Trail from Pittsburgh to DC.  Despite almost being run down by a tandem that decided to ride on the sidewalk, it's great to be in a bike centric community.  We can walk into the village from our campground in the state park.  The weather is still looking good for the next 3 days and there is lots to do outdoors around here. There are lots of nice hiking trails, in addition to the biking trails in this area.  We got in a nice 6 mile hike this morning.  Now after a lunch of chips and guacamole, we are taking a short break before our big event of the day.  We have reservations for  430 tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's design, Falling Water.  Pictures to follow. The tour of Falling Water was good.  Our guide was not the best.  She was mostly interested in pointing out the Picasso and Tiffany art work.  She gave only cursory information about...

Pink Ladyslipper Wild Azalea Rhododendron  We had a beautiful drive through western Virginia today.  We basically drove parallel to I 81 for most of the day.  It was sunny and the traffic was light.  We stopped for lunch near the Dragon's Back in Tazewell, VA.  There were lots of motorcycles in the area, presumably in the area to ride the winding road that goes up the Dragon's Back. Grave Creek Grist Mill The  State Park where we are camped is near the New River Gorge, one of our newest National Parks.  It's pretty remote.  I Googled "store near me" on Google Maps and the first 5 or 6 results were Dollar Stores. The campground is separated from the park although there is a connection by trail.  Apparently this was done in part to allow them to close the park.  We'll visit tomorrow.  The web photos look nice.  There is a grist mill and other water features. We're hoping for a dark sky, stars and good slee...

 Our 2023 summer trip has started.  We drove from Huntsville, AL to the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park where Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky intersect.  We were overwhelmed to find that we had accidentally arrived on the opening night of the Cumberland Gap Dulcimer Gathering which occurs once a year in the Wilderness Campground near Cumberland Gap, TN.  We sat for about 2 hours listening to at least 20 dulcimers, accompanied by mandolins, fiddles, recorders, bass guitars and other acoustic instruments playing traditional Appalachian music.   Along the drive we stopped in Dayton, TN home of the Scopes "monkey" trial.  Turns out it was a publicity stunt by some men in in town to draw in tourists. I came across several shoots of the American Chestnut tree while hiking to the Pinnacle View.  I got in a bike ride on Brek's birthday and stopped at the Congress Bicycle Museum in CG, TN. Next, Babcock State Park in West Virginia.