Promised Land Pocono Tour continued....

We packed up early on Sunday to get a move on before the storms rolled in....

Since we were already upstate we decided to explore some other parks in the area.
We visited Tobyhanna State Park and almost immediately had a possible eagle sighting. We also saw a heron and some seriously svelte wild turkeys. The lake and beach look nice and we determined that we would consider camping there if we could find a quiet spot as it was pretty populated with families...

Next we passed thru Hickory Run State Park, quickly putting it pretty far down on our list of places to camp. Sites were a tight squeeze in a pretty small loop. And you could have an RV for a neighbor.
No thanks.
Also not sure if this park had a water feature- but we didn't see one....

And we headed back South we headed to Jim Thorpe. It's even nicer and cuter and prettier then I remembered. 
 

We had a lovely stroll down the streets with Maddie in tow. She was great and put up with all the comments that come along with being a Great Dane. She even decided to let the child who brazenly poked her in the face live to tell about it.

She was pretty tired after that.

Welcome to the Promised Land!

and Hallelujah! does that name ever deliver...

Now I've seen some lakes in my life....too many to even recount actually....but this lake (and this land) were by far the most beautiful I've seen in a very long time!
Around every bend was a picturesque view more perfect then the one before it...

Moss, ferns, tiny mini pine trees made looking down as enjoyable as looking around. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife even tho it had been noted that there had been Bald Eagle sightings in the park. Sadly, we did not see one.
Although, Chris may have heard one....he may have also heard a bear....

                                                

                                                       

We left late afternoon Friday for the 3 hour trip up to the Poconos. The directions got a little sketchy in the dark, but we rolled into the campground late but fine. That being said- it's a little sucky trying to pick the best, most private tent site in the unfamiliar dark- and it always 

seems like the spot that looks the best on the campground map rarely is.... 

Again the campground was very clean and the people were all very nice- which is good - especially when our 140lb dog keeps growling at you when you pass by. 

Weather was pretty much fantastic, except for a passing shower on Saturday.

We found the world's most perfect marshmallow stick- I wanted to keep it, but ended up leaving it for the next lucky visitors to site 211. 

Bears seen so far: 0

Eagles seen so far: 0

The Maiden Voyage

For our first trip, and Maddie's *first-ever* trip, we decided on Susquehanna State Park just over the line in beautiful Maryland. The campground was great, clean, private... a little loud at times due to the multi-child family next to us (see excerpt of some of their conversation below) , but it did nothing to dampen our spirits. The weather was perfect and we considered going to a beetle seminar later that night, but decided cooking dinner was more important.  It was a tough decision tho.....I love me some beetles...

Here's a little taste of what went on next door to us: 

Dad to Child 1: GET IN THE TENT!!

Dad to Child 2: GET OUT OF THE TENT!!

Dad to Child 3: GET IN THE TENT!!

Dad to Child 1: GET OUT OF THE TENT!!

Dad to Child 2 or 3, maybe it was 1 again- we lost count... GET IN THE TENT!!

Bears seen so far: 0

Eagles seen so far: 0

Ahhhhhh Camping......