Take me to the river…
Thinking a fourth of July getaway might be in order. I probably should have thought about this before a week before the fourth – oops. We had such a great time in Assateague last month, so my first choice was to go back there for the weekend – no such luck it was booked and so was every other beach camping location within driving distance. Since the beach is out, a little hiking and kayaking sounds like a winner. I knew where I wanted to kayak (the Allegheny) but I had no idea where to camp so I did what any girl would do, I called my daddy and asked him where we should go.
Since this was so last minute and over a holiday there wasn’t a pet sitter available so, it was going to need to be a pet friendly location. As always, dad came through with a few solid options and we decided on Two Mile Run County Park in Franklin, PA. The park offered a small lake with a beach, hiking, was not too far from where I wanted to kayak and most importantly it was pet friendly.
Being the first time camping with the pups was sure to be interesting and would require some additional gear. AMAZON to the rescue. Additionally, the last trip was a bit cramped in the tent so I decided to upgrade that before this trip. We decided to invite some friends along on this trip too – the more the merrier right?
Evy, my little travel companion, and I packed the car, loaded the kayaks and the pups and headed to franklin to set up camp. We got there around dinner time and quickly pitched the tent and set up our beds before it got dark. Our friend and her daughter arrived shortly after we had camp set up and we got them all set up, had dinner and settled in for the night.
Day 2…
Arielle drove up and joined us. We planned to spend the day at the beach, but it was not dog friendly so a couple of us stayed outside the beach area with the dogs while the kids played at the beach.
We had a less than agreeable child with us which invoked a need to A L C O H O L. My trusty sidekick and I set out on a mission to find supplies for adult beverage consumption. Campfire nachos and cold brews put us in a much better mood.
Day 3… It’s kayak day.
The thing I am most excited for is kayaking the Allegheny. This is by no means my first time on the Allegheny, but it is my first time in a kayak. We generally canoe with my parents, but this year we are switching it up and kayaking instead. This is Evy’s first time kayaking the river in her own kayak, so it is sure to be interesting. This is also the first time kayaking with the dogs – fingers crossed we don’t lose a wiener in the river.
8 miles and no complaints or lost wieners. Evy was a trooper and paddled the entire trip with enthusiasm. We managed to only have one wiener jump ship, but quickly retrieved her. This gang is going to sleep good tonight, but first we have to stop at Banana’s for and Ice cream treat.
Day 4… Hiking Day.
2 adults, 1 kid and 4 wieners – what could go wrong? Did I mention it is 98 degrees and humid? The plan was to hike to a waterfall, but the directions to the trail were not accurate (or maybe I just suck at following directions) so our hike has turned into more of a walk on a bike trail. No worries we are still getting exercise, right? One mile in and Lulu done, I love my fat little sausage, but girl can’t hang – yay for the doggie backpack. Capone made it a bit further but eventually ended up in a backpack as well. I’d say we did pretty good with 50% of the wiener gang lasting. As always Evy was a trooper and even though she was hot and tired she didn’t require a kid carrier.
We got a bit of an education on our way back to camp…. Did you know that ducks are assholes? I mean we all know they shit everywhere, and they are kind of mean, but this is a whole different level here…
Fun Fact…
Ducks mate via Forced copulation. If you aren’t clear on exactly what that means – Males force themselves on the female ducks. Duck mating season is essentially a socially organized gang rape. Oh did I mention the corkscrew penis? I could write a whole blog about this subject because when we saw what we thought was 2 ducks wrestling the in the road we started googling and fell down a rabbit hole. If you are curious check out this article from the New York Post.
Ok enough about the mating habits of ducks, lets get back to the subject at hand.
Overall we had a good time at Two Mile and would probably go back based on the location. It is a no frills park, but is a great place to hike, kayak and really enjoy all that nature has to offer.
Until next time…
