Our Journey Across the Country
Pennsylvania to New York | 4/1/22 - 4/8/22
Our next 2 stops after Virginia were both Thousand Trails parks. From Winchester VA it was off to Timothy Lake Campground South in Pennsylvania, by way of a 5-mile jaunt through West Virginia and another 45 minutes through Maryland before crossing the border into Pennsylvania. We had never realized that these states overlap in this area the way they do! Timothy Lake Campground is located in the Poconos area of Pennsylvania. It was our least favorite stop on this leg to Connecticut., but we stayed at no cost for 3 nights, 4/1 - 4/4/22. As seems to be typical of TT campgrounds (versus RV parks), it was a tired facility and the grounds were not maintained very well. Even the Pocono area along the Delaware River seemed dated. But it was not yet the summer season so maybe a different time of year it could have been better. Things were just beginning to open up for the season so hikes, for example, were still closed due to weather. (we got a hailstorm not long after we set up camp). Fun fact, many of the waterfalls and hikes in the area are privately owned, not state parks.
From 4/4-4/8/22 we stayed at Rondout Valley Campground and Resort in Accord NY, which is another Thousand Trails Park. Roundout Valley Resort is situated at the union of Mill Brook and Rochester Creek, which was a lovely setting for camping, and we scored a campsite right along Mill Brook. From the campground we could easily venture out to the nearby Catskills area and explore the countryside and villages near the Hudson River. We loved the old stone buildings and New England architecture, the string of villages with Ma & Pop businesses, small farms, etc. We particularly liked the towns of Stone Ridge and New Paltz. But because of the rivers and the mountainous topography it seemed that everything is situated along a busy 2-lane highway, and all the traffic was funneled onto the same roads.
Our stay at Rondout began with a lovely sunny day, and we set out the lawn chairs by the brook, and Carmine asked to be let outside. So we set up the crate near the water and let Carmie have some time on leash in the mossy grass, then into the kennel to lounge in the sun. Day 2 we set out exploring the area to the north toward Kingston NY. The next day it began to rain. As we always do prior to travel day, we checked the weather forecasts and began planning our route in the RV. The forecast for our last day in NY was for the rain to continue all day and all night without a break. By noon we could see a noticeable rise in the brook just 10 feet from our rig. With a slight let-up in the rain, Mike decided to disconnect all the hoses and stow them away, to allow a quick get-away if needed, and since the next morning was our scheduled travel day anyway. Mary began casually cleaning and stowing for travel day. By 5pm it was clear the brook had risen quite a lot in the 12 hours of continuous rain, and we were expecting at least another 12 hours of rain. Mary called the campground after-hours host to ask whether they were expecting flooding and what action was being advised. He assured her that the brook was not going to overflow, and that it would have to rain a lot more for that to happen. “If it gets too high, I’ll be knocking on your door - don’t worry!” Mike was unconvinced. We discussed leaving the campground immediately and asking the Connecticut campground if we could come in early, but that would mean driving the rig in this rain, and if our brook was high it was likely that others might be also - we wouldn’t want to be stranded on the road in the RV with flooding rising! The bank of the brook across from our campsite was slightly lower than our side, so Mary figured the flooding would go that way before breaching on our side - maybe the camp manager knew what he was talking about. We walked to the campground bridge which was the only way out. The water was about 3 feet below the underside of the bridge. By 7pm, as dark was nearing, we decided to pull out of our site and drive across the bridge up to higher ground near the camp entrance - better safe than sorry, and better in the light than in the middle of the night. We found a fairly level spot to park the RV along the main road in the staging area, telling ourselves that if the campground didn’t like it we would be leaving first thing in the morning anyway. We parked so as to allow other rigs to get around us into the staging area if/when they needed to. We put out the slides and turned on the generator. Within an hour or so, the large trailer that had been our neighbor was pulling up across from us. They parked on a steep hill, and we were glad we had been the first out to get the best spot. And still the rain continued. Although we were quite concerned about the water level, Mike needed to sleep so that he could drive the next day. Mary stayed up and kept vigil through the night and Mike did his best to get some rest. Another hour or 2 later our other neighbor was across the bridge looking for a place to park. Mary showed them that on the other side of us was quite a lot of room in the staging area, so they moved in just beside us. These folks were from Louisiana and had lived through Hurricane Ida. They were very stressed about the rising water. By 1am the camp manager was driving around, back and forth. Mary walked out to the bridge and sure enough, the sweet little brook was now raging and roiling, just below the underside of the bridge. In the light of the flashlight she could see that the road leading to the bridge was flooded across. folks were wading through, making trips back to their campsites to retrieve more items, in the rain in the dead of night. One by one, other rigs came across, through the flooded driveway, and the camp manager was lining them up in single file along the circle drive up the hill behind the staging area. Those folks were parked on all kinds of slopes. We were SO GLAD we didn’t wait until the middle of the night to move!! By 4 am a couple of backhoes and trucks with trailers were moving around in the campground. The rain had all but stopped, but the waters continued to rise for at least a couple of hours. Mary went to bed for a few of hours and Mike was up at 6 and got some photos in the morning light - most of the section we had been camped in was flooded with rushing muddy water. When we did set out on our move to Connecticut, we learned that some of the roads to the south of us were flooded, so we took a route to the north, up to Kingston, and then back down I-85 to cross the Hudson River at Newburgh. After nearly 5000 miles of traveling, this was our first (and hopefully only!) real safety issue. We called ahead to be sure that Branch Brook campground was not flooded, and they were not. Thankfully, the move was a short one - only 133 miles even with the flood detour- and the sun was out again, so we were able to be leisurely about the schedule.
The ubiquitous sign found across the US
a brief jaunt through WV...
...and MD...
...and into PA
We hadn't realized that MD and WV overlap between VA and PA the way they do! Our route is the white line.
A full size truck and trailer was used to make this sign!
so close to the New Jersey border, but we did not actually enter NJ
huge golden Buddha near Timothy Lake Campground in Pennsylvania
it was chilly at Timothy Lake Campground
not many folks at Timothy Lake Campground, PA
Hail!
This was a Chase Bank! It was designed to blend in with the older buildings in town.
ok, maybe "helping" to pack on travel day is a miscategorization...
The Delaware River at the PA-NY border
Cemeteries are EVERYWHERE in New England. Many more generations to be buried than in the West.
Remember Gulf gas stations from the 1970's? It's still common in New England
just outside Accord NY is Gnome Chompsky, the world's largest garden gnome, at Kelder's Farm.
our campsite at Rondout backed up to the sweet Mill Brook. We welcomed the sunshine after the freezing hail we had in PA
Carmine got do to a little exploring outside in the sunshine
we loved the stone homes in the Stone Ridge and Marbletown area of NY
The college town of New Paltz, NY reminded us a bit of Nevada City, CA
New Paltz NY
New Paltz
This must be the world's smallest convenience store, about 20' x 30' total. They had a little bit of everything, including a well-stocked deli and meat market in the back (the coolers on the left had large cuts of meat)
Mary's aunt Vonnie's clan live here at the Bruderhof community of Woodcrest, which is now in the Rifton area of NY. we just happened to pass by it during our explorations
the creek before the flood...Mary looks nervous!
the calm little creek....before the storm! (note the surface hose in front of Mike's feet, for reference in later photos)
The creek at Rondout RV Resort in Accord, NY overflowed during our stay due to heavy rains
The height of the flood occurred during the wee hours of the night, and had already receded at least a foot by the time there was enough light for photos.
we narrowly missed being under ankle deep water at our campsite.
In this picture from the bridge the creek is to the right and the campsites are on the left - pretty severe flooding!
if you can zoom in you might see the other creek in the center background roiling up in a wave/rapid a couple feet high (on either side or the power pole)!
our campsite the morning after the storm
This was our first toll station on a New York Turnpike - its all automated now, they send you a bill in the mail. (too bad we don't have a mailbox! haha)
refuge on higher ground - note the other rigs lined up to the right of us - so glad we snagged the first spot and had an easy exit in the morning!
Crossing the Hudson River
Hudson River
Mary likes bridges :-)
the Hudson
Ran into heavy traffic in NY east of the Hudson heading toward CT. Reminder that we are close to the higher population density of NYC
heading east toward CT, the views opened up quite a bit