Monday, April 24, 2017

CLOSED - MARC East Branch Recreation Area


 From last month's MARC agenda:East Branch Recreation Area
o MARC has notified Talen Energy that it will not renew the annual lease agreement; Talen Energy had required that MARC assume all costs to operate and maintain t
he site
o MARC has discontinued all subcontracted services at the site (lawn care, porta-potty service and trash removal)
o Soccer goals and benches were removed by the Warrior Run area adult soccer league (as allowed by Talen Energy); the league has also removed its shed from the gated storage area
o As of 9/8, $2,430.66 remains earmarked in MARC’s account for site supplies and $1,113.74 remains earmarked for site maintenance; these earmarks will be released on 9/30 after the final bills for contracted services have been paid

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Trail Head at the East Branch Recreation Area

I LOVE Montour Preserve. The trail around the lake is one of my favorite places to walk. Or it was. Dogs are not allowed there, and my Molly goes absolutely everywhere with me - she LOVES to hike.  So it feels wrong to go walk around the lake, and leave her in the car. 

The address is Whitehall Rd (PA Route 44), Bloomsburg, PA 17815
But don't let the Bloomsburg confuse you - it's right behind Montour Preserve, before you get to the Jerseytown Tavern.  The town lines must run in odd shapes, for a Bloomsburg address to fall between White Hall and Jerseytown.  :-)

 Recently we drove past this sign. And then we drove past it again. And again. Until I finally said "hey, we should drive back there and check this out". It's almost as wonderful as the trail around the lake at Montour Preserve. It's secluded, it's quiet, it's wooded, and the path is really well maintained. It has beautiful views. And best of all, dogs are welcome!



There is a porta potty here, and two large soccer fields, along with a very nice paved parking lot.  There's another large field to the left of the trail head, that looks like it could eventually be another soccer field - or even a baseball field.  Right now it is just grass.  


 

In all the times we've been here, I've never seen anyone else here.  There's a water bottle sitting by the sign, so I am sure this area IS used, just never at the times we have stopped by.

The path is wide, and gravel.  It's very nice to walk on. This is not a flat trail - there are lots of small hills.  It is currently one of my very favorite places to walk!


I believe that both loops combined end up being about a 3/4 of a mile walk, but I haven't measured it accurately to be sure.  

 RECREATION AREA RULES

During your time at the East Branch Recreation Area,
we ask that you observe some simple rules so that other visitors can also enjoy the area:
1. East Branch Recreation Area is open from dawn to dusk.
2. Alcohol and narcotics are prohibited.
3. Camping is not permitted.
4. Dogs must be leashed and under control at all times.
5. Please clean up after your pet.
6. Horses are permitted only in the parking area.
7. Snowmobiles and ATVs are prohibited.
8. Open fires are prohibited.
9. Please park only in designated areas.
10. Hunting, trapping and shooting are prohibited.
11.  Music must be kept at a volume that will not disturb others

More information here:

Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Eagles At Darling Run, Pine Creek Rail Trail

The gps coordinates for the Darling Run Parking Area are 41.73667, -77.42864
You can also use the map found here:


Most Sundays, from 10-4,  during "eagle season" this wonderfully informative man sits along the path, with binoculars and a telescope.  Without him, I'm not sure we would have spotted the eagle in her nest.  Even with the long lens on my camera, I did not get anywhere near the clear view of her that we had through his telescope.

After parking, walk down to the path and turn right, going north on the path.  You will go a very short distance, as the path turns the corner, the eagles nest is across the creek, up in a pine tree.  Look for a speck of white.  


There are two babies in the nest this year, I look forward to going back and watching them grow.  They will leave the nest at around 10-12 weeks of age.

Linda Stager has posted some amazing photos of the eagles on the Pine Creek Rail Trail facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/157015124309078/


Hyde Park CITO, Owego NY, April 2017

 See all my pics from the CITO here:

We've been geocaching since 2006, and this week-end, after eleven years of geocaching, with almost 2,000 finds, we finally attended our first CITO.  It's not that we haven't wanted to do our part (Cache In, Trash Out) there simply have been no CITO events in our area, and when we were free to travel longer distances, the dates did not work for us.

Now that the kids are grown, our schedule is a bit more flexible.  We had already talked about attending the NEPAG 10th anniversary event at Frances Slocum state park on April 28th, when I saw that there was a CITO in Owego NY on the following day.

So we made a week-end out of it.  We'd like to start hosting a CITO in our area, so it seemed like the perfect time to check one out and see if there's anything we should know.

This was the number one thing we learned.  Buy these.  

  

This CITO was nicely organized.  The actual park was already quite clean and tidy, but the bank along the park and river was full of trash - including tires and a tv set!  

The organizer brought garbage bags, and a few CITO tokens.  She had written on the cache page to bring your own gloves.

Everyone put their caching name into a box for a raffle at the end of the CITO.  

It took just under an hour to clean up this entire area.  A quick group photo, some chatting, and we were all off.  Very nicely done!


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Read More About Our Geocaching Adventures & Tips Here
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/geocaching.html

Monday, April 3, 2017

Dinner At The Turbotville Hotel - OLD


The Turbotville Hotel is under new ownership  - this post is from before it changed hands.
Follow their facebook page for the new menu - it's a little pricey, but SO good!

(570) 649-5420 · 305 Main St Turbotville, PA 17772
The Turbotville Hotel was built in 1843.
When built, it had a ballroom on the third floor.  

This is another one of those places that I can't really recommend.  But I liked.  You have to know what you are in for here, and be happy about it.


1.  They only open the dining room Friday and Saturday nights.  So it's not uncommon for them to run out of items on Saturday nights.  For us, it meant no veggies with our steak specials.  My guys were not devastated.  They had applesauce in place of a vegetable.  There were only 4 steak specials left when we got there Saturday night.  Again, not a problem for us - out of our party of 6, only 4 wanted steak.


2. And this is kind of a big one - be prepared to smell like cigarette smoke when you leave.  We didn't notice it while there, but when we walked outside, we could smell it in our hair and clothes.  The bar is on the other side of the hallway, and it has a good exhaust fan, but the open doorway between the hall and dining room doesn't stop the smoke from wafting over.  I imagine part of the problem is that the bar is open, with people smoking in it, all week long - so that dining room is constantly absorbing some of the smoke odor.  


3. Service is not speedy.  We had 7pm reservations.  (7 was the earliest they could fit 6 of us in, the dining room is not large.  Probably less than 30 people can eat there at one time)  After standing in the hall for awhile, one of the guys walking through told us we could go on in, our table was ready.  We sat down, and were warned that our waitress might be awhile, she was currently making salads.  It was probably 7:15 or later before she got to our table to take our drink orders and drop off menus..  It was after 8 before we had food in front of us.  But we liked our waitress, and she was obviously hustling trying to do everything..  they simply do not have a lot of staff here, so it is what it is.  Be prepared.

4. Soda all comes from a can.  You'll get a glass of ice and a straw with your can, so it's not a big deal - just be prepared.

 The food wasn't that amazing (but it was good), the atmosphere is nothing special, the service is slow, and we left smelling like cigarettes.  So why on earthy would we go back here?   I don't know, but I'm pretty sure we will.  

The steaks and french fries were good. Cheap too.  "Salad" (lettuce and one small tomato wedge), french fries and steak, with applesauce was less than $11  - it was their special.   I wouldn't really recommend the salad choices - my sister ordered the chef salad and it was not great.  Not bad, this just isn't the place you go to order salad. 

 It's just one of those small local hometown places..  I don't think most people even realize they are open and serving food.

During the week the bar is open, and serves basic sandwiches - bar food.  Cheesesteaks, hamburgs, subs..  nothing worth the strong cigarette smell over there. (also, no one under 18 is permitted there) But peak in and check out that gorgeous hoosier (?) cabinet.  There's a matching one  in the hallway - but the one in the bar has a sink.   :-)  I don't know if they are old, or something new built to look old?  But they are beautiful.


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The Easter Bunny "Eggs"press (Train Ride)

Saturday we took the Easter Bunny "Eggs"press train from Bloomsburg to Danville

Tickets were $12 a person - and we loved it.  
Tickets were only available online, through eventbrite. You could print them, or just show your phone receipt (eventbrite app) on the train.

It's not the most scenic ride, although you do pass the Rupert covered bridge.  It was a great length for kids, we were on the train for about an hour.
The conductor is awesome!  He posed with kids before the ride.
During the ride, an elf, Winnie The Pooh, and the Easter Bunny visited.
After the ride we could take photos with the characters.