Ken Lockwood Gorge Wildlife Management Area

Sometimes when you say "I live in New Jersey" most people think that we live in a city of off a exit on the parkway. Well that is far from the truth here in the western part of the state. Ken Lockwood Gorge is located in the High Bridge area and has some of the most beautiful scenery.

Hiking along in the morning will bring some magical sights as the sun shines through the trees. 

A small stream runs down the mountain.

Old railroad bridge that is now part of the Columbia Trail. The bridge elevation is at around 80 feet and length of 260 feet. 

We are looking toward the changing of the seasons this fall and how the george will look. Stay tuned !

Hershey Park - Camping / Concert / Roller Coasters

A summer is not complete without visiting a amusement park, camping and going to an outdoor concert. While we have been to concerts at Hershey Park before last year was the first that we stayed for a couple of nights and camped at Hershey Highmeadows Campground (now called Hersheypark Camping Resort). Since the visit was so good we decided to do it again this year.
Our drive out to the campground early Friday afternoon was somewhat uneventful, there was a truck accident on I-81 north that caused delays from people looking at what happened. Once we arrived we were greeted by the campground staff that gave us our parking pass and site assignment. Check in here is the best of any campground we have ever visited, full payment is due one month before arrival so the office visit is not required. Once at our site we did our normal setup all of which takes less then one hours time.

After dinner on Friday we took the shuttle bus that runs from the campground to the entrance to the park to visit Chocolate World. This is a free tour that explains how some of their process work with the production of making their chocolate. After that we headed back to the campground and called it a night since rain was setting in.
Rain showers were still in the area on Saturday morning but if you looked at the radar map there was nothing  showing in the area, very strange. After breakfast the weather cleared then it was time to take dogs for their walk. With breakfast behind us and the dogs walked it was now time for us to head out for the day. Again we took the shuttle bus over to the park, this is the most convenient way to travel to and from the park. Our first coaster was Great Bear, I did not ride this one last year but Ginger said how great it was so off we went. I have to agree it was one of the best coasters I have been on (not that I have been on many). That was followed by Trailblazer and then, oh no Storm Runner. This concluded my coaster adventurers for the rest of the day! Storm Runner was a little too much for me so a walk over to the zoo and then to the Aquatheatre for the show "Our Friends From The Sea".
Once back at the campsite we walked the dogs, made and broccoli, kalamata olive pizza for dinner then got ready to see the Dave Matthew's Band that was playing at the stadium. This was by far one of the best concerts I have seen, the band was great and the weather was amazing.

Where does the time go?

So here we are in mid June, I know I need to write more. So fast forward from our kitchen renovation project we have traveled and some faces have changed in our home.
In early April Ginger and I said goodbye to George and Shadow. We knew that George's health has been slowly declining over the past year but then again he was 14+ years to the good. Shadow just a year younger than George has had a couple of seizures over the past year and her last week was a especially tough one for her. Now that some time has passed the tears are less frequent but the conversation and stories remain the same. I am not a writer and even if I was I do not know if words could describe them, yes they are both dogs but with very different agendas.

So what does a couple do when they loose two dogs in the same week? Well they adopt another, bring her home and start the process over again. Lilly was rescued by our local No Kill shelter, then we rescued Lilly from that shelter ! Lets not forget about our youngest puppy Gracie who is 11+ and has now moved into the older sister position. She is doing better then expected with the lack of presence from George and Shadow thanks to her new younger sister, friend and housemate Lilly. More pictures (and stories) to come.