The Adventures of Platy and the Gang

platy

2003 Volume 14
August 16, 2003
C&O Canal

platy
Visitor Center On August 8 we moved to Cumberland, Maryland to begin the C&O Canal. We had a difficult time finding the Visitor's Center located at the western end. Using my GPS I knew where it should be but there was a rail yard between us and it. The map showed a street crossing the tracks that wasn't there. We finally found a sign for visitor information and followed it. It led us right to the Center but there was no place to park the RV. We drove around downtown twice and then gave up.
There are few campgrounds listed for this area. We drove to a NPS campsite right on the canal. There were no hook-ups so we tried a commercial campground a few miles away. When I drove in past a house and down a dirt drive, past the office that was closed and through giant mud puddles, I didn't have much hope. I stopped when the drive went down into the creek (it was dry) and up the other side. The lady owner came across the creek When I said it looked like I would drag the back if I tried to cross she said "we've had bigger one's in there than yours." I said no thanks, turned around in the muddy field and left. We returned to the canal campsite and set up for the night.
There was only us and a tent at the far end of the campground. About 8 that evening a beat-up old pickup pulling a beat-up old boat pulled it. I watched as a girl leaned out of the passenger window and pointed at the site right next to us. Three more cars (most with fenders that were a different color) pulled in behind them. In a few minutes there were 4 kids, 1 hound dog, 6 adults?, 6 tents, and a tarp shelter within a few feet of us. They proceeded to unload a pile of lumber and crates from the truck that looked like they had torn down their outhouse for firewood. The 2 youngboys (8 or 9 years) wearing only shorts and no shoes fanned out to scavenge more wood from all the firerings. They decided that the weeds in front of us was the best place to drop their pants and go to the bathroom.
We had our windows open but had to close them on that side because of the smoke and noise. At dark they lit 4 Coleman lanterns that made it lighter than daylight. They finally went to bed at 5:00 in the morning.
I think that will be our last time at a non-resident hosted campground.
Beginning We started the next day and were very tired. The path starts as a brick stripe that goes under the Interstate, through the rail and downtown area and then to the original canal bed. canal1
We biked 18 miles that day and then moved the RV to the next campground downstream. This campground was a commercial resort. It was crowded and we got the last spot. They have a large pool and there were a lot of permanent trailers and people riding around in golf carts. On Sunday half of the trailers and most of the people left. It was within 2 miles of the canal but not convenient to bike to (hills). It was 60 miles to drive to the point where we stopped the previous day. After biking 36 miles, we had to drive back 60 miles to pickup the RV and then 60 more back to the campground. It was a real long day.
lock Along the way we stopped at a partially restored lock and lockkeeper's house. A volunteer was there with water and cookies and explained how it was when the canal was operating. She showed us grooves that had been worn in the stones from the ropes when the boats locked thru. lock house

We also went through Paw-Paw Tunnel. It's over 3,000 feet long. It took over 15 years to build and was completed in 1850. It took about 20 minutes to walk through by flashlight. tunnel 1 tunnel 2
ducks Mostly the towpath in this area is sort of boring. You are biking in the woods next to a ditch that sometimes has water either clear or covered with green slime, or its full of brush and trees. Sometimes you get a view of the Potomac River but most of the time you are just biking down a 2 rut gravel road. Every few feet is a mud puddle.
They have had a lot of rain lately and sometimes the mud covers the whole path. At the end of the day the bikes are covered and so was I. I had a mud stripe up my back (no fenders). When we stopped for a break the gnats were so bad that we would start again just to get away. Bug spray didn't help. When it rained the third day we decided to move on to Pennsylvania to go camping with John and Adele for a few days. Maybe it will dry up some by the time we get back...

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania


We have traveled to the Loleta Recreation Area in the Allegheny National Forest to meet John and Adele. They have a new pop-up camper and wanted to camp for a few days. For some reason the flies here are vicious. John and I drove 1.5 hours to the nearest Walmart and bought a screen room. The zipper on the door lasted about 5-6 openings and broke. The next day we drove all the way back and returned it. He bought some long pants instead.
The campground is well maintained and very clean. There is a swimming pool that was created by the CCC's by building 2 dams in the creek with the swimming area in between. camping
pool

Farmers Inn zoo
On Saturday, the last day we were there, it began to rain. John and Adele packed up and went home early. We followed them to a store named Tall Oaks and then for lunch in Kane. They left for home from there and we went on to the Farmers Inn. It's a restaurant/store complex with a petting zoo. We ended up being there for a while and had an early dinner.
Farmers Inn webpage

8/16-- We have moved back to Hancock, Maryland and will return to biking the C&O tomorrow.
 
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