Family Time

baker run hunting and fishing club

After the fifth wheel was shipped out for repair work, we finally had some free time to relax and enjoy ourselves. We went into Pittsburgh for a few days and some more doctors appointments and then headed out for a family vacation on July 4th to Baker Run Hunting and Fishing Club. This is the camp that Tim has belonged to for years located in Potter County, PA. We try to get there at least once a year. This time, Katie, Rosie, Kim, Greg and our niece Jenny and her boyfriend Dan, all joined us at the camp.

I rode up to camp with Katie and Rosie so I could help on the long ride to entertain Rosie. We decided to leave in the morning and stop for lunch on the way. We were happy to find that Straub Brewery’s patio area was open for lunch. They have a really nice area to sit outside and allow dogs so Teddy could get out of the car too and relax a bit. The food was great and the weather was perfect so we all enjoyed the stop.

Katie, rosie , teddy and i at straub’s

Everyone planned to arrive late afternoon so we took food for a traditional 4th of July cookout. Burgers, baked beans, and pasta salad followed by a campfire with s’mores were a delicious way to kick off our vacation week. Katie brought Rice Krispy Treats with her and they decided to toast those and use to make the S’mores. I didn’t really try one; seemed to sweet for me, but the group enjoyed them.

The reason the we planned the trip to Potter County on the 4th of July was to attend the Bark Peeler’s Festival at the PA Lumber Museum that weekend. It is always held the first weekend in July and our daughter’s remembered attending the festival when they were young. We decided to attend both days of the festival so we could enjoy watching many of the events. Think lumberjack type of events. It was quite hot that weekend which was challenging but we managed to find some shade to enjoy a few of the events. Luckily the museum was also open, so we could escape the heat and brutal sun for the air conditioned building to cool off.

sawing the logs

greased pole even

who can stay on the log the longst?

There were childern’s activities and Rosie enjoyed the Treasure Hunt in the big pile of sawdust. She didn’t seem to understand what to do at first so she dug and played in the sawdust like it was a sandbox. Once she found a penny, she understood what to look for and the search was on. I think she had the most success on the second day after the event ended. Every one else had left so she could dig on her own for what they had missied.

playing in the sawdust

When we left the festival on Sunday, we decided to drive down the road to a country store that also has deer pens where you can feed the deer. Being later in the day, the deer had already been fed quite a bit, so most of them stayed in the shaded pens. Luckily a couple came over for Rosie to feed them. Of course, we had to get some ice cream too while we were there.

The rest of the week was spent at camp with walks, target shooting, card games and quiet time on the front porch. A few trips were made into town for food and of course ice cream as well as visits to the antique stores in the area. Many days ended with campfires and more experiments with S’mores and Mountain Pies. Overall, I think everyone had fun and enjoyed the family vacation.

jenny and rosie at camp

rosie found this pile of dirt to climb at a nearby state park

We got back into Pittsburgh on Thursday and I left Friday for a girls weekend with my sister Brenda and sister in laws, Carol and Val. We rented a cabin near Cook Forest State Park for Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately, I had caught a cold while at camp so stayed in on Friday night but I managed to join the group and enjoy the activites on Saturday and Sunday. We started our day with a hike in the forest at the state park and then visited a few wineries in the area. Some how, we never found a place for lunch so had an early dinner at a steak house in Clarion, PA. After checking out on Sunday, we enjoyed breakfast in Clarion then visited a distillery in Brooksville before heading home. We all enjoyed the weekend and said we need to do more girls’ weekends.

Enjoying the park, although i will admit that i was able to walk that hill much easier when i was younger

at the cabin, with the wine Glasses carol had made for us

sarha and ryker joined us at one of the stops on Saturday

our last stop of the weekend

After a busy week of family fun, I headed back to the campground to join Tim. We spent a week there, then spent some more time with family and friends in Pittsburgh. I will share some of those activities in the next post.