Overall day one went great. Despite a 30 minute delay to the plan due to an underestimation of how long it would take to adequately pack all the gear needed for car camping, we set off from Waterbury (we're calling that our home location) at 9:35 a.m. with 211,675 miles reading on the odometer. We hit NY state in good time, and were at the PA Welcome center by 11 a.m. First attraction of the trip was to the Lakawana Coal Mine Tour. We got there about 1 pm. This was a great way to stretch our legs, learn some very interesting information, experience what it was like to be a mine worker, and be surprised where DAT related ideas would exist. During the mine tour, our guide Garrett was explaining the importance of the system of the proper way to blow up a coal vein. The worker was always to set 10 explosives off. When it was time to detonate the charge, the person would call "Fire, Fire, Fire" so everyone would know to get far away, then all was not well until you heard all 10 explosions. A kid got to operate the "dead" box and as he called out the key words, pushed down the handle to set off the explosives, Garrett triggered the audio sample that contained what should have been the 10 "booms." He then asked us if there were all 10. Most of us, including me said no. Only one or two people thought yes. Since we weren't paying attention like a mine worker would the first time it happened, I asked him to do it again. Even while paying close attention, it was hard to hear all 10. The tour hit on more detailed information that we saw in a historical video prior to the tour. I allotted 2 hours for the tour, we were there for 2.5 hours . . . so now we were an hour behind schedule.

Next stop was a rest area and shortly after that we took in some magnificent views of what is know as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania (Leonard Harrison State Park). We took a short hike to see different vantage points and discovered what would be a beautiful waterfall during the spring thaw. Due to changes in the environment, which I don't exactly remember what I read, water flow during the summer is very limited and shallow.

The plan was to be at camp in the Allegheny National Forest sometime after 9 PM, but we knew with our delay it would be at least 10 PM. Always looking for a bargain, I planned even the gas stops. Problem was, we wouldn't have enough to get where I wanted to go since I chose not to stop at the first gas stop in the morning. Luckily I brought gas cans, and we put that in the tank before we left the canyon. We made it with just enough gas to spare. We arrived at the gas station at about 9:45 p.m., and since I was so hungry it was time for dinner. The logistics of getting everything ready by working out coolers and whatnot made it a slight challenge to get into the groove. We took our sweet time there, cleaned the windshield in did a little bit of organizing, and prepped the car for the evening's sleep.

We finally left the gas station at about 11:15 p.m., and managed to find our way up a Forest Road 142 to find our final place for the night. Our little pull out was great; we got to listen to the water to fall asleep to and wake up to. Light's out a little after midnight!