KOA - Deerpark/NYC/NW - 04/21/17 --> 04/26/17

90 miles - 1 hr. 30 min.

Left early afternoon with very overcast, drizzly skies but the travel along I-684 to I-84 to NY 17 was fine with no rain and light traffic. As expected once you're on Rte 17 or any of exit/side roads you're reminded of the extent of depressed areas in existence.

Cuddebackville, just ten miles north of Port Jervis,  is one of the hamlets of Deerpark and named after William Abram Cuddeback who served as a colonel in the militia at the time of the War of 1812. Although with a population of between 7,500 and 8,000, Deerpark and its hamlet does boast of being the second largest town in area in Orange County. Routes 209, I-84, the Hudson & Delaware Canal and the Neversink River (Alquonquin phrase for "mad river") either run through or parallel to Cuddebackville. The 55-mile Neversink River with its two branches converge just south of Port Jervis and flow into the Delaware River and is considered by many to be the birthpace of American dry fly fishing.

My site B37 backs into shoreline of the river.

Winnie in site B37. Neversink River beyond wall in rear.

A 360° view from in front of RV

Looking north; distant RV from Florida

Turning to my left, plenty of empty sites.

The cabin rented by a family of four
whose trailer was set up on the site just to
the right of the picnic table in the foreground.

Facing south. Office/store on left

The fast moving Neversink River flowing north to south.

Facing south

Facing north. Bridge is another roadway into the campground.

A view directly across. Spring has yet to arrive.

Temps will only reach the mid-50's this week.

The Direct TV dish on top of this pole provides the signal.

Each cable is just laying on the ground for whomever and

long enough to reach their RV. Users may have to
obtain the required box to receive the signal in their RV.

Sunday's appearance of the late morning sun was a welcomed sight. The rest of the day turned out delightful and I took advantage by sitting first at one of the picnic tables overlooking the river and later, on my lounge chair to continue my reading of The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks. Each of his three novels in the Lightbringer series is over 650 pages. I finished The Black Prism in Saugerties and will be finishing this one tonight. Fortunately, I have the third novel, The Broken Eye with me; it's another 750 pager. I'm amazed at how such large novels can hold my interest. True, one novel continues into the next but I guess this speaks to the ability in writing style, creativity and prolific imagination of the author. He does tip the scale, however, in the blood, guts and violence category. It was a quiet, serene sunny day with a slight breeze; with classical music piped to the speakers on the outside of the coach,  my gin and tonic for happy hour,  I was a happy camper.

The peaceful afternoon did have an interruption, a strange one at that.  Out in the roadway, maybe a hundred feet in front me stood five couples. They spoke either French Canadian, Russian or one of the Slavic tongues. With campground maps in hand they spent close to two hours gesturing, pointing, raising their voices, debating and trying to make a decision about which campsite they were going to select. There were no RV's around and have not returned with any since. "Huh?" My guess is that for their Sunday outing, a trip to this KOA by the group was going to be a scouting adventure for some future excursion together. As an avid people watcher,  I observed personalities emerge. Two women soon dominated the conversation. They spoke the loudest and did the majority of arm waving and pointing but soon, of the two, one appeared to be the 'alpha female' and have the final say; Their male counterparts did have input with similar gestures but seemed to be ignored by Alpha Lady. In the end, the males didn't seem to care. The ol' "whatever" posture and body language displayed the resignation. I'm interested in seeing if and when they will arrive. I want to see Alpha Lady in action.

Another "Huh?" event observed was the family of four that pulled into a site diagonally across from me. The SUV was pulling a trailer. They however have rented and are staying in the cabin behind them.

Before you knew it, poof, Wednesday arrived at the end of my short, five day stay. Because of the inclement weather, not much had to be packed away as far as outdoor equipment went. Easy in, easy out; the ride home was familiar and past quite quickly. I arrived home around 2:00 pm and slipped nicely back into reality eager to use the week for 'catching up', restocking and heading to my next stop, the Unadilla / I-88 / Oneonta KOA in Franklin, NY. With the encouragement of two dear friends, one in Honolulu and one in Florida, I'll be making my first stop, a lunch stop at Brooks' House of BBQ in Oneonta. Take a peek here at what Rachael Ray tells me what's in store for my first lunch at Brooks' BBQ 

Take care and see you in Oneonta/Franklin, NY the week of May 5th.