A busy, busy summer

Well it's been a over a month since my last post, but I suppose this is what happens after our long Northwest PA winters. We've dreamed and planned for July, so once it arrives we are busy, busy, busy.

Since my last post, I’ve:

Had a large family picnic where I broke out two of my summer specialties: pit barbecued chicken, with a vinegar based sauce and smoked pulled pork with my homemade Kansas City style sweet sauce.

We took a week of vacation where we spent 4 days at my uncle’s cabin, with various day trips around the Allegheny National Forest. So much to write about there! I’ve got 4-5 blog posts slated, and I’ll probably even work in a published piece on this trip.

My hometown’s annual motorcycle rally, took place. The Roar on the Shore is in its 7th season, and was bigger than ever this year.

Flower garden is in full swing, and since we’ve had a cool, somewhat wet summer, the yard work hasn’t stopped either.

Shot 2 more videos for the Gear Review at www.NWPAOutdoors.com, plus published an article and worked on a second, for NWPA Outdoors, and the Erie Times-News.

And even as I find time to eak out one more blog post, my mind is wandering to the camping trip with my in-laws last weekend. We headed down to Red Bridge campground on the shores of the Kinzua Reservoir, deep in the heart of the National Forest, and completely out of cell range for 48 hours. A blessing and a curse to be sure!

But this is what we do. Living in the northern tier our winters are long and harsh. Often not much to do, and not a ton of motivation to do what is available. So we plan and dream. Then when July and August comes around we replenish our spirit with warm weather outdoors activities with family and friends.

Happy Exploring
Scott M



Local wilderness vacations: Shades Beach

For my 3rd installment, featuring wild places to explore locally I'd like to offer Shades Beach in Harborcreek Township.  While it doesn't offer the ranging trails and acres of trees that places like Asbury Woods has to offer, Shades beach is a wonderful place to play and explore.

The above map was taken directly from the Harborcreek Township website dedicated to Shades beach, and it outlines your options quite well.

If you've never been there, and would like to check it out, a warm Sunday is a tremendous option.  Especially if you've got a little guy with an abundance of energy, like in the first picture above. Just south of the main parking lot is a large picnic pavilion that is available to rent.  Immediately next to the pavilion are two nearly brand new playground sets.  Great options for a small picnic with kids, or even your next family reunion.

For the adventurous sorts there are a couple acres of woods that can be explored.  While the map does not outline any formal trails, I'm sure you will stumble upon several well used routes through the woods. These woods are bordered by a wonderful example of the natural cliffs, which surround the Great Lakes.  Unlike Presque Isle and its very typical sand and beach structures, most of the shoreline of the Great Lakes are actually rather steep cliffs.  These cliffs graphically display the geology of our region, with layers of shale topped by clay and topsoil.  Then just a narrow strip of beach separates the cliff and the water.

Even with the narrow strip of beach there is still room for the sun lovers among us if you're looking for a more out of the way area to work on your tan.  For the boaters, the ample parking lot and long boat ramp are a great access point to explore Lake Erie, east of the city.

Finally, one of the best reasons to visit Shades beach is the sunsets.  As a result of the angle of Lake Erie's shoreline it has been said that our summer sunsets rival some of the best sunsets in the world.  I'm not hardly a world traveller, but I was reminded by a friend last week of how beautiful the sunsets are at Shades beach when she posted a photo to Twitter.

It might be a small out of the way little park, but Shades beach truly has a lot to offer for all of us in northwest PA.

Happy Exploring
Scott M

Endless options to enjoy a good hike.

How fitting that after all last week of 40-50 degree weather and thinking of camping all week Mother Nature sees fit to remind all of us that it's January, we're in northwest PA, and as long as that lake isn't frozen a lake effect snow event, can and will arrive. 

While many of my friends are bemoaning the return of winter, I can't lie, I'm pretty excited.  And after being demolished by a horrible colds/infections over the last 4 weeks I need to get outside and feel fresh air. 

There's plenty of opportunities, even in the dead of winter with 12 inches of snow on the ground. 

Presque Isle State Park is running their New Year's resolution walk series.  This informational walk series takes place every Thursday night and has a different track to walk each time.  This is such a great way to explore an area many of us visit all summer, but rarely see in the beauty of winter.

Asbury woods has well groomed hiking trails that runners and dog walkers love spring summer and fall, why not explore them in the depth of winter?  The trails are still there, it's a great workout to break trail through the snow, and the blanket of white actually helps animals to stand out in the woods, so you're likely to see more animals this time of year.

Wintergreen Gorge hiking trail is an underdeveloped gem on the edge of the city.  The small public parking lot on the north end will likely keep it this way, and the topography doesn't exactly lend itself to easy going hikes.  The main trail is a mountain biker/cross country runners dream workout, buring legs and lungs.  Having grown up within a couple miles, I've had the opportunity to explore minor paths, and the place is amazing, and has so much potential.

To mention a truly underdeveloped public space:  Six Mile Creek Park, in Greene township is fundamentally unknown, and still stuck in the development phases.  Zoom in a Google Map on the area of I-90 and Station Rd, and all of a sudden you'll see a large green swath named Six Mile Creek Park.  How underdeveloped this is, is quite unfortunate, because this park could rival Asbury woods/Brown's farm area for public trail access and vast natural space preserved for public use.

One final property, or group of properties of note are the State Game Lands in northwest PA.  Yes these are areas typically used by hunters, but the reality is, they are public lands open to anyone.  Each one typically has well-developed parking areas, and several have nice trail systems that you can easily hike and explore.  SGL 109 has multiple access points along Rt 97, and SGL 218 is easily accessible from Rt 8 and has multiple paved parking lots for your use.  Hunters can and are using the areas, so it would be a good idea to throw an orange cap on, and be respectful of the area you're sharing with them.

I could go on for days with different areas, but I'll save those for later blogs.

Happy Exploring
Scott M

Between a Good Time and a Great Time

My wife and I both grew up camping, so we want our boys to have the same love of the outdoors, and fond childhood memories that we have because of camping.  We have found with a little planning we can turn potential good times into great times.

Each summer we plan various trips around Northwest PA and usually at least twice a year we make it the cabin my Grandfather built, that my Uncle now owns.  It's a wonderful place full of rich memories for me, and in all honestly "cabin" is a bit of an understatement.  The building could easily be used as a full time residence by nearly anyone that doesn't mind a bit of a drive to the grocery store.  All the same it backs up against 100's of acres of timber property, with a network of old logging roads, 4 wheeler tracks, and even the remnants of a small gauge railroad track used to mine sandstone and soft coal, we've affectionately named "the dinky track."  There's a mid century fire tower nearby, underneath of which is an old USGS marker which would have been used to map the mountain years ago.

To supplement the trips to my Uncle's cabin, we have branched out looking for campgrounds to take the boys.  Since we don't own a proper tent for all of us, and the idea of sharing a tent with boys as young as ours leaves a bit to be desired, we try to go to campgrounds where we can rent a cabin.  This has made the searching very tough, and cost us more money than typical camping trips, it has also taught us invaluable lessons about what we like in a campground.

Not to overstate it, but I LOVE Google maps.  I will use Google searches to trackdown a couple prospective campgrounds, but Google maps tells the real story.

Our 2011 camping trip is a tremendous example of this:  Robert had just turned 6 and Aiden was about to be 1.  After a successful trip to my Uncle's cabin, I found Pymatuning Campground, Pymatuning State Park, Andover OH.  This location stuck out, because of the Yurts they had available to rent.  A Yurt is a round tent with a peaked ceiling.  At the park they have them erected on a wooden deck with a covered picnic table.  Inside, two futon style bunkbeds, plus a sink and small refrigerator.  The brochure pictures look amazing, but that's really easy to do.  What does the Google satellite image show us?

In the above screen grab you will see a double driveway entering the park.  Near the top center you can make out 4 round white dots.  A single dot with a driveway, two dots with one driveway, then another single dot with a driveway.  Those dots are the Yurts.  You'll notice how close those are to the road, and the lack of tree cover in that section of the campground.  Couple that with the multiple paved spurs off of the driveways and this is obviously the section of the campground that is much more RV park then campground.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but this is good information to have prior to booking.  If you like big woods, long hikes, this might not be the place.  However, there was a clean, guarded beach, plus some flea markets nearby and the ever popular Pymatuning Deer Park.  So we packed walking shoes instead of hiking boots, plus swim trunks, and we had a grand weekend.

In 2012 with our boys a year older, and Aiden in the full thralls of the terrible twos, we made the decision we'd try just one night, but we wanted a much more secluded location.  Our plan, over the course of one week, was to spend a couple nights at my Uncle's, then branch out to a campground in the Allegheny National Forest.  We quickly discovered that Willowbay was the only Forest controlled campground with cabins available.  That was fine because as Google Maps showed this area had exactly what we wanted.

The primary driveway leaves the main road and serves all the campsites, plus the boat dock at the end of the campground.  If your eye follows the driveway, there is a parking lot near the center of the picture.  To the left of that parking area there is a thicker wooded area between the road and the shore.  It is in that wooded area where they have installed 10 simple one room cabins.

The cabins have a bunk bed and a twin bed.  You must provide your own linens, but each cabin has electricity.  From where the above picture is taken there is a walking path to my left, and on the other side of the path is a primitive campsite for tent camping that is directly on the water.  If you are at all into canoeing or kayaking I would highly recommend Willowbay. I would say for an ideal experience rent the cabin to have a dry comfortable place to sleep, then for a few bucks more rent the primitive site nearby.  Now you can leave your canoe in the primitive site, and have the benefits of the dry cabin when night falls.

While planning for our 2013 outing I was taking a drive around Oil Creek State Park.  Robert is getting to the age where the historical stuff is starting to get neat, and Oil Creek offers me miles and miles of trails.  On my drive I stumbled upon a sign for Oil Creek Family Campground.  The entry sign left me a little flat, but on their website I discovered they have several cabins for rent, at very reasonable prices.  My next question:  What does Google maps show me? 

Obviously heavily wooded, so I like it off the bat.  To the right of this picture is nothing but State Park land all the way down to Oil Creek.  In fact there is a hiking trail that connects the campground to the network of trails in the State Park.  It may only be the middle of January, but I think we have found a campground to book for 2013.

Spend a little time on your computer, scouting new locations, and your time away from home will be well spent.

Happy Camping
Scott M

Oil Creek State Park

A little less than an hour south of Erie lies a small region of Northwest PA that very few people outside of the region have even heard of, let alone visited.  Yet events that happened there over 150 years ago have shaped the very direction of human life on this planet.  There is not a single day that goes by where we don't come into contact with the technology founded in this region of PA.  Of course I'm talking about Oil Creek, and the corridor that connects Oil City, Titusville and Warren.  It was here along the banks of a little known creek where Col Edwin Drake developed technology to efficiently extract crude oil from the Earth.

For centuries native peoples knew of small pockets in the region where a black slimy substance bubbled up from the ground and spoiled the water nearby.  They found out if you separated that substance from the water it would burn.  It stunk and gave off black smoke, but if you dipped cloth in it, it would be easier for you to transport fire starting material.  This is a critical skill in any nomadic or even semi-nomadic people.

In the post Civil War years whales were slaughtered en mass for their fat.  This fat could be easily boiled down and transported, making for cheap and safe lamp oil.  Lamp oil that eventually became so popular that whale population began to pay a hefty price.  Necessity being the mother of invention, people began looking for cheaper sources of lamp oil. 

Crude oil, while cheap, was not efficient to hand dip out of a few swamps here and there.  So what Col Drake did was to develop the first efficient drilling and piping rig to be used to give the crude oil a controlled method of escape.  And thus was born the modern age. 

Without oil the auto industry doesn't leave the ground.  Internal combustion engines are inefficient dreams.  And the plastics that encompass our entire modern lives never exists.  All of those things are derived from crude oil that Col Drake's pipes released from the ground.

Presently the heavily wooded region surrounding Drake's well has been preserved as a State Park, saving both the natural beauty of the region. The actual historic site is preserved with a museum, and for a nominal fee you can explore the grounds and view some amazing old equipment.  The park has over 50 miles of hiking and biking trails, plus a historic train ride available seasonally.  Tent camping is available in several areas, and some simple lean-to shelters you can stay in while hiking. 

This past weekend I took my youngest son down to the museum.  It was just a short trip on Sunday, and we spent our time hiking along a couple of the shorter trails, and just enjoying the pleasant January weather.  We did drive several of the roads around the park, but be warned, many have no winter maintenance.  We were lucky that the recent thaw had cleared the way, but I could see several areas that would have been quite sketchy during a normal January.

Happy Exploring
Scott M

January Gear Review: Ice Fishing

I spent some time at FishUSA.com's headquarters talking Ice Fishing gear. Check out my article and video for more information,

Gear up for ice fishing | GoErie.com/Erie Times-News

While the weather has turned here on the North Coast, they're colder days in the forecast. So we still have a chance at some hard water action.

Happy Fishing
Scott M

From the Driver's Seat

So as a couple with careers and young children my wife and I, are bound to have some times when one or the other, needs to be with the kids in order for the other one to get stuff done.  That happened this past Sunday.  My wife was coming off 3rd shift and needed to sleep during the day.  The oldest was out with his grandpa, so it was me and our youngest, Aiden.  He's 2 1/2, and independent beyond those few years.  However, I still can't take him deep into the woods, or too far up an unfamiliar stream.  So what's an outdoor explorer to do?  Get out the new camera and the telephoto lens, and hop into the Jeep. 

After a short drive I found myself on a country road I had been down a 100 times before, but apparently not this late in the year.  The above pic is what I believe to be a Holly Leaf Redberry Bush.  Being mid December the leaves were all long gone, so I was only left with the berries and the stems to identify the plant, so I'm not 100% sure on that name.  The above pic was taken from the driver's seat.  God Bless Telephoto lenses!!

What I really love about these pics is what I also really love about living in northwest PA.  Being this far north, we experience true change in the angle of the sun.  This picture was shortly after noon, but look at how the shadows reaches out in the right of the frame.  That is just how low the sun is at mid day here during December.

Here's another one.  Classically posed, just draping over the old split rail fence.  Again the long mid winter light illuminating the berries and causing shadows to reach out of the frame.

And again, just a classic shot.  Split rail fence, barn in the background, long mid winter light.  On a sunny day in December, I could put 200 miles on my Jeep looking at these shots.  And thankfully Aiden is a great passenger.

I did let him run off a little energy. You simply can't keep a 2 year old in a car for that long.  Least of all Aiden.  So we headed over to Presque Isle.  If you've never heard of Presque Isle, please take the time to look it up. If you're within couple hour drive, please please come and visit.  Presque Isle is a true gem in PA's State Park system. 

At the east end of the peninsula there stands a monument to Oliver Perry, and the Battle of Lake Erie, fought during the war of 1812.  History buffs will tell you the significance of the war of 1812, and the role the Battle of Lake Erie played in that war.  Since Aiden had no interest in hearing about that (what 2 year old would) we simply ran around and explored the sites and sounds.

I couldn't have posed him better.  I was looking at the bay, and he simply walked over to the cement wall, knelt down and peaked over the edge.  Shots like this make the investment I made in my camera, 100% worth it. 

Happy Exploring
Scott M

Holiday Gift Ideas

December 7th. 

Mathematically 18 days until Christmas.  Plenty of time. Right?  What's your calendar look like for the remainder of the month?  Work Christmas party.  Spouse's Work Christmas party.  Family coming into town early. Your leaving to be out of town for Christmas.  Now what do those 18 days look like? 

They probably look mighty thin, especially if there's an outdoorsman (or woman) on your list.  As outdoors-people go we rank among the hardest to shop for when Christmas roles around.  Why?  Not everyone is into the outdoors, so they don't have any idea of what we use or need out there in the field.  Even if they have an idea, outdoorsman are notorious for just buying what we need when we need it. 

So here's a trick:  Don't try to buy something he doesn't have.  Replace something he already uses.

Let's talk optics.

What most of us know about optics, binoculars specifically, could fit in the palm of our hand.  Hunters included in this discussion.  So let's go with a basic primer on optics and look at some options that won't break your Christmas budge and the outdoorsman in your life won't be scared to lose in the woods.

Unless you're heading out west for a Elk or Antelope hunt you really don't need a big over-powered set of binoculars.

All binoculars have two statistics that you should worry about:  Weight and Objective lens size.

Weight is easy.  Lighter is better.  If it's hanging around my neck, or weighing down my pocket, the lighter the binoculars are the more likely I am to carry them.  Save the full size binoculars for bird watching when you are heading afield with a book and a good pair of binoculars.  Look at the compact models for packing in with the rest of your hunting gear.  The typical hunter is probably carrying between 10-15lbs of gear including the layers of clothes, and whatever lands in their pockets and packs.

Objective lens size.  Okay this is honestly a tougher choice, but in my opinion, boils right down to usability.  When you see a binocular and it's called a "10x25" or "8x42" the second measurement is called the "objective lens."  The objective lens is not the lens near your eye, it's the lens that let's in light.  Therefore the bigger the objective lens the more light that enters the binoculars.  More light, more detail.  However that objective lens can contribute a lot to the overall weight of the binoculars. 

The reality for most hunters east of the Mississippi is we hunt small thick woodlots.  So in this case if you hunt in areas common to Northwest PA you simply don't need a bigger objective lens.  It's not going to help you to see through the thick brush, so unless you really like being able to pick out individual thorns on the brier bushes 50yds away, save the weight and go with a 10x25.

So before you head off to the local sporting goods store, write down these two things:
Compact binoculars, 10x25

I'll let you decide between black and camo!

For more gift ideas check out my gear article in this Sunday's Erie Times-News www.goerie.com on the NWPA Outdoors page.

Happy Hunting
Scott M