PA Dutch Country Campground/ Thousand Trails 6/15/2011

Our drive to our next neighborhood was another very short drive. For some reason there are four Thousand Trails Campgrounds, fairly close to each other.

PA Dutch Country Campground is just north of  Manheim, PA.

We are staying free at these campgrounds, now that we bought the year membership for the NE region.

We had another site picked out but Joe was having trouble getting a Direct TV satellite connection. Another camper  walked down from his site and told Joe he was leaving soon, and if we wanted to wait, we could have his site. At his site he had a satellite connection. He and Joe carried our dish down to his spot and hooked it to his TV, to make sure we would get it also. By the time we got set up in his spot, the day was pretty well shot.

When Joe backed into site 13, this frog hopped out from under neath the RV. I was so glad he did not get run over by our big wheels. I moved him over by a tree, while Joe finished backing up.

The frog or toad started to push himself under the leaves to hide himself. I added a few leaves to help. I checked on him , several times, and he stayed there. The next morning he was gone.

This park is kind of woodsy. One reason it was hard to get satellite connections. I don't like woodsy, because it tend to be more buggy.

This site had a paved patio, others didn't. We like paved patio's so we don't track in so much dirt and leaves. We have a  large patio mat, but because we move so much, it's not worth the work, of putting it out and then cleaning it before storing it, unless we stay longer.

The next day, Joe drove to Manhiem  to get our mail. Joe had his mom send our mail to the Post Office in care of General Delivery. On his was back into the park he found this turtle crossing the road. So he wouldn't run over it, he got out to move it.

He came home and told me he had brought an animal home. He said it was out on the patio. I went out and found this turtle. I pick him up, and he peed on the cement. Look at his nose. We watched him and he stayed in his house for at least a hour, before he came out.

When he came out, he stood and looked for another 15 minutes.

When he moved , he moved, well like a turtle does. Very slow!

We decided he was probably confused as to where he was. We decided to take him/her back to where Joe found him.  I walked Mallery, as Joe (walked/carried) the turtle back up the road to where he found him. We put him into the woods,  next to the road Joe found him crossing.

Now I will show you the park.It has a very nice playground. Joe and I will play here after dinner.

We walked past the basketball court. 

This is the miniature golf course they have at the park.

This is the game room.

This is the registration and store.

They also have a nice pool. The pool is made so you can walk into it, and it gradually get deeper.


             ( Here is a email I got from Joe's sister Renee, with this information on the turtle.)


Diane and Joe,

We've been looking at turtles in our field guides because Dave has been running into (almost!) a few on his bike rides recently. This is the time of the year when turtles lay their eggs. They often have to leave their home spot and find some nice soft sand or dirt to dig into and bury the eggs, and this sometimes means they have to cross a road and then recross the road again. It was smart of you to return your turtle to where she belonged.

Yours was an Eastern Box Turtle which lives in moist forested areas. Some interesting tid-bits from the field guide: "Females are capable of storing sperm and can produce fertile eggs for several years after mating. They are fond of slugs, earthworms, wild strawberries and mushrooms poisonous to man - which habit has killed many a human who has eaten their flesh. New York Indians are responsible for eliminating this turtle from much of the area between Ohio and New England; they ate the meat, used the shells for ceremonial rattles, and buried turtles with the dead. A few specimens are known to have lived more than 100 years, having served as "living records" with fathers and sons carving their names on the shell. If habitat conditions remain constant, a Box Turtle may spend its life in an area scarcely larger than a football field."

We're enjoying following your blog, as always. -Hope to see you this fall.

Renee and Dave