2018 05 06 - 05 16 North Central PA, Elk Center, Mohican State Park near Loudonville Ohio.

Woodland, Pennsylvania - 3 May 2018

A quiet campground northwest of State College where Penn State University is located. At a half hour drive from camp we were nonetheless glad to see a Trader Joe's so we could stock up. There is a definite feeling of spring in the air with plenty of rain and rising humidity. 

The Elk Country Visitor Center - 7 May 2018

Our day trip was an hours drive north of camp to take the Elk Viewing Scenic Drive. Wait! ELK!!! Where are we again? Pennsylvania's elk range covers over 3,000 square miles including 9 counties and a 127-mile route with 23 viewing sites. Seems that elk once roamed freely throughout Pennsylvania but rapid settlement combined with unregulated hunting and habitat loss resulted in completely eliminating them from the state by 1867.

Rocky Mountain Elk from Yellowstone were introduced into the state between 1913 and 1926. The current herd were eventually successful and currently number around 900. 

Not being early at-the-crack-of-dawn risers, we were not convinced that we would get any "viewing" this day. This specimen seemed like the only elk we would be seeing today. We were, however, very thankful for the high clearance of the truck as some of the viewing areas would have been more than my Camry could have handled.  While Bob did the driving, I kept a careful eye on any grassy fields whether right off the road or a distance away. We had collected several maps to help us locate the frequented areas for elk gatherings but I was not having much luck.

We had been on the road for a couple hours when I spied this young beauty with a few girlfriends grazing in someone's front yard. We tried not to trespass too much when we turned off the road onto their driveway but just could not pass up the chance for a couple pictures.

Black Moshannon State Park - 8 May 2018

Hoping for some birding opportunities another road trip was needed. But, alas, while there was some twittering (nothing near 280 characters thankfully) the participants were as elusive as the elk. 

In the bog area we were astonished to see this bug dissolving pitcher plant. Not as common in stores as the Venus Fly-Trap plant, I had one of these in a smaller version when I was a kid. Ah, memories. 

Swamp Thing...

Loudonville, Ohio, Mohican State Park - 11 May 2018

I think Bob is getting pretty good at backing our house into some of these site. This one is just long enough for the RV and parking the truck perpendicular to it along the road. We had no more than set up when the Ohio humidity rolled in up to 85%. Lovely. It was a large, pretty, well maintained state park with the Clear Fork Creek flowing behind the sites behind us. It's a good thing there were plenty of things locally to do because after setting up camp we realized we had no phone coverage, no Wi-Fi access and no television reception. There were three radio stations available unless we wanted to sit in the truck to listen to Sirius XM. But inside the RV we had one each of classical, hip-hop or country options.

After our trip from Pennsylvania, the dogs and Bob where ready for some outdoor activity. With the humidity, I was happy to relax inside while they trecked the Mohican Rim Trail where he discovered he could get cell phone service. It was a mile long trail which gave him enough time to notify family that we were incommunicado for the next week unless we traveled outside the campgrounds. 

 Tori and Dakota patiently waiting for Bob to finish with my phone calls and texts. 

Hooded Warbler. This was a really good birding location. We saw many brightly colored birds that we had not seen while we lived here. 

Mohican Gorge - 12 May 2018

As you can see, it's a shorts and t-shirt kind of day. The Clear Fork Creek runs under this covered bridge with walking trails on either side that ends after a 1.5 mile walk to the earthen dam to the north. 

 Overlook stop to catch our breathe. The trees are leafing out so we have some shade. 

Turkey Vultures were circling  over the river which claimed to have 4 species of bass, crappie, Musky, sunfish, and a couple others. 

Ohio version of Stonehenge. No, not really. It's the overflow intake in front of the dam but the water would have to rise more than 60 feet to get to this point. We do not want to be around if that ever happens. 

"UNSAFE FOOTING" Ya think?

I moved this as far off the path as I could but we were on our way back down river so I was not at my best. Tori appreciated the effort though.

Just a little further, cross the bridge, take a right and another few hundred feet for a cool drink.