Like I said in an earlier post we had Melinda's Mom with us and as usual she keep us entertained with the amount of stuff she brought with her, the length of time she spent in the gas station at every stop, the amount of stuff she bought at every gas station we stopped at and all the friends she made along the way.
Since I got the Hero cam my trailside pics have been lacking but I'm pretty sure the videos are just as entertaining and tell just as good a story.
The Karate Monkey was my only steed on this trip even though I still had the snot green BMC loaner in my possession.
There weren't a ton of scenic views of the massive lake from the trail so I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it. Unfortunately it happened to be the only day it wasn't sunny & clear skies. A T-storm rolled in on us later that day just as we finished our ride.
I was cruising down the trail at a high rate of speed when this little guy grabbed my attention. At first I wasn't sure what it was, but something neon orange in the woods just begs to be taken a closer look at. One of the guys we were camping & riding with is an avid outdoorsman who really knows his mushrooms, at least the ones that are edible. He wasn't with me when I found this guy and I wanted to take him with me but I knew he would make the trip in my jersey pocket. I thought about eating it but decided against it just in case it made me see funny things and I still had a few miles to go. I didn't mean to pick it but it snapped off when I was taking a closer look. Kinda bummed me out because it was the only one.
Dustin is notorious for breaking something on his bike and having at least one flat everytime I ride with him. I think this trip he really only had a couple mechanicals and one flat. Funny how his one flat was on the pavement between the trailhead and the campsite. If I ever win the lottery I'm gonna buy him 2 of the burliest all-mountain bikes I can find. I'm sure he would destroy it them too but I'm curious to find out how long it would take. Two so he would have a backup while the other is being fixed.
One spot we stopped to rest and someone suggested I get on this downed tree and do something cool for a pic. I'm not really sure how cool this poise was but it's all I could think of at the time.
Melinda and I on our ride together with me rocking the Hero cam on my helmet.
On the last day we decided to hit the local zipline for a little something different. It wasn't really anything to write home about but the wannabe white boy rappers who were working there kept me laughing, at least on the inside.
Yes she did dance and play the air guitar while I accompanied her on a real guitar. No I can't play for real but I can pretend really well for photos.
Cody brought his boat out, a 70's something model that had alot of character that he named "Willy". I thought it would be cool to ride in the back as Dustin towed us through the campground. We later found out that was a big no no.
Whatever you do, if someone bring a deck of micro sized playing cards to the campground, immediately toss them into the fire. They are reeeaaally hard to use and will only piss you off.
While Raystown had alot to offer in the way of outdoor recreation it didn't have much in the way of retail or grocery stores. If you needed something and didn't want to drive 20 minutes to get it you went to the local gas station. You can't buy beer at gas stations in Peee-Yay but you can buy groceries, chips from foreign countries, bait, fishing poles, lawn equipment, hunting supplies and guns, clothes and really cool camo hats of all shapes and sizes. I saw this one in grey camo and decided I needed it, especially since Melinda is always on my case about not getting sunburned.
Our last night in town we decided to go out to eat. We had to travel about 20 mins. to the next town to find a place that wasn't part of a gas station and the next town only had this one place. I can't remember the name of the joint, something like Burly's or Big Chuck's I'm not sure but the name fit the place well. No wonder 64% of America is overweight. I felt like a bigger person after I left. I also found out where the term "choke & puke" came from.
After seeing that neon mushroom on the trail I guess I was on the lookout for other odd colored things. I found this purple egg on the salad bar and had to try it since Cody had 3 on his plate. I'm pretty sure it was a pickled egg but I'm not sure about the purple color. I doubt you'll see many of these on the Food Network.
Everytime I visit Peee-Yay I find, learn or see something new, this trip I did all three. The only bad experience we had while we were there was some guy at one of the trailheads who decided it was cool to make fun of Melinda's accent. Luckily for him I didn't hear him do it but Melinda did and it was probably a good thing she waited to tell me later in the ride. I probably would have made him wonder where my supposed "Southern Charm" was. I'm really not one to pick a fight but I really know how to harass the SH*T out of someone especially on the trail. Of all people to make fun of someone's accent this guy should have kept his mouth shut, not only did he sound like a dork he looked like one.
Kinda reminded me of Homer's boss from the Simpsons.
I really wished I had heard his comment.
You haven't been to PA, until you've downed a helping of something called "scrapple".
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