Last Swim at Whipple Dam

My husband and I have been doing everything we can to maximize our swimming time, as the PA state park beaches close very soon. We have had a good run of it. In fact, at one point, we swam five times in ten days. That was a pretty good average! Lots of exercise and fresh air; good for the soul!

There was a home Penn State football game in town on this day, but here is a thing that all locals know: if you wait until around the time the game starts, you can pretty much go anywhere, do anything, in and around the area. But you'd best be home before the final snap, as the traffic goes crazy after that!

So we zipped over to Couch's in McAlevy's Fort for a nice, hot lunch. And then we drove over to Whipple Dam, just a few miles away, for our final swim there. The water was chilly, almost cold, which is fine by me, and there was hardly anybody there. A tall tree had fallen recently in the picnic ground, smashing a thing or two.

Before any of us got in the cool water, a huge osprey took its time fishing in the lake. You could see its black and white form high above; then down, down, down it came. Then: SMACK!!! That is the sound of the huge bird hitting the water, catching fish! Back up again; around and around and down; and SMACK!!!

Whipple Dam was closed for more than a year, as they made repairs and improvements, so it was off limits to us for swimming during that time; we were glad to get it back. It's typically very mellow and quiet and relaxed, and the water tends to be clean and cool. (But if cold swimming is your game, Greenwood Furnace is even chillier).

So here is an end-of-season shout-out to Whipple Dam, which is quite possibly my favorite swimming hole in any state park. We are grateful that it was available to us again, and we celebrate the good times we have had here, as the seasons begin to change and summer comes to its official end.

Here is a song for end-of-season: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, (I've Had) The Time of My Life, from the film Dirty Dancing.