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This Summer, July 2025
- Sherry Ickes
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
A collage of four photos of my July activities.
While the heat was baking our state this past month, my family went on a vacation into the woods. Thankfully, we have a camper with air conditioning, but we were also grateful that the dates for our site were cooler than it would have been the following week. Between campfires and hot dogs, traveling to the nearby towns and Little Free Libraries, we played some games of chess and enjoyed the stars through the tree canopy above.
Afterwards, we had a few busy days of getting ready for an arts and crafts festival, to sell our books, and then off to watch a movie with a LIVE accompanying orchestra. For more on that, scroll on down the page to see what an interesting month we had!
(I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July as well!)
Camping Over the Fourth
Our campfire at the site
One of my favorite ways to enjoy a vacation is to go camping. My family enjoyed a fun visit with nature over the fourth of July. I was thankful for our camper when a heavy deluge of rain came and went, causing some tenters to pick up and leave. Other than a small misfortune with our awning, which my husband was able to quickly rectify, I am happy to say we did good. No alarm clocks, time to read, write, and to play games are other gems of camping. We enjoyed the local wildlife that came through for quick visits, especially the chipmunks and squirrels. The only issue this year were the daily gnats, but for some reason they only seemed to be around us from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, so that was doable. The campground that we stayed at has a little library in the shed where one can also purchase firewood, and people seemed to be enjoying both.
Finding other Ham Radio operators was a cool plus. I was able to pick up some nice tips that I look forward to investigating. I took notes, so I wouldn't have to try to remember some of the abbreviations. 😊
It is said by someone, please don't ask me by whom or by how many, that nature resets our minds and our bodies. I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. Last year, we were not able to go camping, so I took drives to the woods because I definitely missed them! One does not need to camp to enjoy the benefits of nature; which is a great thing, because not everyone enjoys camping. An added plus to camping is a good campfire. In my humble opinion, hot dogs taste best over an open fire.
Bubble fireworks
My daughter surprised us with bubble fireworks, the safe way to do fireworks in a wooded area. It consists of a battery-operated canister one turns on to fill the air with bubbles that reflect the color changes in the lights at the top of the container. It was a lot of fun and the bubbles hung around a while.
The 42nd Annual Caledonia Arts and Crafts Fest
My booth at the fair that I shared with my daughter.
This summer, we took part in the Arts and Crafts Fair at the Caledonia State Park, in Fayetteville, Pa, on July 12th. It's an annual festival hosted by the Friends of the Caledonia State Park with a nice assortment of crafts and food trucks. The Thaddeus Stevens' Blacksmith shop is open for this special occasion, and allows visitors to watch the older techniques in action. Looking for a fun event for next year, check this one out!
Creek at Caledonia State Park
Seeing Star Wars in Live Concert
My daughter and I in our seats waiting for the show to begin.
My daughter and I went to a nearby university for a fun evening event. For the past three years, this one included, a movie is shown and a live orchestra plays all the music.
An orchestra under a movie screen.
The musicians come from all over, practice twice together, and then entertain the audience with a wonderful performance! We went two years ago when they played Jurassic Park.
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