Keeping with our general rule of five-hour maximum drives, we stopped at Fox Den Acres in New Stanton, PA, just a short drive off of I-70. We discovered it last year, on our return trip. It’s nothing special but it’s in a pretty setting and has nice pull-through campsites with full hook-ups. While we weren’t discovering something new, it was nice to know we could expect an easy, quick stop for a night.
Our final camping spot was at East Harbor State Park. It’s located in Lakeside Marblehead, Ohio, about 17 miles from the Cedar Point amusement park in nearby Sandusky, Ohio.
We arrived around 1:30pm. For only the second time, after camping at 75 different campgrounds over the past few years, we were at a park that enforced a 3pm check-in time. The first time was in Taquamennon Falls State Park, which was 100% booked and otherwise overrun with tourists during the height of the pandemic. That day at East Harbor, the park was mostly empty and we walked through to see our site was ready, but were not allowed to drive in until 3pm. We have heard this is a growing trend, at least at Michigan State Parks.
The park has 573 campsites, including electric, full-hook-up and non-electric, group sites, yurts and cabins. It also has a 1,500-foot sand beach on Lake Erie and 10 miles of multi-use trails. The campground seemed especially beautiful because it was still spring. The trees still had new leaves and spring blossoms. We realized that in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, we were experiencing our first spring camping since we bought the RV. I was really appreciating that.
We were there for less than 24 hours, so didn’t get to explore a lot of the park or the nearby lighthouse. We drove to the local marina area, about a mile outside of the campground and had a beer at Crabby Joe’s. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the Crow’s Nest. We did our usual walking around the campground and talked with some other campers. On Saturday morning, May 14, we headed home.
I definitely had mixed feelings about returning home. I really love exploring new places, seeing new scenery and meeting people along the way. It’s been a great way for me to deal with the change of no longer working at a high pressure, demanding job for 34 years. It is always nice to return to our home, which feels like a mansion after months in the RV. It’s nice to take long, hot showers, sleep in a king size bed, and use the dishwasher and full-size refrigerator. Our routine shifts to working in the yard, walking, running and riding bikes around home, enjoying our patio and planning our Michigan camping adventures for summer. Best of all, we can spend time off-grid camping at our own Northern Outpost, in Frankfort, MI.
Our 2022 Spring tour was a great mix of exploring new places and returning to some old favorites. It included 18 campgrounds (19 counting 2 times at Gamble Rogers) in 8 states, 4670 Miles, and 69 nights. Since we purchased the RV in fall of 2018, our all-time total campground total is 75, with 378 total nights in the RV (as of May 14).
