Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Road Trip - Wellsboro & The PA Grand Canyon.



Sunday we took a day trip to Wellsboro.  I hesitate to travel on Labor Day week-end, because I do not love crowds, but this was a perfect day trip for us.  Everything was open, even though it was a Sunday, there were maple funnel cakes and maple lattes at the Pa Grand Canyon, and although there were people around, it was never crowded anywhere we went.

It's unusual to see this much color already this early in September...



Our first stop in Wellsboro was the Native Bagel, for breakfast.  This is one of my favorite places to eat.  The bagel chips are REALLY good.


Almost 26 years ago, we spent part of our honeymoon in Wellsboro.  Although we visit the area about once a year, that was the last time we had done the walking tour.  Now the walking tour is part of a geocache (you can still do it separately, without geocaching) so we decided it was a good time to do the tour again.

The Wynken Blynken & Nod fountain is one of my favorite things to see.  I read this poem to our children so often when they were young that I can still recite whole parts of it from memory.  We visit it every time we come to Wellsboro.  Usually we visit off season, it's not often that I have seen it with the water on.  The entire green here is beautiful, with several nice monuments.


This door was given by Abraham Lincoln to Dr. and Mrs. Shearer when they bought this house in 1858. They were close friends with Lincoln when they lived in Springfield, Illinios, and he gave them the door off of another building. This is a site on the self guided Walking Tour of Historic Wellsboro, and brochures are found at the Chamber of Commerce at 114 Main Street. The door is on private property but is easily seen from the sidewalk.

I don't remember the Lincoln door, from 26 years ago, although I'm sure it was here.  I love interesting little history tidbits like this.

There are great little stores all along main street downtown.  Locally owned, unique, stores.  Those were a bit crowded with the holiday crowds, but not impossible to visit.  Dan's favorite hat is from the mens store there, purchased during A Dickens Of A Christmas a few years back.  I love the five and dime store..  and the candy store is a great stop when it is not too crowded.


The Wellsboro diner is another great place to eat!

We never did find the geocache  - the wherigo has some issues, and the final coordinates are not even given at the end...  the original hide location has been removed...  I hate to see caches like this archived, but this one needs to be, unfortunately.  After doing the Intercache in NY, we definitely prefer Intercaches to Wherigos.  Same concept, the software for Intercaches is just  better.  We found a couple of small regular geocaches around town.




After the walking tour we headed over to Leonard Harrison State Park - The Pa Grand Canyon.   There was an Eagle flying around when we got there, although he was far enough away that I didn't get any great photos.  There was also a food truck!!!  Maple everything.  Maple cotton candy, maple funnel cakes, maple frappes...  

The Incinerator built by the CCC

We did the short hike (it's about a mile, I think?  To the Otter view overlook.  The trail is a Q -  you walk to the incinerator built by the CCC, then you can either go right or left - it does not matter, from here the trail is a loop.  It's a little steep on one side, but not too difficult of a hike.  (I'm still just a few weeks out from knee surgery, and I'm in terrible shape this year, but  I still did it pretty easily)

There's a really neat stone by the incinerator - 
 


The view from Otter overlook - 




Then we had a maple funnel cake, a maple frappe for me and hot apple cider for Dan, while sitting by the CCC statue.  



On the drive out, we stopped to pose for photos with the old phone booth along the road.



I wasn't up to hiking to the bottom of the canyon (the turkey path) today, so we drove over to the other side of the canyon and did the geocaches there.  This is Colton Point State Park.


When we got there, a man had come out of the woods before the parking area and flagged down the truck in front of us - his wife had broken her ankle on the trail and they couldn't get her out.  Cell service is VERY spotty here, but near the overlook they got enough of a connection to call the park office and get an ambulance and a ranger sent over.  As we were driving out, two fire police, a paramedic, and two ambulances passed us.  


1 TREATED AT HOSPITAL AFTER LAND RESCUE 
FNN Article © 2017

Around 5:25PM on Sunday, September 3, 2017, Wellsboro and Galeton fire crews were dispatched for a land rescue in Shippen Township at the Colton Point State Park.
Firefighters and an ambulance crew handled an incident where a woman fell along the Rim Trail and suffered an ankle injury.
It took rescuers a short time to locate the injured woman along the trail. Around 6:00PM the patient's ankle was stablized and she was then transported to the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hospital in Wellsboro for treatment of her injuries.
Another job well done by local fire and ambulance personnel.

We only walked on the trail a short distance, to the geocache, and when the park ranger arrived we left - there was nothing we could do to help and we wanted to be out of the way.

On the way out I stopped to take pics of the Smokey sign, and then stopped again to take pics of the heron in the creek.  And then again, to watch about 20 wild turkeys fly across the road.  I wasn't fast enough to get a picture of that, but we watched them in the field for a few minutes.  Molly was fascinated.
 

Originally we had planned to check out Bootleg BBQ in Williamsport for dinner, but during the walking tour we saw that our favorite steak house was open that evening.  The steaks here are SO good, we decided not to pass up this opportunity.  

All in all, just an absolutely gorgeous, relaxing, fun, day.  It was a whim of a trip, we didn't really have a plan, but we knew we loved this area, and it all worked out perfectly for us!









Road Trip For The Forksville General Store - cheesesteaks

Last week-end the Steelers game was not on tv in our area.  The Eagles game was shown here instead.  So Dan asked that we take a road trip...  over the time the game would be playing on the radio.  :-)
The Forksville Covered Bridge

We had spent our morning in Hughesville watching the hot air balloon launch, then chasing the balloons and helping to put one away.  Since we were already in Hughesville, we decided to drive on up to Worlds End, and finally try the cheesesteaks at the Forksville General store.  We've been to the store many times over the years - especially when camping at Worlds End.  It used to be the one spot you could get a cell phone signal - right to the left of the store, on the sidewalk closest to the covered bridge.  I didn't check this time, we didn't have a signal the entire time we were in this area.

"Big Mike’s cheesesteak is a half-pound of ribeye on an Amoroso roll, onions optional. "

It was 1pm when we stopped for lunch, and there was still a large crowd.  The porch was full of people waiting for tables, and waiting for take out.  There was a constant stream of motorcycles coming through and posing the bikes with the bridge for photos, many of them getting cheesesteaks to go while there.  I think we waited about 20 minutes for a table - not too bad.  The cheesesteaks were good.  Philadelphia style - which is what they are famous for.  I had one wit, provolone with added mushrooms, Dan had one wit out, cheesewiz.  Dan's was better than mine.  Mine was a little dry - his was oozing just a bit of grease, as a good cheesesteak should.  The rolls are the real deal - excellent. 

 All in all it was a good cheesesteak.  But we're spoiled by Pop's in Muncy, so we were not as wowed as perhaps we might have been if we weren't already used to having a great cheesesteak.

"The store, which dates to 1851, once sold everything folks from Forksville needed, such items as nails, powdered milk, a variety of saws, and perhaps some lard. Today it’s full of tourists buying ice, firewood, and throwback candy. Besides the swimming hole at Worlds End State Park up the road, it’s the most bustling place around." 


There's still a small general store.  You can buy candy, t-shirts, and coffee mugs, as well as a few staples.

While in the area, we found 12 geocaches, visited two overlooks, and the rock garden at Worlds End State Park, and spent some time at Hunters Lake, where we definitely want to return with the kayaks!

Canyon Vista Overlook at Worlds End State Park

View From The Canyon Vista Overlook

We used to visit the Rock Garden when the kids were little..  it seems so much smaller now.  I think it's just a lot more overgrown.  You can still walk around up on top of the rocks, you just can't see as many of the rocks all at once anymore, the view is obstructed more by trees.  It's still a nice place to walk around and explore.

It's about 5 miles off the main road to the High Knob Overlook.   You turn east for the canyone vista overlook, and almost directly across from that entrance, on the west, is the road to High Knob overlook. There's a nice picnic area there, and bathrooms.  
The View From High Knob Overlook.

Beautiful World's End State Park.  The creek here is VERY popular with the fishermen.


There's another covered bridge, nearby in Hillsgrove.  We got caught in a quick passing rain storm while visiting it.  


Hunters Lake, Shrewsbury Township, PA 17758

Hunters Lake is between Hughesville & Forksville.  The water was so clear, I stood on the dock and watched the fish swim around us.  


 The leaves are changing early this year.  

Molly, finding a geocache in the woods at Hunters Lake.  There's a nice walking path along the old dam and into the woods.  


It was a nice day!  A simple trip, a few overlooks, a few very short walks, some beautiful sights, and a great lunch.


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The Amish Florist On Rt 54 in Watsontown

Breezy Acres
8150 State Route 54, Watsontown PA 
Between Turbotville and Montgomery -  1 Mile West of 180.

There's a great flower stand, at an amish farm on rt 54.  This year the prices are a bit higher, and the selection has been a bit more limited (mostly sunflowers, for example) but it's still a great stand!  I've bought small arrangements put together by her 3 year old daughter - it was adorable!

Occasionally there will be buckets of a flower for $1  a stem too - like sunflowers, or cockscomb last fall.

This is a self serve stand.  Take cash, and try to take ones.  Most of the prices are odd numbers - $8, or $12, or $18...  I think they know that most people will just round up rather than ring the bell for change.  

There are gift cards here - you can fill one out just as you would at the florist, to add to your boquet.  The vases are included in the prices.