An now, stage 6 winner, and leader in the KOM jersey race, Ricardo Ricco, has popped positive following his win.  He’s out, arrested, and goodbye to Saunier Duval as well.  Who’s next?  Evans, Valverde?

Still watching, but geez, this was the year to take the Tour back.

Gardening has taken up most of my free time as I get more obsessed by the year.  Everything has done pretty darn good.  Many peas were shelled and eaten and the season is on its way out.  We have lettuce coming out our ears as it’s starting to bolt – salads have been lunch and dinner 4 days out of the week along with bunches of oregano, chives and basil.  Green beans are producing.  Still waiting on toms, eggplants, squash, carrots, beets, and bell peppers, which, BTW, I finally succeeded in growing for the first time ever.  My pride and joy right now

Hard to see, but there are about 7 fruits on there.  I keep thinking I’ll wake up one morning and the plant will be decimated, the bugs finally having their way with it.

Cheers and keep on keepin’ on.

There are lots of names I recognize, but no clear winners and a good number of first timers that are keeping things really interesting. I am really digging the riders from team Garmin-Chipotle (formerly Slipstream), an American team that entered as a wild card and has done quite well in the first 5 stages. One of their riders, David Millar, was involved in a big doping scandal several years ago, and he, along with the whole team, are dedicated to “clean” racing.  A great idea, I think, that could go a long way toward cleaning up cycling and all of the other sports that are in big need of an overhaul.

I know we’ve got some actual cyclists here on the porch. Who do you guys like to win it this year?

Wait…were those gunshots?

Yep, that’s right. Vintage uniformed men with muskets. It was hard to tell from the distance if these were revolutionary era uniforms or civil war uniforms, but I’m thinking it was the former since there could have been a fight with all the rebel-flag wearing Nascar fans.

Now, for the show…or if you want you can view a high res version that could take a long time to download.

One of the new “features” available in professional fireworks packages is the “VIP” seating area. You can just make out a few flashes along the bottom of the screen showing the area where VIPers saw a special ground-show of characters and low fireworks.

On our way out to Lewisburg we passed Camp Woodward and I’m sure the jealousy leaking from me was visible. If I was 22 years younger (and my parents could’ve afforded it) I would have loved the idea of a camp to teach me how to skate or rollerblade.

On the way back we suddenly came upon R.B. Winter’s State Park, a gorgeous waterfall holding up a popular swimming lake.

…and these pure white barns on the lush green hillsides.

…and an Applebee’s!

A sign in the parking lot at Wegman’s.

I’m walkin’; yes, indeed…

The Penn State stadium — where we sat to watch the fireworks….explosive video forthcoming.

The flower bed outside the library on campus.

The handle (on the right) is functionally hidden flush under the hinged edge of the door.		A track at the top and bottom guides the screen door.		The leading edge pulls the screen out of the roll evenly across the track.
The handle hits against a magnet on the far side holding it closed, and there is a latch to secure it.			From a distance it looks like any screen door.

Becky does a demo:

Evie’s lunch at Mya’s Cafe was a portobello rueben…	…which is across the street from the yarn store Mad About Ewes …which made me think about my friend C…I didn’t go in, but its the thought that counts.	The old train tracks that, along with Bucknell University, made Lewisburg a thriving town.
nice little covered walking bridge	Marine memorial in the town park	The old train depot made into an office building.
Evil Kenevil should sue this rooftop company for stealing his schtick. I was initially super elated when I saw this in the distance…imagine my disappointment.		People of Lewisburg: Support your classic theaters! You will miss them when they’re gone.
I mean…just look at those awesome doors.	Funny little signs in a toystore window.		I call this “Dueling Steeples”.
unidentified statue in the middle of town…maybe this is the infamous Lewis?	Vedder Hall at Bucknell…probably not that Vedder	at Bucknell, even the trash bins have a stunning view of forested hills	the target of our journey, Kress Hall
Pictures around the Bucknell campus.
Crossing the river leaving Lewisburg.		The silo for slice-of-heaven canning, Chef Boyardee.	Looks like a mural is on the way.

Just north of Lewisburg (in Milton) you can cross back over the river and it has an interesting feature. An island in the middle of the river not only has its own exit, but a soccer field and playground as part of a state park.

One of my favorite pastimes is perusing the fast food offerings of foriegn locales. In the exotic world of State College, Sheetz is the dominant convenience store and I had a chance to slip inside and grab these snapshots.

Bugles Sweet & Salty Caramel	Doritos®: The Quest	Mint 3 Musketeers is nothing new, but giving it to us in a two-pack, ala Almond Joy is special.
Forget having to try to speak PimplyFacian to place your order, just put it into this machine and swipe your card…		…or even better, just pull your sealed pre-made smootie/shake from the fridge below, pop it into the machine above!

Here’s the state flyer that guided our journey.

Should you ever decide to visit Black Moshannon State Park and you find the visitor station closed, this set of pictures will make you think you’ve already seen it.

That’s quite a comprehensive display of taxidermy there…
		…and just outside the window is the live version.

Once you leave the visitor’s centers you’ll be treated to a nice lake with all the amenities you would expect from any good state park.

Lots of lily pads with flowers in bloom across the Black Moshannon Lake and Bog area.
The mountainside surrounding the park is covered in the remnants of, what I’m told, was an incredible amount of mountain laurel. Even at this stage in its late bloom, it is impressive to see the laurel covering the forest undergrowth as far back in the woods as the eye can see.
Swimming area with beach, and volleyball court.		Boat launch	Paddle boat rental — all rentals were closed because of the threat of rain, but we never saw a drop.
		anachronistic beach ball
			Even Pennsylvanians believe in bat conservtation…
…in a small sort of way.	Definitely a pirogue fishing kind of lake…	…or maybe a canoe if you’re a yankee.
		families fishin’…does it get any better?	if you come here for camping, here’s the second most important place on the grounds. (I don’t have a picture of the most important place, but it has to do with the other end of the digestion process.)
	looks like they’ve got a beaver problem	that middle boat has a german accent	what does it say about my media consumption that I gave the term “ghost town” a completely different meaning then the one intended?

Most of our time was spent trail-walking. We started out on Bog Trail, switched over to Moss-Hanne Trail and Indian Trail, then came back on Hay Road Trail.

	head of Bog Trail		Most of Bog Trail is a boardwalk with nature-related signposts.
	Speaking of the beaver problem…	…here are some stumps courtesy of the beavers.
		Not every picture is flowers and light. Even little bunnies die in the bog, leaving their smelly bloated corpses on the boardwalk.
	The fern growth under the canopy on the inner trails was thick.		a tiny red berry hiding in the undergrowth.
This little toadstool was in the center of one of the trails.

After our walkabout we sat under the trees on the tax-provided picnic table. We brought some of Evie’s delicious homemade pickles, a bag of veggies, sandwiches and cookies.

Note the beverage choices. Who’s gonna live to be 100?

Thanks for looking through the pictures. As a reward, here are some peaceful “mood” videos to enrich your Black Moshannon Park experience.

This is how it starts (bottom-to-top): beets, mangoes, ice, kale and protein powder.

This is what the completed “yummy” breakfast looks like.

I’m sure Becky will step in with corrections, pointers,…defense? but you get the idea.

sidebar: A couple years ago we were in CostCo when Vita-mix was doing a demo and selling their top model for $350. Being a gadget lover I was mesmerized and I begged and pleaded Becky to let us get one. She insisted that our blender was just fine and we didn’t need a new one, especially at that price. Three barely competent blenders later (and an increased love for the real deal smoothie on her part) and she’s rethinking her position.