Sunday, August 17, 2008

Elvis Series - Mystery Train

Location: Reading, PA
Date Planted: 6/19/2005
Difficulty Level: easy


Mystery Train recorded by Elvis
(words & music by H. Parker - S. Philips)

Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well that long black train got my baby and gone

Train train, comin round, round the bend
Train train, comin round the bend
Well it took my baby, but it never will again (no, not again)

Train train, comin down, down the line
Train train, comin down the line
Well its bringin my baby, cause shes mine all, all mine
(shes mine, all, all mine)

We last saw Hound Dog in Tyler State Park, searching for Elvis. He had found his Blue Suede Shoes but had not yet found Elvis. Beginning to panic, Hound Dog tried to calm himself down by thinking logically. "Where would Elvis go next?"

After pondering this question for a few minutes, he remembered that Elvis had a concert scheduled and that he was going to take a train to get there. But which train? Think, think, think. Hmmmmm...maybe he was going to go to Berks County. Yeah...Berks County sounds right. But which train? What a mystery!

Hound Dog meandered to the local train station and hopped aboard the first train that seemed to be headed to Berks County. A little later as the train began to slow down at a railroad crossing, he jumped off and took a look around. The sign there said Thun Trail bike path and was in a little town called Gibralter. Hound Dog began to walk along the path beside the train tracks, nose to the ground, hoping to get a whiff of the man that he loved. The trail crossed over the Green Hills Road and on the other side of the bridge was a little trail that led down to a pretty view of the Allegheny Creek. This looked like a good place to take a little rest.

When Hound Dog was all refreshed he continued on the Thun Trail and walked under the power lines. He began to notice houses on the right side of the railroad tracks a little ahead of him and on the left was a little steep path leading across a creek bed. He carefully went down this path which was a little slippery due to the loose stones and leaves on it. He crossed the creek bed and chose the path which went to the right. As he was walking, he noticed a big tree with a faint green blaze but he wasn't distracted by it and continued to the creek bed from this curve. At the beginning of this path was a rotting log on the right side. Hidden in this log was something Hunds Dog was looking for but it wasn't Elvis. Where had that man gone? Where was he going to look next for him?

(to be continued)

My Dream, My Reality

Difficulty level: easy
Length of walk: about 1 mile roundtrip
Date planted: 6/22/2005

These two boxes were originally made for the Road Rally held at Green Lane County Park on April 2, 2005. I decided that the same park would be a good place to rehide them.

To find these boxes, go to the Green Lane Reservoir parking lot and visit the park office to get a map and a really neat trail guide which explains what the numbered markers are all about. Then take the White Tail trail unti it splits into the Blue Horse trail around marker number 7. Follow the Blue Horse trail around the lake. You will see several small trees which are growing in the middle of the trail. When you reach the fourth one,which you can identify by the 10 foot stump on the left side of the trail about 25 feet away, look to the left in the woods for a 5 foot stump. About ten feet behind the stump is a dead tree. Look behind it for My Dream buried under the SPOB.

To find My Reality, continue on the Blue Horse trail until you see the next blue blazed tree on the left. Look for the V shaped tree to the southeast about 30 feet away. Behind that V shaped tree are two trees which are growing very closely together. Between them is a SPOB hiding My Reality.

I checked on these November 27, 2007 and both were alive and well.