Sun, Solace On Susquehanna River

I’m not having the best of days when I turn onto Level Road toward Susquehanna State Park. The weather is supposed to remain clear and sunny for the next two days, but family disagreements earlier in the day cloud my mood. And being slightly superstitious by nature, I can’t help but feel that the $6.66 I owe when I stop for a bite to eat is somewhat ominous.

After pulling into the campground, I stop at the little information hut. Inside, a man with close-cut hair wears a khaki state park uniform and a smile. His name tag reads Todd.

“Hi; checking in?”

I answer in the affirmative and he takes my name and writes it down. Then he pulls out a map and circles attractions with a pink highlighter, including the route to my campsite. He also goes on to share camp rules and regulations in a brisk and friendly manner, making me think he’s probably done this a thousand times before.

My campsite is on the Acorn Loop. There are two camping loops at the park with a total of 69 campsites. As I slowly drive down the road, I see people emptying camping supplies from their cars. Others walk around chatting with other campers like this is their second home and they're visiting the neighbors.

A 250 foot walk-in to my site away from the road offers a little more seclusion than other campgrounds I have been to. A fire pit and a picnic table are at the campsite with a wooden fence stretching around the perimeter.

After setting up my tent and putting my other personal items away, I take my dog Eli and walk down the trail which literally starts on the other side of the fence. I take the path marked "Difficult," and tromp over stones and tree roots.

With my camera hanging around my neck, I snap away at birds and climbing vines. I just miss what appears to be a young fox dodge between the trees. At one point I pass a large tree tattooed with names, initials and rough engravings.

The State Park has many trails with different difficulty levels and points of interest. The Historic Walking Trail loops around the Rock Run Historic Area and will bring you to such sites as a historic grist mill and the Rock Run Mansion. An information brochure notes that the outhouse at the bottom of the hill is known as a “3-holer” because it is “constructed with 3 toilet locations, all of different sizes to accommodate different body frames.”

Shortly after I return to the campsite, the other members of my group arrive. We build a fire and prepare tasty marinated ribs. Smoke rises from the campground, along with the sound of laughing families and birds calling. After hours of swapping stories and relaxing, we crawl into our tents and call it an evening. The woods around us hums with life as I drift off to sleep.

The following day we hold a birthday party for my niece and even more family members stop by. The day grows hotter, droplets of sweat marching down my back like an army of ants. We decide to go swimming in Deer Creek. The afternoon sun is white-hot and glistens off the water as we splash and swim around.

Of course, many other opportunities to enjoy the water exist at Susquehanna Sate Park. My sister-in-law’s brother is trying one of them as he rears back and casts his fishing line into the water downstream. 

Canoeing, kayaking, and boating are also popular. The park has the Lapidum Boating Facility which has a service charge of $10 for Maryland residents and $11 for out-of-state residents.

Around 7:30 p.m., I make my way over to the Amphitheater where a woman is giving a lecture on honeybees. She captivates both children and adults with her intimate knowledge of bees, including what honey really is (regurgitated nectar), how the queen bee directs the hive (through pheromones she emits), and how an egg is made to be the next queen (it is covered in a high-protein “Royal Jelly” made in the worker bee’s sinuses).

As the sun begins to set and crickets start up their nightly chirping, we build another roaring fire for our final night together. Shadows leap among the trees as we pile on more fire wood. The conversation soon turns to haunted places in America, a perfect foreshadowing of later in the evening when my brother stumbles out of the darkness in fake blood and a wig. This frightens, then delights everyone. Amusingly, some campers across the way are watching a horror flick on a small television. (But who brings a TV on a camping trip?)

Later, I put my camera on a slow shutter speed and we “paint” with fire, drawing pictures and spelling out our names. Then we make delicious s'mores, the marshmallow and chocolate sticking to our fingers.

At last I lie in the cool, dewy grass, the night sky stretched above me. The surrounding trees, black figures swaying in the wind, claw at the stars. Fireflies zip through the night like tiny comets.

Susquehanna proved to be the perfect midsummer getaway after all.