The next morning, January 2, we met my parents in the (much emptier) restaurant for complimentary breakfast of very generous portions. Then my parents went off to explore Honesdale, while the Admiral and I went for a morning hike along the 2.5-mile loop trail at Shuman Point Park, on the northern shore of Lake Wallenpaupack.
Our original plan for this get-away had been to do some snow-shoeing in the Poconos. But the inclemently warm temps had melted most of the snow, and we opted to leave at home our snow shoes. Instead, we settled for a geocaching treasure hunt. We drove to the trail head, parked the car, put on our hiking boots, grabbed some walking sticks, and headed off down the wooded trail. There were some great views across the partially-frozen lake.
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| How fortunate we were to catch a glimpse of the rare and elusive 'Woody Heron'.... |
At one point, I came across some antlers on the ground. "What are you going to do with that?" she asked. "Take them home," I said matter-of-factly. "No. No more animal parts," she admonished me. Last year, during a trip to Nova Scotia, I picked up a very large femur on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. She was not too happy about that. "You are not bringing some dead guy's bones back to the house!" It was probably from a moose, I assured her, and carried it back to the car over her protests. It has since disappeared, quite mysteriously.
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"Look, Honey, antlers!"
"Those aren't antlers. That's a branch." |
We have come to really enjoy geocaching. Its a great excuse to take a walk in the woods, and the Admiral gets to practice using her compass and honing in on GPS coordinates. I'd like to say that its all about the journey, not the destination, and that it really doesn't matter to me whether we find the cache(s) or not. But that is not entirely the truth: it bothers me when I can't find them.
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| Practicing her compass skills.... |
Today, we had three separate geocaches to find. The first one gave us a lot of trouble. It was described as a small white plastic bottle, hidden inside a fallen tree. We found the tree without much difficulty, but after searching in vain for about forty minutes, we finally gave up in defeat. Hard to find a small white container in the snow. We had to log this one as our first "DNF" -- 'Did Not Find.'
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| How hard could it be to find a small white container hidden in this fallen tree? |
There were a lot of cairns built along the lakeshore, which reminded me of the extraordinary work of my favorite artist,
Andy Goldsworthy. I told the Admiral to be careful: these cairns marked the sites of Native American burials: the large ones for adults, the small ones for children. She looked at me for a moment, then turned away and walked on.
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| Rock cairns along the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack |
The Admiral led the way to our next target, situated just off the trail on a small hill with a nice vista overlooking the lake. This was the first geocache that she found entirely on her own. She was very excited.
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| The Admiral logs her first find |
Our third target was also challenging. The "Shuman Burrow" cache was described as a small container wrapped in camo tape, hidden in a hole beneath a rock. Arriving at the coordinates (or what they call "Ground Zero" [GZ] in geocache-speak), we spent about twenty minutes moving every rock we could find. Part of the problem is that GPS devices are only accurate to within ten to thirty feet. That may be good enough to find a lost hiker, or a camping site, or a waterfall, but is still less than ideal when searching for a small container buried beneath a rock covered with leaves and snow. But persistence paid off, and just as we were about to give up I found it!
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| This geocache was a PVC tube wrapped in camouflage tape, which proved very effective in making this hard to spot |
After our hike, we met up with my parents and drove over to
Skytop Lodge for some lunch. This elegant establishment, on 5000-plus acres, bills itself as the premier family luxury resort and conference center in the Poconos. It was impressive. I saw my first Tesla there (parked in a No Parking area).
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| Skytop Lodge |
We had hoped to take a ride on the dog sleds, but most of the snow had melted. Instead we opted to eat at the Tap Room, play some ping-pong, and rummage around in the Gift Shop. A sign outside the Windsor Dining Room informed guests that hats and cellphones were not permitted. Making America Great Again, and Trump wasn't even president yet....
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| Gingerbread House in the lobby |
After lunch, we went up to the rooftop Observation Deck. During WWII, spotters were posted here to keep an eye out for German airplanes. I don't think they saw too many. Deutschland is a long way away. Even if the Germans could have flown their bombers all the way across the Atlantic, I don't quite understand why the rural Poconos would be a target.
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| View from the Observation Deck |
We headed back home the following day. I wanted to take the Admiral home via Rt. 97, the "Upper Delaware Scenic Byway" which follows the Delaware River down to Port Jervis. Named after the man who helped engineer the Delaware and Hudson Canal, this town was where the canal left the Delaware River and turned north towards the Hudson. NY 97 runs between Port Jervis and Hancock; if you ever have a few hours to spare, it is a very interesting drive. You can even stop and visit the Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct (see previous post).
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| Delaware River at Hawks Nest. Washington must have one helluva arm if he threw that silver dollar across the river here.... |
A few miles outside of Port Jervis, the road winds along picturesque cliffs at a site known as "Hawks Nest." The view is stunning, and has been featured in several television commercials and
YouTube videos. The name 'Hawks Nest' derives from, well, the hawks that nest in the cliffs around these parts. A dirt road was put in here back in 1859, and paved in the early 1930s. Legend has it that the original plan was to build the road down near the river, but the Erie Railroad refused to sell rights to the state, obliging engineers to create the cliffside route that has become so famous.
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| NY Rt. 97 at Hawks Nest, just west of Port Jervis. Note the position of the van. |
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