Tag Archives: camping

August 13, 2013 · 10:10 pm

Perseid Meteor Shower Camping

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This past weekend I headed off with some friends to Peekamoose in the Catskills mountains to stay overnight and witness the Perseid Meteor Shower. We arrived at the Peekamoose Trailer Park campsite after it was dark and finally got to grill some dinner. We had delicious, flavorful, and juicy chicken sausage; sweet and tasty corn on the cob; perfectly cooked asparagus and thick well-done hamburger meat. Afterwards, we roasted marshmallows and enjoyed them with chocolate.

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Afterwards, we settled in our respective chairs to start watching the night sky. The Trailer Park Campsite had a spectacular open space view of the sky, so that we could easily see the stars, constellations, Milky Way. It also turned out to be a beautiful clear night, so the meteor showers were not too difficult to spot. The Perseid Meteor Shower show seemed to be well underway around midnight, and I was able to see shooting stars every few minutes, though there were longer gaps in between some. Most of the shooting stars were small streaks that came and went quickly, but those were still amazing to witness. There were a couple that blazed across the sky, sparkling, glittering, and dazzling the eye with its magnificent beauty. I was able to see quite a few, but would’ve loved it if the meteor showers came one after another in succession like I remember from meteor shower nights in California… (*Photo Credit: Patrick Miao*)

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The next morning I got to explore the campsite a little more. I was shown where the spring was, where fresh cold water was pouring out from the little stream that was tucked into the woods a little. We then headed to the Blue Hole, or the swimming hole which was really lovely.

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After that we stopped by to check out a couple of waterfalls, which were wonderful to see.

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Next, we drove into the nearby town of Phoenicia, which was charming and cute. We decided to have lunch at Sweet Sue’s Restaurant that had nice home style cooking. I had the chorizo hash with potato, peppers, corn and cheddar cheese and fried egg on top, with a thick slice of whole wheat toast. The chorizo sausage was on the spicy side, but all the ingredients combined together well to form a delightful savory piquant flavor. The bread was well toasted and had a great multi-grain taste. As for dessert, I stopped by Ice Cream station, where I heartily enjoyed the Peanut Butter S’mores ice cream flavor, as well as Java Chocolate Chip.

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Even though it was a short camping trip, I really enjoyed my time at Peekamoose, Catskills campsite and savored the opportunity to see the Perseid Meteor Shower in the clear night sky and open space that the campsite provided.

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April 24, 2013 · 11:53 pm

Camping in the Jersey Wilderness

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This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to do some camping with a bunch of friends in the New Jersey wilderness, more specifically at the Mahlon Dickerson Reservation — the largest park of the Morris County Park System and encompasses 3,200 acres of wilderness with over 20 miles of multi-use trails.

Soon after arriving and after pitching our tents, a few of us decided to take a hike through the neighboring woods. We first came across a lovely lookout point just 15 minutes from our campsite, which gave us a great view of hills, valleys, sky and soaring hawks…

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As we continued on our journey, we ended up taking the Pine Swamp Loop, following the teal (mostly) trail. We happened across beautiful streams snaking through the trees — At several points we had to cross over bodies of water.

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There was even a cute, charming wooden train — Perfect for a child to climb and pretend that it’s real! My inner child wanted to run to the train and do just that. My adult self took a break and refueled myself with trail mix and juice. We continued and reached the Highest Point in Morris County, which was 1395 Feet/ 425 Meters Above Sea Level. Granted it didn’t feel that high, and thankfully it didn’t require a lot of steep climbing.

I enjoyed being in the woods, one with nature. There was a wild, stark beauty and a multitude of thin, bare trees…

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After the hike, we returned to our campsite and enjoyed some snacks then took a quick trip to nearby Jefferson Dairy for Homemade Ice Cream. I chose the peanut butter based ice cream with chocolate brownie pieces, which was amazingly creamy & rich. I also tried some of the Pistachio which had a delightful, more subtle flavor.

Soon after, we started preparations for dinner which was quite a feast! There was bacon wrapped shrimp, skewers of shrimp & pineapple; skewers with zucchini, mushroom, peppers; hot dogs, chicken & pork burgers,  sausages; tilapia with dill sauce, vegetarian options: Lentil salad, corn on the cob, potatoes.

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And of course there were the ingredients for making S’mores. And cake, cookies for dessert. After eating, we sat around the fire keeping warm and talking, telling stories, playing “Would You Rather” and just generally enjoying each others’ company.

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After midnight, some of us hiked to nearby Lookout Point to do some stargazing and see if we could spot any meteor showers… It was lovely, perfectly quiet and wonderful to bask in the wonder of the night sky: The moon, constellations and stars.

The next day we prepared a hearty breakfast: Pancakes, bacon, blueberry muffins, bread and cheese, orange slices, and tea/coffee. Delicious!

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I had such a sweet adventure camping at Mahlon Dickerson Preserve in the Jersey Wilderness, with a great group of friends and look forward to more camping (definitely when it’s warmer out, so as not to freeze in my hot pink sleeping bag!) in the near future.

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