Well, Caurie had to go home early Tuesday... Sigh. But, fortified with Aunt Laurie's famous M&M pancakes, the rest of us headed off, in three cars, to see some highly rock-oriented sites in northeastern Pennsylvania -- which, for real, is called NEPA by the locals. Go figure!
First stop was the Starrucca Viaduct, a true and amazing place that is very hard to capture in one photograph! Unless you're in a helicopter or something, I guess! The huge stone bridge was built in 1847 by the Erie Railroad and is 1,200 feet long and 110 feet high. Really. Big. Bridge.
Then, we drove around for a long while, over hill and dale, looking for Steve's mythical Internet hobby store. Surprisingly, it does exist! As he likes to say, he drove over 1,000 miles for a $30 refund! After the shopkeeper expressed his disblelief, Steve said, "Well, you don't answer your e-mails!"
Next up, the incredible backyard castle Valhalla in New Milford, Pa. This guy built a huge castle in his yard, by hand, with rocks, and absolutely no mortar! It even has a moat and a wall and everything!
There are stairs and turrets and bridges -- even a suit of armor, which I hear that Allen loved! Whenever someone other than Mommy took his picture, he smiled really nicely!
We saw a lot of the back end of Derek's and Laurie's cars... And when our next journey took us on several dirt roads, we could almost hear Derek cackling at the front of the pack! But somehow, we made it to Salt Springs State Park, home of some beautiful waterfalls -- and treacherous rocks, for people who have not worn the correct footwear! And that was pretty much everyone! But Steve was prepared... and he even carried my pocketbook -- like the wonderful husband he is -- so that I could use both hands to clamber up and over rocks and roots.
Ashley turned out to be the biggest little mountain goat... She went hiking all the way with Steve, even after her daddy went kerploosh! into the water. (Wish there was a good picture of that!)
Because Steve had my bag, and my camera, I grabbed Larry's for a few shots...
A very pretty place... and home of what's gotta be the world's longest tap root!
All of these sites get the unequivocal Critchlow Seal of Approval! Great job, Laurie!
The rest of our photos from Tuesday are here. All the pictures from Larry's and Caroline's cameras are here.
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