Into Pennsylvania

The day through Ohio (Monday) was quite rainy in some places and very rainy in other. Not much chance to see wildlife, except for a token hawk (wet as it was) and a few deer. The flat farmland was a great contrast to the hills which were to come in PA.
The campground we had planned to stay in was so wet and muddy when we got there, that we decided , as it was only 3:00 Pm, to move down the road another hour. We did just that after putting the vehicle in 4WD and easing back out the way we came in.
That meant we did stop in Mercer PA just over the border from OH. It was a very quiet campground with many empty seasonal campers. So it was a quiet night with only the rain to pitter patter on the roof.A good lullaby that was.
The morning dawned bright , sunny and although at 39F it was a bright , hopeful morning. (Aren't they all?). Now we began to see the beautiful rolling "mountains of the National Forest and the great millions of acres of forests that northern PA has to offer. At one rest stop about 1/2 way across the I-80 corridor, it described a 147 mile loop road on which you can observe the rejuvenated Elk herd in various spots. That herd was reestablished after, in the mid 1800's it was decimated . In the 1950's they brought a herd from Colorado and its now numbering in the 600 +.
There were more birds today and we ended the day with a sighting of both a Belted Kingfisher and an Eastern Phoebe with its tail flipping constantly. (An earmark of this specie.) More hawks and lots of crows and Vulture seen along the way.
The sky was mostly blue today and those drifting cumulus clouds made a pretty sight. The campground just a few miles from New Tripoli in the Leheigh Valley a short distance from the NJ border. When we head for Plumsteadville to drop off the church handbells tomorrow, we will be only 25 miles from NJ.
The campgrounds are in the "waking up" stage for the spring, with lots of work being done, pools getting fresh water and new swing sets installed. It is a buzz of activity before the rush comes after Memorial Day weekend.

This evening, after the fine weather day we did have a few small, short duration thunderstorms roll through. I understand that in MI there was snow above and in the UP.

That's it from this one and after we get settled in NJ at Barnegat I will add some impressions of the miles around Philadelphia to the Atlantic Coast. The hardest part will be getting to Plumsteadville without any wrong turns. This are 17th century road paths for the most part.

See you then and thanks for reading.