Flight 93 National Memorial

Recently, on a “solo dawdle” through the Appalachian Mountains, I discovered the Flight 93 National Memorial was 45 min from my campsite at Confluence, PA... I felt compelled to visit.
I spent an afternoon at the memorial and I found it to be a very moving experience that brought back a rush of emotions. Not only is it a place of honor to the 40 courageous men and women who lost their lives on 9/11 but also a reminder of the extraordinary job our National Park Service does to showcase and preserve what it means to be an American. 

National Park Service - Flight 93 National Memorial

Congress authorized the design and construction of the Flight 93 Memorial in 2003. The work of Paul Murdoch Architects and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects was selected from over 1000 entries that were submitted to an international two-stage competition. The design consists of a:

• Visitor Center Complex that includes visitor center, exhibit area, and the Flight Path Walkway and Overlook that traces the trajectory of Flight 93 on that tragic morning.
• Memorial Plaza with its Wall of Names sits at the edge of the crash site, which is the final resting place of the passengers and crew; sacred ground.
• Memorial Groves, Allée, and Wetlands Bridge that consists of 40 Memorial Groves, one for each of the passengers and crew, that runs along the Ring Road  from the Visitor Center Complex to the Wetlands Bridge.

The visitor Center opened on September 10, 2015.

Flight Path + Memorial

Devils Fork State Park - Salem, SC

Devils Fork State Park, located on the 7,500-acre Lake Jocassee, is not only a wonderful campground, but also offers swimming, boating, hiking, and villas.
Lake Jocassee remains mostly undeveloped with the only boat access  being at Devils Fork. There are 4 mountain streams and several waterfalls that feed the lake making cooler than other lakes in the area.
There are 2 trails:

• Bear Cove Trail - 2.5 mile loop
• Oconee Bells Nature Trail - 1.5 Loop

The park has fully furnished villas and 2 campgrounds on the lake. There are restrooms and showers located in the campgrounds with a laundry facility and a dump station. There is wifi at the Visitors Center and the villas.
Available for reservations:

• 13 Boat In Sites
• 2 Picnic Shelters
• 25 Rustic Tent Sites
• 57 Standard RV Sites with 30 amp service

Devils Fork State Park Website

Devils Fork Park Map & Brochure

Lake Jocassee

Seneca Rocks, WV

Seneca Rocks & Seneca Shadows, WV

On a recent dawdle I  spent a couple days at Seneca Shadows Campground in Seneca Rocks, WV. Definitely a wilderness in the West Virginia Appalachian Mountains. There are a lot of activities in the region such as rock climbing, hiking, kayaking. Be aware that there is NO cell service but, there is wifi and the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center. The wifi signal is pretty strong inside certain areas of the building but all but nonexistent outside.

According to the Forest Service website, the hardness of the Tuscarora sandstone formation, and the degree of climbing difficulty, Seneca Rocks offers rock climbers a unique opportunity found nowhere else in the east. There are over 375 major mapped climbing routes, varying in degree from the easiest (5.0) to the most difficult (5.12). Only trained and experienced rock climbers should attempt to scale the rocks. There are two climbing schools located in the communities of Seneca Rocks and nearby Riverton who train prospective climbers in beginning and advanced rock climbing. The school in Riverton also offers a climbers rescue course.

Seneca Rocks
Seneca Shadows Campground

Doll Sods is another interesting area to explore while in Seneca Rocks.