From the South to the North

We are a few days out from what was supposed to be my first trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. The ongoing government shutdown appears to have put the death blow to that plan. Plan B is to head north. The campsite is now booked, and we will be going into the Hammersley Wilds of northern PA. It's an area of wild trout, virgin hemlocks, and great wild life. It ain't the Smokies, but the northern Appalachians will no doubt prove to be as lovely and wild as their southern counterpart.

The Smokies in Jeopardy

The government shut down as of midnight last night. As a Libertarian, I rejoice at the bloated dead corpse of the government becoming a little less bloated. The sour point is that the national parks closed, and this of course could have a negative effect on my trip to the Smokies. While I don't understand how the Federal Government can tell citizens to stay off of land that they owe (remember...we the people own those national parks, not the government!), I must respect the laws. We are coming up with a "Plan B" should the park not open within the next 9 days. Most likely, we will be camping at Ole Bull State Park in north-central PA and fly fishing the legendary Hammersly Fork wilderness. It ain't the Smokies, but it's still wild country with bear, elk, and hilljacks.