Day 6 Edinburg PA to White Haven PA

Monday

I tried to pick up this turtle from behind to move it and it jumped
about a foot off the ground and whipped it's head back and nearly
snapped off my nose!  I never knew they could do that!
I guess that is why they are called " Snapping Turtles "

I happily report nothing exciting happened today, at least for the normal person.  I, on the other hand, was excited to see a swarm of cicadas as we drove along somewhere in Pennsylvania. I had been reading about this rare event, and hoped to actually witness it one night ( only for one night ) during the trip up.  Let me inform you a little about them…..

These harmless little buggers are looking for one, and only one thing… sex.  They have waited a long time for it.  Seventeen years to be exact. ( sound familiar? ) Since 1996, this group of one-inch bugs, in wingless nymph form, have been living a few feet underground, biding their time. They emerge only when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees.  They grow to 2 ½ inches long.  

A Cicada from "Brood II " emerges once every 17 years.
Some scientists estimate they may number a trillion

After being round for a few weeks,they sing, mate, and then they die. Their offspring will go underground  not to surface again until 2030.   They are also quite loud.  Cicadas are among the loudest insects known to man, and a swarm of them can produce sounds up to 120 decibels.  That's louder than a rock concert ( about 115 decibels ), and comparable to the noise from a chainsaw ( humans start to experience pain from sound at the 110 to 120 decibel level ).  You wonder why I would want to see and hear that?  Perhaps because it is such a rare event, perhaps because I am so in love with nature, but probably because I am weird.  In actuality, I most likely would very quickly regret it since my hearing is quite acute.  

Some people like to eat these things. There is a cookbook on the web called "Cicada-liscious" with many recipes for muffins, cupcakes, etc from the bugs when newly emerged.  Fresh is best, I imagine.  They liken them to shrimp or popcorn.  Ymmmmmm.  Low fat and gluten free! I think I would have passed, but Norm would be up trying a coffee or chocolate covered one.

Cicada Recipes

If you’re interested in a low-fat, carb-free protein fix, here are a few cicada recipe resources we’ve found:

• Cicadas with Garlic, Celery and Anise (from Insects are Food)
• Dry Roasted or Deep Fried Cicadas (from Gizmodo)
• Soft-Shelled Cicadas, Cicada Tacos and Cicada Rhubarb Pie(from NPR)
• Also see recipes for Cicada Dumplings, Chili Cicadas, Southern Cicada Tartlets and Emergence Cookies (from Cicada-licious).

 I really wanted to see this phenomenon on the ground or even in the woods, not necessarily splucked ( is that a word? It should be) on our windshield where we first became aware of their arrival somewhere in Pennsylvania.  

Nothing like a juicy Cicada on the windsheild!

Gross.  I mean, REALLY really gross.  You could see swarms of them, darting around like happy little hummingbirds, until .... splat. splat. splat splat. 

While we continued on our way, I spent a couple of hours trying to find a campsite that had cable TV so Norm could watch the Bruins tonight, and I could watch the insipid show “ Bachelorette”.

 I never thought we would have use for both televisions in this little home on wheels, but it was nice to have.

The campground was Lehigh Gorge Campground in White Haven, CT.  The roads were very rutted and it pitched and tossed the RV all around, no matter how slow Norm went.

 It was such a lovely day so we played a game outside before dinner and took a walk and explored the campground which was undergoing a large expansion.