TTA 2025 Annual Meeting

This years meeting was held at Paris Landing SP in Buchanan Tennessee. There was 135 in attendance this year. Multiple hikes were led in the area. 

Lora and I drove to Tanbark Campground in Dickson the night before so that we could be there for Fridays hikes. We stayed in the Paris Landing SP campground for the event. Friday we hiked the Britton Ford Interpretive Hiking Trail in the Big Sandy Unit of the Tennessee NWR. Really nice trail with views of the lake. 

Saturday we went to the Land Between the Lakes and hiked the Tennessee Ridge, Peytona, and Telegraph trails. Our expert guide told us about the history in the area while we hiked. 

Sunday we hiked the Raptor Ridge Trail there at the park and visited the Nature Center. After lunch we drove to the Fort Donelson National Battlefield and hiked the area. Then we drove on to see the Surrender House and National Cemetery. We stopped to get our calories back at the Cattle and Bakes.

Monday we hiked the Marina there at the park before heading home. It was a great time of visiting and hiking.

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East Coast Trip - Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

Tuesday Oct 7th, after a campground hike, we headed South and West from New Jersey. Hwy 9 and 70 are nice driving. We crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge and then followed 273 through Newark. We crossed through Maryland, back into Pennsylvania, and camped at Codorus SP. After dinner we hiked the 3 mile Mary Ann Furnace trail which we ended up hiking in the dark.

Wednesday was Gettysburg day. We visited the visitor center which now charges you for everything. From there we did the driving loop listening to the NP app. We stopped for lunch at O’Rorke’s Family Eatery which was awesome. We visited the candy store across the street and then visited the President Eisenhower House and Farm. After that we continued the auto tour. We had to go back to see the Tennessee monument because we didn’t see it the first time through.

Thursday we went further South. We went through Federick and down 15. We stopped at Point of Rocks for lunch and a walk. From there we headed to Fairfax for the night staying at Fairfax County Park Campground. This is a huge park with a small clean campground. We hiked the trail around the campground seeing deer, ducks, and squirrels.

Friday we drove on to Mechanicsville to see the parents and my sister. 

Saturday we went to the Richmond Folk Festival to listen to music and have dinner. Sunday was a down day. Monday was a trip to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and dinner at Lynelle's. Tuesday we headed south to Bristol VA and spent the night at Sugar Hollow Campground. Wednesday we headed home to spend a day before headed to the TTA Annual Meeting in West Tennessee.

East Coast Trip Summary:

Eight Weeks; Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Canada, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee. 

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East Coast Trip - New Jersey and Pennsylvania

October 5th. Sunday morning we headed South into New Jersey. Traffic was horrendous and it was 86 degrees. We didn’t find anything good here until we got to Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold Township. Pretty place where we are going to stay for a couple of nights.

Monday was Historic Philadelphia and Valley Forge day. Of course the government was shut down and some places were closed because it wasn’t the weekend. At the visitor center we asked the lady where to have a good pizza. She corrected us and said Philly Stake. Then she told us where to go. So we saw the Presidents House Site, the Liberty Bell through the window, Independence Hall from outside, the tomb of the unknown soldier of the American Revolution, and lots of old buildings. We had our Philly Steak at Jim’s Steaks. Saw Old St. Mary’s church, Benjamin’s Graveyard, Arch Street Meeting House, Betsy Ross House, and did a tour of the Philadelphia US Mint. Lots of walking. From there we headed over to Valley Forge and did the driving loop. A few short hikes to see things and then had Pizza at Salvatore’s Trattoria and Pizzeria in King of Prussia. It made for a long but good day.

Tuesday after a campground hike, we headed South and West. Hwy 9 and 70 are nice driving. We crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge and then followed 273 through Newark. We crossed through Maryland, back into Pennsylvania, and camped at Codorus SP.

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East Coast Trip - New York

Friday the 3rd we drove from Connecticut into New York. We set up camp at Winding Hills Park in Orange County. After setting up we headed to Minnewaska SP Preserve Sam’s Point Area. We hiked to Sam’s Point and on to the Ice Caves which is a really cool hike climbing through rocks. Afterwords we headed back to camp for the night.

Back to Minnewaska SP Preserve on Saturday. We hiked around Lake Minnewaska then to 65’ Awosting Falls. We hiked the beautiful Mossy Glen trail and Blueberry Picker trail to Upper Awosting to the visitor center. Really nice place to hike. Shopping and back to campground. 

Sunday morning we headed South into New Jersey. Traffic was horrendous and it was 86 degrees. We didn’t find anything good here until we got to Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold Township. Pretty place where we are going to stay for a couple of nights.

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East Coast Trip - Connecticut

Thursday the 2nd we headed South from Chepachet Rhode Island into Connecticut taking Hwy 49 South to Hwy 1 and driving along the Long Island Sound. We stopped in Mystic for lunch and walked around the town looking at ships along the river. We continued on Hwy 1 and stopped in Clinton for the night at Riverdale Farm Campsites. 

Friday we traveled Northwest through Bristol. We had lunch in Danbury and did some shopping. From there we drove to New York.

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East Coast Trip - Rhode Island

Monday the 29th we headed South from Scarborough Maine. We visited Kennebunkport just to see it before we left Maine. We went through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and into Rhode Island. We camped at Holiday Acres campground. This is a very large campground including a good size lake.

Tuesday we went to Mowry Conservation area and hiked the trails there. A very pretty area. Across the road is Mowry Commons mangaged by Revive the Roots. They had trails, community gardens, and a green house area. From there we went to Blackstone Gorge which sounds a lot prettier that it was. Basically water flowing over a dam and a trail along the river. We hiked down to the confluence and then back. We ate lunch at the dam. From there we headed over to the Monastery which is now a library. I wish we could have seen it before the fire. A beautiful building. We hiked the trail behind it to see the Monk's Quarry where there is still quarry rocks piled up that weren't used. We stopped by the Wrights Dairy Farm and Bakery for a snack before heading back. Had to relax for a while in the sun after a tough day like that.

Today started off with a trip back into Massachusetts. We went to Plimoth Patuxet to learn about Pilgrims. A very interesting place to see! After some clam chowder at the Cabby Shack we explored the Grist Mill, the ever so small Plymouth Rock, and the Mayflower II. We caught a few more sights in town as we walked back to the car. We headed to Cape Cod after that to check it out. Saw a bunch of houses that old Captains lived in and walked the pier on Gray's Beach. We had dinner at Father's Kitchen and Taphouse and then headed home.  

Thursday we headed South and into Connecticut. We drove down 49 to Hwy 1.

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East Coast Trip - Maine

We left Vermont on Tuesday September 16. Had lunch in Lancaster, NH and drove into Maine. We got a campsite at Cupsuptic Lake near Rangeley. It's a nice little campground, very clean, and on the lake. After driving through two country's and four states advertizing moose on the road signs, we finally saw two just down the road from the campground. It took us doing an evening drive. Since today is Lora's birthday and she always wanted to go to Maine, here we are. There is also a beach on the lake so I scored extra points.

Wednesday we got up and drove through Rangeley to the Cascade Stream Gorge.  A short hike through a rocky gorge with waterfalls. From there we drove South to a rest area and Smalls Falls. There is the main fall plus more as you hike up the creek. On the way back we stopped on the AT crossing and put our feet on the Appalachian trail. From there we stopped and picked up some groceries a then headed East to Quill Hill. It is a privately owned mountain that you can drive up and enjoy a wonderful view of the area. After that we headed back to the camper to drop off food and then headed to Bald Mountain and hike to top of that. There is a firetower on top with wonderful views. Enough for one day we came back for dinner and did some laundry.

Thursday we hiked around campground and then headed to Milo to meet up with Lora’s cousin. Having a little extra time on our hands, we stopped at the public beach in Dover for a couple of hours. We headed on to Michael’s place and had a good evening of catching up. He spoiled us with Lobster and then a big dinner later on.

Friday Michael took us to Borestone Mountain for a little hiking. Beautiful views all around. He even served us strawberry shortcake on the summit and then he spoiled us with milkshakes to recover from the hike.

Saturday the 20th we head North to Easton to see another cousin of Lora's. Christy took us around her town and showed us the cabin where they vacation as much as they can. She also introduced us to the Whoopie Pie which is the yankee Moon Pie. We stayed in her driveway.

Sunday after a wonderful breakfast, we headed Southwest to Millinocket and stayed at Wilderness Edge campground.  After setting up camp we headed to Baxter State Park to see about hiking Mt. Katahdin. They said that we could be on standby if we showed up at 5:30 in the morning and at 7 if there is any room in the parking area they would let us in. A simple no would have done. We hiked Trout Mountain and climbed the 80' tall tower at the top. What a view!

Monday we did not get up at 5:30. We drove to Bait Hole and hiked the Bait Hole Loop and North Twin Dam loop. Easy hike and very beautiful along the water. Made a trip into town for supplies and saw a 864 pound moose getting checked in on the first day of hunting season. After lunch we drove to see the ice caves. We were warned not to take the Golden road because it was too rough. We took Old State road instead. What a mess that was at 5mph. The trail was interesting as was the cave, but the view was awesome from the top. After talking with people on the trail we took the Golden road back and it was a whole lot better.

Tuesday we headed for the coast. We took Hwy 6 over to Hwy 1 and drove down to Trenton. Of course the lighthouses along the way were closed or being worked on. We camped at Wild Acadia campground. 

Wednesday we headed to Acadia NP. We drove the loop road and climbed Bee Hive mountain and Bubbles mountain. We hiked around Jordan Pond and had a snack at the lodge. Then we toured Bar Harbor and had dinner there at Geddy's.

Thursday the 25th we headed to Schoodic to check it out. We did the loop drive and stopped to hike Schoodic Head and Anvil. Many views of the ocean. We ate lunch at the Wharf in Winter Harbor. The rain settled in and later we headed to Bass Harbor to see the lighthouse. We drove the West Coast on the way back to camp. We got to see a seal, some deer, and turkeys.

Friday we headed South. First stop was Fort Knox SHS and Penobscot narrows observatory. We went up the bridge tower, 447 feet, to the observatory. Beautiful views. Then we toured the Fort Knox fort which was pretty cool. We ate lunch there. Then we visited Rockport to see the Lime Kilns, the Vulcan Steam Engine, and Andre the Seal. Next stop was Rockland where we hiked the 7/8 mile Breakwater to the lighthouse. Lot's of people hiking today. Then we stopped at the Marshall Point Lighthouse and museum, which closed as soon as we got there. We spent the night at Pemaquid Point campground near Bristol Maine.

Saturday we drove to Pemaquid Point lighthouse first thing. Got there just before they opened and looked around. After they opened we did the museum. After that we drove to the Maine Maritime Museum to check that out. It was awsome! We learned how to build ships, took the cruse on the river, got to see seals and an Eagle, and got to see the navy ships being built next door. We pretty much spent all day there. We drove on to Scarborough and camped at the Sun Outdoors campground. After setting up we headed to Ken's Place for some seafood. 

Sunday we got up and drove to Portland Head Light Fort Williams Park. We saw a couple of schooners when we arrived. Then we saw the Goddard Mansion, Battery Erasmus Keyes, and of course the lighthouse. From there we went to Bug Light Park to see the lighthouse and the main Portland harbor. Lot's of different kinds of boats. Our last stop was Cascade Falls which has a couple of short trails and the cascade.

Monday we headed South. We visited Kennebunkport just to see it before we left Maine. We went through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and into Rhode Island. We camped at Holiday Acres campground.

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East Coast Trip - Vermont, New Hampshire,

We left the Adirondacks on Monday September 15th and headed East. We drove across the bridge in Chimney Point into Vermont. Vermont didn’t have any signs including welcome and speed. We had to check the Rand McNally to see if we entered the state. GPS gave us the speed limit. We stopped for lunch in Bristol and camped in St Johnsbury at the Moose River campground. Nice little campground on the river which was kinda dry due to lack of rain.

Tuesday, Lora’s birthday, I got up early and took the Jeep in for a squeaky brake. Of course they found a couple of ball joints that needed to be replaced. After I returned, we headed on into New Hampshire. We stopped in Lancaster for lunch and an ATM withdrawal. From there we drove to Rangeley Maine and camped at Cupsuptic Lake campground.

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East Coast Trip - New York

Friday September 12 we found a campground in the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake. We walked our campground checking out the lake and a couple of raccoons then headed Southwest into the USA. No problems on the border crossing. We stopped for lunch in Canton and drove on to Little Wolf Campground which is a city park on Little Wolf Pond. We enjoyed an evening relaxing lakeside and reading.

Saturday was hiking day. We hiked Mt. Arab and climbed the fire tower. Saw a few folks on this hike. The views were wonderful. From there we drove to Tooley Pond Road and hiked to the following waterfalls: Basford, Sinclair, Twin, Rainbow, and Copper Rock. All were beautiful and we only saw one other couple. From there we drove back through Tupper Lake and hiked Panther Mountain for some more views. Tired from that we came home and had dinner. Total of about 5.8 miles but mountain climbing in this area is straight up.

Sunday we climbed Haystack Mountain. 6.6 miles round trip and the first 2.2 weren't bad. The rest was straight up. Beautiful views from the top, but kicked our butts. After that hike we checked out the Lake Placid area and looked for moose. We headed back at dark to the camper. Another great day. We saw deer and grouse. 

Monday we headed out for Vermont. We stopped in Port Henry for a break. What a wonderful little town to walk around. Lot's of old buildings and a view of the bridge going to Vermont.

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East Coast Trip - Canada

Tuesday September 9th we left my Brother's in Lowell MI and headed to Canada. No problem crossing the border and we camped at Lake Whittaker Conservation Area in Harrietsville. We walked the campground and some trails while we were there. Even caught a sunset over the lake. We got up the next morning, walked the campground and then headed East. Awful traffic in Tronto which made for an all day drive to Charleston Lake Provincial Park.

Thursday we got up and drove to Mallorytown Landing of the Thousand Islands National Park. There weren't any trails there so we drove to Landons Bay and hiked the Donevan trail with the overlook trails. It made a nice morning hike with lots to see. After that we drove West on Hwy 2 and into Kingston. We found a place to park and then hit the streets. We walked to the St. Mary's Cathedral which of course was under renovation, we walked to the waterfront to take in the sights, then we drove down to see Murney Tower and the Penitentiary. On the way back to camp we stopped at Grass Creek Beach for a little relaxation. Then we headed back to camp and dinner.

Friday we found a campground in the Adirondack's and headed to New York.

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