It was a quiet night at Chateau Walmart, at least once the street sweepers finished up. The next morning I worked until I handed off all my current assignments for review, went back in to buy something I forgot, then set a course for a Jiffy Lube about an hour away to get an oil change. It hasn’t been a long time, but it has been a lot of miles since my last one in Indiana, and it was that time again.
The drive was much like the previous day, except without the stress of having to make it to an online appointment. I was able to enjoy the drive through a combination of county and back roads. There was a stressful communication with Trisha in there which reduced my enjoyment a bit, but I’m not going to get into that, or air dirty laundry in public.
Jiffy Lube in Williamsport treated me well. They didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t need. They told me my air filter was clean, which is correct because I just replaced it a couple of months ago. They did show me some threads stripping from my oil drain bolt, which was unfortunate. They replaced it, and told me to keep an eye on that in the future. If the threads on the oil pan also deteriorate, I’ll have to replace it. Quick lube joints get a bad reputation, and there are many such places that deserve it. Not this one, though. Everything they told me was correct and accurate.
By the time they finished at 2:15 pm, I didn’t have time to make it to my overnight stop in time for my 3:00 pm company meeting, so I parked in the adjacent lot and got more work done — on Jiffy Lube’s guest WiFi, no less. I had my meeting, tied up loose ends, and hit the road to my overnight stop, a boat ramp in Lock Haven I found on FreeCampsites.net.
The drive had a little more traffic and highway than I’d prefer, but it wasn’t bad. The biggest obstacle was the heavy rain and thunderstorms that had rolled in, which slowed me down a little. Still, no big deal.
I found the boat ramp and its parking area, which was quite large with an amazing view of the Susquehanna River going by. The town of Lock Haven was visible on the other side. Though overcast, the sunset was amazing, and led to the photo at the top of this post. No filters — that’s how it actually looked. It was stunning.
I also met these guys, TheGableBus on Instagram, who were parked nearby. It was rainy last night, but we all chatted a bit this morning. Vern, Donna, Vernon, Jayden, and Colton all travel in here, and are currently on their way to New England. How fortunate for them, because that’s where I lived all my life until now! I was able to share some local info, places to see, and so on. Lister got a ton of attention, especially from the kids. They told me about Skooliepalooza, a skoolie and camping event happening in Arizona in January that they’re planning to attend. There’s an excellent chance I’ll still be on the left coast at that point, and definitely seeking places to stay warm, so I’m going to keep that in mind.
A quick Google search revealed several laundromats in town, so I went to one to take care of my laundry before IMS Outdoors. Once again, there was free WiFi for me to tap into, so I could sit in my home and work while the laundry chugged away inside. Today’s destination is another Harvest Host brewery near Carlisle, which will pre-stage me to arrive at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in the morning. I’ll get situated to camp for the duration of the event, get my media credentials, and then check out the show. While the motorcycles are obviously my primary interest in going, I’m also interested to see what they’re showing off related to overlanding. That topic is relevant to my day job, as well as to those of you who are reading this. I’ll let you know what I find.
Smokey Da Van 