Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

June 5th I’m going camping. My family is going. Swimming and sleeping will be fun! Also my dog!
Camping is fun!

Paul Matthew Bernard, age 6

Okay, that part of it is the contribution from my son, who has been doing virtual school all year. I promised him that if he did his assignment, I’d get it into the newspaper, so there you go. (Also, as this column goes to print, it’s his birthday, so that’s an added treat.) And the kid was right; it was a really good trip.

Months ago, we decided to go camping at Bald Eagle State Park, over in Centre County. My wife booked a yurt that was handicap accessible and dog-friendly, which covers about twenty percent of our immediate family. I spent weeks considering how I was going to pack two days’ worth of supplies and gear into a Prius, a process probably aided by all the Tetris I played as a teenager.

We arrived at the yurt on Sunday afternoon—The trip was Sunday through Tuesday, mainly because of my work schedule. (Indiana Jones never had to worry about his work schedule.) The yurt was cool—I’ve lived in places that are smaller. My son Paul, who finds every hotel room to be a carnival in waiting, loved it, and ran around exploring. The only complaint I could possibly have was that it got considerably hot in there. If you’re staying in a yurt, be prepared to remove your skin for temperature regulation.

Dinner was hot dogs cooked over the fire, which I shockingly did not have any trouble starting. Then Paul went swimming (his favorite thing) and my daughters and I went out and looked for Bigfoot. (My favorite thing.)

Oh, yeah, didn’t I mention that part? There have been a few Bigfoot sightings recently in Bald Eagle State Park. Since we were going to be there anyway, I figured I’d go take a look. We leashed up Rosie, our new puppy, and my daughters and I walked her down to the Footbridge Trail. I highly recommend the Footbridge Trail; it leads to a marvelous little bridge stretching over the water. It’s wonderfully scenic, and younger daughter Biz commented that it looks like Hobbits would live there. Bigfoot clearly wasn’t, but I enjoyed the walk anyway.

By the second night of the trip, Paul said he was getting bored. As you read this, he’s turning seven, so he gets bored easily. I asked if he wanted to go walking with me, but that didn’t appeal to him—As I said, it was pretty hot out. So I pulled out the walkie-talkies I’d brought, and told him I was going looking for Bigfoot, and we’d stay in touch as I walked. He liked that. You can’t keep this kid off the channel once you turn the walkie-talkies on.

Again, no Bigfoot. He’s still social distancing. But I did see a gigantic oak tree, a live turtle, and the footbridge again, which made it worth the walk. If you’re looking for some short but incredibly fun hikes, Bald Eagle State Park is the place to go. I reported all of this back to Paul; to my surprise I was never quite out of range.

And the final morning was scrambled eggs and toast. Actually we were down to our last couple of pieces of bread by that point, so I toasted some leftover hot dog rolls. We fed anything left over to Rosie. I really didn’t want to repack anything I didn’t have to. It is not easy to pack for five people in a Prius.

And we rode home, sweaty and exhausted, but happy. I had a good time at a state park with my family, and that’s even better than finding Bigfoot.

(Well. Almost.)