After living in our van for over 9 months arriving home was bittersweet. On the one hand, we missed our neighbors, friends, and family and felt their warm welcome back. There was also another feeling that little had changed and that maybe we could now travel more. Our roots felt less stable because our van has been our new home.

For my birthday this year I decided that I wanted to spend a little time exploring some PA State Parks. Being in nature is one of my favorite things even though I do like NYC too. I choose Rickett’s Glen State Park to camp in because of the waterfalls and hikes. Mid week it is pretty quiet.

The park is really beautiful and the hikes are easy enough for families. 21 waterfalls on the hike!

They have a large sandy beach area where you can swim laps or just play around. It was pretty cold so I only lasted 20 minutes. The hot shower in the bathroom was sweet. End of August so again, not a lot of people.

The next day we decided to drive to Tuscarora and do another hike. The visitor’s center was not very helpful when we asked about trails. “I’ve never done any hiking but I think you can go all the way around, not sure.” We decided to try and do it anyways.

The trails were easy to find at first but a little tricky near the turn around on a road. We had to go over a guard rail and back on the other side.

Parts of the trail are along Tuscarora lake, over a dam, and then following Locust Creek.

I went for an even shorter swim in the lake. Really? Its the end of August. Brrrr….Both Paul and I were pleased to have a few days away for my birthday and hope to be exploring more of PA in the future.