Allegany State Park Week of April 2 through 9, 2025
WEDNESDAY. Maggie and I left my house right around eleven a.m. We took back roads and drove straight through to Salamanca (where it was raining) without stopping. We had lunch at McDonalds and went to SANDERS so Maggie could get a few items she wanted: yogurt, granola, berries. We arrived at the Quaker Registration Oiffce a few minutes before three p.m. and got the key and went to our cottage, Fancher F. By this time, the heavy rain had turned into a light rain. Maggie backed her car up close to the steps to the porch. We got our stuff out of Maggie's car and got ourselves organized, including making our beds. I had a moment of panic when I thought maybe I had not brought the little Vera Bradley bag with my medications, but I found it. At four thirty, Leslie had not arrived and I was worn out, I laid down for a while. When I got up, it was after six p.m. and Leslie had not arrived. I started to get concerned and asked Maggie if she thought we should go to an area where we could get cell service and try to call Leslie, and she agreed. However, I stepped outside onto the porch and saw Leslie's car parked in front. She did not recognize Maggie's car and did not feel comfortable coming up and knocking on the door. She had been waiting a half an hour or so. We helped her get her stuff into the cottage and then fixed supper. Hot dogs (Sahlen hots that Maggie brought) and the two salads I brought (four bean and macaroni salad). I didn't take any pictures today.
THURSDAY: Today was the day that Cindi and Jen planned to come to spend the day with us. I woke Maggie up at eight a.m. per her request. I put the roast beef and vegetables into the crockpot. Leslie went out birdwatching early but Maggie and I needed to go to Salamanca to get a couple of items and some wood for a campfire, so we left early to do that. I had Maggie drop me off at McDonalds so I could check my email and delete some. Then she joined me. I messaged Cindi and she messaged back that Jen and she were driving separately, and Jen would arrive first. Then we returned to the cottage. Jen had already arrived and she was returning to the cottage from a short walk when we arrived. Jen told us that the fish were running, down by the bridge, so she suggested we take a walk. We first crossed the road and walked to a creek that runs behind a cabin trail.
The fish were not running there, so we walked down towards the bridge. Cindi stopped her car as she passed us by. The fish were not running near the bridge either, so we walked back to the cottage. The five of us, Cindi, Jen, Maggie and Leslie and me) had lunch together
and Cindi played her guitar for a bit. Cindi had made an apple pie and divided it into containers. I really ohly wanted to eat a half a piece, but she kind of pushed me into eating the whole thing, because that is the way she had planned it. I gave in, and ate the whole thing (because who can stop at half). Jen, Cindi, Leslie and I went geocaching. Maggie just wanted to stay in the cottage and read her book. We found the first geocache at the ampitheatre.
The second one we looked for was more complicated and involved a lot of walking in overgrown and sometimes wet areas with lots of fallen trees. Jen and Cindi gave up early, and I mostly waited for Leslie while she found it. We went back to the cottage after that. I was sorry that I asked Cindi to teach us BID PITCH, since it is either too complicated for me or CIndi made it seem more complicated than it is. Jen was not feeling well, so she left early. Cindi stayed a couple more hours, and I hoped she would stay for supper but she wanted to get on the road before it got dark. The roast beef and vegetables was very good. I noticed, however, that Maggie and Leslie hardly touched the carrots. Maggie decided to make coffee and had a bit of a struggle to figure out the measurements, but she was successful.
FRIDAY: Leslie had found information about interesting places to go in Pennsylvania and Maggie and I agreed to go to them. We got a bitof a late start, packed a picnic lunch and we headed to Bradford. We found the Allegany Mountain Infotmation Center in the OLD POST OFFICE. The woman running it was out to lunch, but we were able to find lots of information and maps. We found Route 46 (after stopping at a convenience store to ask for directions) and headed towards Smethport, and continued on to Port Allegany where we stopped to see an outdoor glass exhibit. We noticed that there was a nice small park with picnic tables across from where we parked, so we had our lunch there, and then decided we should find a restroom. The restroom at the Rite aid was shut down due to a broken toilet, and the worker suggested we go down to SHEETS (which is a very nice convenience store/gas station. After that we continued to Austin, PA., hoping to see the dam that broke. A woman in the corner store gave us directions, it was only three miles south of Austin. We found it, but there was not a spot to pull over and see it. We stopped to see an old earthen dam beyond the large broken dam and then turned around and drove back.
We turned around and headed south towards Sinnemahoning Visitors Center. We passed a lot of people fishing in a creek or small river. We found the visitors center easily enough. It is a very nice visitors center. When Maggie and I walked in (Leslie went directly to the Ladies room) I asked two people at the front desk if we had a good chance of seeing some elk. The male educator said we came to the right place and gave us ideas of where to see them. (mostly this involved driving back the way we just came) So, after seeing the displays in the VC, we headed back north and found the VIEWING AREA. We walked to the platform, but did not see anything, so we continued on our way, watching for elk. Leslie thought she may have seen one. We stopped at the same SHEETS in Port Allegany so Maggie could buy a bottle of wine and then we stopped in Bradford and went into a TOPS for lettuce and BBQ sauce (both of which Leslie forgot). We had planned to drive up into ASP using the same route we used to get down to Bradford several hours earlier, BUT we ended up driving north on 219 up to 86 and driving all the way down ASP 1 to get to our cottage. I prepared supper: shake and bake chicken, asparagus and baked sweet potatoes. Maggie does not like asparagus, so I prepared some broccoli for her.
SATURDAY: I suggested possibly going to area museums to both Leslie and Maggie, but they did not even respond, so I figured that idea was OUT. They just seemed to want to stay in the cottage and relax and read. So that is what we did. I prepared BLT's for lunch. By this time I had finished the book about Saint Therese, and was reading ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY. The only time I went out was when Maggie and I drove to Quaker Lake to make phone calls. I called Peg to confirm that she was still coming tomorrow. I also called the Hoover Road home and Charles answered. I asked him how Carrie is doing and he said she is doing just fine. Leslie went out birdwatching a couple of times during the day. For supper, I prepared Shake and Bake Chicken, baked sweet potatoes and asparagus. We had Maggie's strawberry shortcake for supper (she made the Angel food cake earlier in the day. After that, Leslie and I played one game of SEQUENCE, which I WON!!!!
SUNDAY: I got up at 7:30 and showered and washed my hair. Later on in the morning, Leslie packed up her car and headed back to Auburn around eleven a.m. I suggested she take a couple more days off from her volunteer job and stay, but she declined. Shortly after she left, Maggie and I decided to go to Salamanca in order to get a couple of things we needed. She dropped me off at McDonalds while she picked up the items. I checked my email and deleted a lot of new ones. Maggie joined me and we both ordered our lunch. Once again, I ordered the BIG MAC MEAL DEAL. Big Macs are definitely not as good as they used to be. Shortly after we started eating, Leslie came in!! We were surprised to find each other there. She came in to use the rest room and get a drink. Maggie made a couple of phone calls and I texted Peggy to try to find out if she was on her way. She said she would be leaving Lockport shortly. We returned to ASP but stopped at the Red House Administration Building to go into the gift store where Maggie purchased a hoodie and some jewelry. We also went to the museum. Peggy arrived while I was resting in bed. For supper we had leftover roast beef, applesauce and acorn squash and strawberry shortcake for dessert. We started wondering what the weather was going to be on Monday and Tuesday, so Maggie and Peggy went up to Quaker Lake for cell service. Peg called David and he told her that tomorrow (Monday) will be the best weather of the two days. So we decided to go to the casino on Tuesday.
WHY I VOTED for Trump and the other Republicans. 2000 people defecating, injecting etc. on city street in major cities. selling body parts of aborted fetuses for animal esp. one million abs per year, 15,000 where the baby was killed in the birth canal. 75, 000 overdoses from fentanyl coming over the border. Kamala Harris raising money to get rioters (summer 2000) out of jail. Dems OK with minors transitioning. The mess in Afghanistan (Biden responsible). KH when asked if she had any regrets about any decisions made while she was VP. Biden had stated that she was always the last person to leave the room after decisions were made. She said she had no regrets. MAINLY, though, in the 24 election, Trump promised to improve the situation at the southern border. Re: why I could not ever vote for Kamala. she comes from the most liberal area in America: The San Francisco Bay area. Think rampant crime, drug dealers, homelessness, brazen daytime robberies at gunpoint, dismally-poor public school performance, and streets of shuttered businesses. These are features of many liberal-controlled cities. She was elected as DA in 2003 and later, California’s Attorney General,
MONDAY: In the morning, I put pork chops and barbecue sauce in my crockpot. Peggy, Maggie and I went to the ZIPPO/CASE Museum in Bradford, PA. It is not a very large museum, but it has a lot of interesting exhibits. Maggie made some purchases. I bought a postcard. Then we headed south to go to Kane, PA. Peggy had seen some information online about a store that specializes in meat. So, we drove to Kane. We found the business area first, and then we found the train depot which houses a museum. Unfortunately, it was closed. We found the store and parked and went inside and found that it was very interesting. They offer a lot of Swedish items for the large Swedish population in the area. Maggie purchased some meat items and a jar of dill pickle chunks. Peggy bought some "hot salt". I bought three chocolate mints for a dollar. we had brought sandwiches and chips with us. It was too chilly to eat outside, so we ate lunch in the car. Then we were wondering if there might be anything in the area that we night want to see. I went back into the store and asked. The three people working tried to come up with ideas, but most places were closed since it was Monday. Since we had no ideas, we headed back to Bradford. We tried hard to avoid driving on 219 all the way to 86 like Maggie, Leslie and I did the other day. We wanted to go back to Quaker Run the same way we got to Bradford. However, that plan did not work and we ended up driving on a lonely (but well maintained) road that ran along a very long reservoir. However, eventually it took us right back to where we wanted to be! When we got back to the cottage, I needed a nap, so I asked Peg to put the baked potatoes in the oven at a certain time. She did that. The pork chops were very good. Maggie said there was something wrong with her potato. Mine was just fine. We had applesauce and zucchini with this meal. Peg and Maggie both raved about the chops and the zucchini. Maggie particularly liked the "au jus" from the crockpot. Peggy and I played MANCALA.
TUESDAY: WE left the cottage around eleven a.m. Peggy drove today. We stopped at the Red House Administration Building because Maggie wanted to go into the store there, and buy some more jewelry. However, the store was closed. We went to the casino. It was Maggie's first time in a casino and she got fifteen dollars of free play. She used that, plus some extra cash of her own I think. I spent fifteen dollars and didn't win anything. I don't know how much Peggy spent. We had a nice lunch in the Seneca Cafe. Peggy and I shared our sandwiches. Maggie orderd spaghetti and meatballs and was a given a HUGE serving, which she was unable to finish. After lunch, we returned to ASP and our cottage. I took a nap. Earlier I the day, we had decided to not prepare a real supper tonight, but to "graze" instead. I had a piece of chery pie and some crackers. Peggy and I played one or two games of MANKALA and the three of us played BANANA GRAMS before we all realized we were all too tired to continue. I emptied the canned goods out of the cupboard before going to bed.
WEDNESDAY the 9th. I am glad I got up around seven a.m. since it was a hectic and long few hours getting things packed up and ready to leave. It was mostly the food, of which there was a lot. Maggie took some and I took some. My cooler and small blue cooler bag were pretty full. On the way home, we drove by the KROLICK's and Maggie wanted to turn around and go there for lunch. It was just about the right time. She ordered a full meal with two meats and potato salad. Her meal sounded better than mine (pulled pork sandwich with two sides), but I did not want to tackle ribs inside Maggie's car. We both had to use the Porta Potty before leaving. UGH. We made it back to Lockport around two thirty, I think. Maggie helped me get all of my stuff inside. I started to watch an episode of THE CONNORS that I missed while I was in ASP, but it was boring and I kept drifting off, so I turned it off and went to bed.
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