On to Pennsylvania!

 From Maryland, it was on to Pennsylvania and Seven Points Recreation Area at Raystown Lake. Bob and I have stayed here before--2021--and enjoyed it. This time we will only be here for 3 nights. The distance was one of our longer ones on this trip, 187 miles. As we got ready to start our drive, we decided to wait a bit since it was foggy in the mountains. We took our time driving as the official check in time is 5 p.m. We were hoping that the site we reserved was vacant the night before so it would be available earlier. It was! We had site 3 next to the playground and the bathroom.  As you can see, it was a large site.

 The next morning, we drove to the visitor center so we could hike the trail around the park. It is a nice trail, but at the end, it is steep! From one of the higher viewpoints along the trail we had a good view of the marina.

 The area behind the visitor center is a habitat for native species. It is always  fun to see what has been planted in this area. .

 After our hike, we ate lunch in Sol then set out to complete a Geocache Adventure Lab in Huntingdon. The lab took us to some remote roads and viewpoints of Raystown Dam and Lake. 

Our first stop was a fishing hole favored by the locals. The next stop was the spillway of the dam.

 Then we drove to the top of the dam to see the pagoda that was dedicated in 1974 when the dam was completed. As we walked around the pagoda, a man told us there was an eagle sitting in the middle of the top of the dam.

 Sure enough, we spotted the eagle. He was too far away for us to get a good picture, but he patiently waited while we tried.

 

 The next two stops were overlooks--Ridenour and Hawn's. They were only 300 yards apart. The first picture is from Ridenour Overlook.

 

The last one is Hawn's Overlook. This overlook completed the Adventure Lab.

Time to head to the local brewery for some refreshments. Last time we were in the area, we visited Juniata Brewery and we visited it again this time . Once again the drinks were yummy. Bob had his usual IPA, but I ventured into the unknown with with a ginger lemonade kombucha (hard). It was also good, but different.

The following day we decided to hike the Old Loggers Trail once again. When we were here in 2021, we hiked the trail. It was moderately challenging and muddy. Well, it hadn't changed much--it was still moderately challenging and VERY muddy!

 

Once we got to the bridge, we had to make a decision

Were we going with the gradual incline or the steep incline?

Yes, we started with the gradual incline! We preferred to do the steep side on the way down. Unfortunately, the gradual incline had the most mud! We had to cross several small streams, but they were a breeze...there were rocks to step on. Other places, the trail was just a mud hole!

There were also downed trees we had to climb over.

 It was not a terrible hike, but it was challenging...all 5.85 miles of it. We definitely relaxed once we got back to Sol and had much needed showers!

CHEERS to another successful stop!