The Last Hurrah of 2016 Summer Camping

Croton Point RV Park - 10/11/ to 10/24/2016

88 miles 

Aunt Julie and nephew John

My peaceful, quiet, and relaxing week at Rondout Valley in Accord, NY was followed by a beautiful, busy week at Croton Point's RV park. The ride down was beautiful along the scenic Thruway with woodlands on both sides as well as hills and valleys in the distance giving hints of what was to come as the days got cooler and the leaves dressed for Fall. The first two days at CPP were the perfect ones that bragged of daytime highs in the low 80's. The orange carpet of fallen leaves added extra warmth and beauty to the surroundings. 

Click this link to see Precious moments watching leaves fall like snow onto an orange carpet..  Be sure to click the "back arrow" on your browser to return to this blog. 
I visited with friends Vicki and George who had Nicole and Andy over for an evening. My friends, Dina and Diane, came to visit me on two other separate occasions. I even squeezed a couple of visits to Fishkill to visit my mother. On Sunday, my Boston cousin, John, was up at Marist for the Annual Homecoming Weekend. While here, he was able to visit his Aunt Julia.  

A beautiful orange carpet.

This photo was taken Monday morning
when I arrived at Croton's RV Park.
I forgot to snap one when I left a week later.

Tri-State RV Park in Matamoras, PA

10/24 to 10/31/2016

78 miles. The name came from the Mexican city of Matamoros,
which was the first to be occupied by U.S. troops
during the Mexican-American War

A photo from their website taken a long time ago. Disease and/or 
storms have decimated what looks like plush groves of shade
trees touching the shore of the Delaware River near the
intersection of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Today, my arrival was greeted by a visually disappointing sight. 

This campground is run by Judy & Charles Shay. Yup, not brother and sister like the ones you know but husband and wife. She was very pleasant, friendly and most accommodating. When I told her my sister's name was Judy, she asked, "How does she spell it?" I answered, "Judy." She then replied, "Oh, then she's in her 60's or 70's." She went on to say that as generations moved forward, "Judy" became "Judie" and now her young friend is "Judee." A quick look-up found "Judeigh," "Judey", and "Judi." There, now I know you'll sleep better tonight. She went on and told me about the heartbreak of having to cut down the large quantity of trees as well as their plans to "renovate" the campground. That's a big job ahead of them. Right now I would describe it as a large tract of land much like a parking area for over-nighters or, because they're open all year round, the long term contractors they cater to and not a blade of grass on any sites. Tomorrow I'll take my tour and photograph the area. Judy did mention that the trees removed along the river has made the river more visible and attractive. The sites are level and very close together. I probably won't extend my awning. I paid a $50.00 deposit for my electrical use and will be charged $.22/kwh at the end...or receive a refund after the meter is read. I'll get an idea tomorrow. I'll shut down the heat pump and blower before going to bed (it's very noisy and located right over my head in the sleeping area) and rely on my little quiet space heater. Tomorrow, I'll read the meter and see what a "typical" chilly night's gonna cost me.  LOL. Back home, Con Ed is charging an average of $.2699/kwh while the national average is $.1212/kwh. Unfortunately, the campground is adjacent to I-84 and it is truck N-O-I-S-Y. The truck traffic should die down as the evening wears on and getting used to the background noise is part of adjusting to any environment anyway. I'm writing this at 10:30 pm and I've already noticed the difference.

But my, what a difference a week in the Fall makes. From the short lived "heat wave" experienced in the northeast last week, I read where Croton has a "freeze warning" tonight and in my forecast here in Matamoras, PA, I read: 

 Wednesday Night

A chance of snow showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday
Snow showers likely before 11am, then rain showers. High near 47. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Now that would be cool. I doubt it, but we shall see. I'd like to be the first kid on my block to see the first snow flake. As mentioned in my previous blog, I'm here squeezing out one more week and ending my 2016 Summer RV season. I must winterize Winnie before storing it in Cross River.

Stay tuned; more photos in next blog.