There's No Place Like Home - The Reading Railroad

Most people who have played Monopoly may not give much thought to the railroad properties but they, just like the street names are based on real railroads.  Next time you hop onto the space occupied by the Reading Railroad, you will know that it was based on the railroad which

ran through Reading, PA.  For a time in the 19^th century, the Reading Railroad was the largest corporation in the world, doing business hauling coal through Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.  When the coal business declined, so did the business for the Reading Railroad.  Today, most conversations around the Reading Railroad are concerned with the correct pronunciation of it.  Is it Reeding or is it Redding?  For those who don’t know, it is Redding.

When the Berks County Conservancy gave me permission to place letterboxes on its property, it sent me a packet of information.  Most of the places I had already heard of, Angelica Park, Neversink Mountain, Earle Poole Sanctuary, but one of the brochures was new to me – the Gravity Trail which follows the old tracks of the Mt. Penn Gravity Railroad.  I spent an afternoon exploring the three parks which are located side by side on the trail and began my walk after parking in the middle one.  I passed two old pavilions and tried to imagine the picnics that were held there long ago.  After crossing a lovely arched stone bridge, I headed left and began my uphill walk.  Soon, I forgot that I was actually in the city limits as pretty little waterfalls and several rock formations surrounded me.  I crossed a second little stone bridge and after walking a very short distance, I saw an unmarked trail to the right which lead by a rotting tree stump about ten feet tall.  I followed the trail about ten more feet and found a tree with an interesting base filled with nooks and crannies on the left side of the trail.  The most interesting nook was located on the side facing the road above me. 

 My walk was only about a half mile one way but it provided me with a little piece of history, a big piece of beauty and the pride of knowing a new area in the town I live in.

There's No Place Like Home - the Reading Pagoda

I love to travel in the US and we recently came home from a wonderful vacation in the Southwest.  We drove from Nevada back to Pennsylvania and thoroughly enjoyed an area of the country which was so different from our own lush green state.  There was beauty everywhere we looked but as we got closer and closer to home, I had to admit how much I had missed the state we live in and this inspired a new series of boxes I hope to create showing some of the highlights of our state.

The Reading Pagoda

Tq53  529

94qht3 54q8o  23w5

3hu96  f832 59   h945y u7w5  g3r943

51491-36591

w2 e92h3e  5433

4995  3he

Flood Plan 2

We live near the Schuylkill River and although it doesn't happen often, it does flood occasionally.  A few years ago it flooded badly and I decided that I needed an escape plan in case it happened again so I planted Flood Plan 1.  Unfortunately, I chose a bad spot for this box and it floated away - I guess it was good to find this out before I really needed it.  Then a few weeks ago, I found what looked like a much better location.  See what you think!

 

 

 

35 steps down the fishermen's trail to these trees on the right of the trail.

Photo Clues to Klapperthal Junction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Hiking Buddy - missing and presumed hijacked by a Geocacher

Originally placed in 2006.
Located in Exeter Township on the Exeter Scenic River Trail.

5/5/13- I went to do maintenance on this box and it was missing. Out of curiosity, I checked Geocaching.com and found that in March, a new cache had been placed within a few feet of my box and that several geocachers mentioned that they found the box instead of the cache.  Funny that a few weeks after a cache was placed, my box, which had been in place since 2006, went missing.  Coincidence???  I think not!

I have a little hiking buddy
He goes in and out with me

And what can be the use of him
Is more than I can see

He really, really likes me
From my head down to my toes

And he really enjoys getting
In my ears and in my nose

If you would like to share him
There's something you should know

After just a little bit of rain
The Schuylkill can overflow

Walking along this trail in
Search of my little buddy

Can lead you along a walkway
That can often be quite muddy

From the Exeter River parking lot
Keep the river on your left

And head past the two mile marker
And the benches right and left

Halfway between them looms
The boulders large and great

And in a crevice along the left
My buddy lies in wait

So don't forget your sneakers
And to apply your spray

Because if you forget either
You will rue it the next day

I checked on this box 4/22/10 and it is still safely nestled in its hidey hole, never found. Thanks to Otis Friends for supplying me with the clues which I lost when my old computer died. I did tweak the clues a bit so if you had saved these from a few years ago, please reprint them.
Hint: If you are clever enough to figure out the alternate entrance to this trail, you can cut the walk down from about four miles to one.

Celebration!

There are all kinds of friends in this world. There are the people I work with who spend more time with me than even my family does. They know more about me than most people do, sometimes even more than my family does. And there are the friends that I socialize with. They usually know very little about me because our bond is often very limited to one small part of our lives. Then there are the friends who share a passion and that passion usually makes for a very strong friendship. Letterboxing is one of my two passions, and most people know that my grandchildren are the other.

I will never forget the first time that I met True Indigo of the Crayola Posse at a Rubbermaid Road Rally. I immediately felt a kindred spirit in spite of the fact that our lives are so different. Through the years, along with RGBisMe, we have enjoyed so many experiences and this past weekend, I was delighted to be asked to join them for a letterboxing milestone. We met early on a rainy Sunday morning to begin our quest to find their 1000th letterbox. We quickly found two of my drivebys and then headed for Nolde Forest to find the final four that they needed. Slowly, we began our countdown, finding one, then the second and then moved on to their third. But I had a surprise planned for them because I wanted their 1000th find to be one of my boxes. As they were searching for number 999, I quickly hid number 1000, and when they came to the table to stamp in, I gave them the simple clues to attain their goal. They quickly found a Celebration!

After the Celebration! we continued on our search for additional boxes, all the time looking for a suitable permanent hiding spot for Celebration! We had cause for another mini Celebration! after finding a mystery box that has eluded me several times. When we finished with that Celebration! we moved on a little and we found a hiding spot for Celebration! We headed north on the Laurel Path. About 120 steps past the intersection with Cabin Hollow Road, we saw a three trunk chestnut oak about twenty feet off the trail on the right. Celebration! nestled very nicely in the joint formed by the three trunks. RGBisMe collected some rocks to help anchor it in and while doing so, also found an interesting camo pole which was part of a Villanova bird study. We felt pretty good about the hiding spot as we walked further down the trail, soon hitting the connector trail with the Middle Road and the next part of our quest. Although our Celebration! is now behind us, I would like to invite each and every one of you to join me in our Celebration! of the Crayola Posse’s 1000th find.

Length of walk: 2 miles roundtrip

Elevation: varies depending on your route, highest elevation about 100 feet

Date Planted: 11/1/09
Color needed for stamp: Bright colors

Notes

I have decided to open these clues back up for public viewing and have checked on a few boxes in the past couple of weeks. As I check or get reports on the conditions, I will post them here.

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.

Laura's Childhood Luvs - Strawberry Shortcake

Difficulty level: easy, the Milkmonster did this box when he was two!
Length of walk: about .4 mile
Planted: June 19, 2005

Hibernia park is a lovely little Chester county park with several well kept trails. It is an ideal park for walking with a stroller. Laura lives in Chester County so this box is placed there to represent her life today.

To locate Strawberry Shortcake, take the Lake Trail which begins behind the mansion. Stop for a few minutes at the bird feeders - there is a specially built viewing area here so that you can watch the birds without startling them. When you have finished here, continue on the trail, passing marker number 7. Don't be tempted to take the intersecting trails at this marker. When you reach marker number 9, you can take a few minutes to look at any activity on the pond. Remember this bench because you can bring the letterbox back here to stamp in. Continue a little further on the trail till you see a faint trail on the right. Take it. Go up it about 50 feet until you see the big rock. But your box is not there. Instead look across the trail to a smooth barked tree with some raised roots opposite the rock and a little pile of twigs.

Say hello to Strawberry Shortcake for Laura and me.

Laura's Childhood Luvs - Garfield

Difficulty level: easy
Length of walk: .75 mile
Planted: July 18, 2005

This is one of a series of boxes based on my daughter's childhood luvs. Laura is the mother of my beloved grandson, Milkmonster, and when she was pregnant with him, we did some shopping in the toy department to see what toys were the latest rage for today's infants. We were totally surprised to find that many of the toys that Laura played with as a child are still available and popular today. Because Laura has a physical challenge (she is blind) and also enjoys letterboxing, my goal for the boxes in this series is to make them all handicapped accessible but this particular box is a little more difficult that the others that have been planted. Actual retrieval of the box would require a physically able person.

Go to the main parking lot at the mansion of the park of the Hosiery Baron between the hours of 8 and 4 on weekdays or if you are there at other times, park at the Sawmill parking area and walk to the mansion. Take the path at the right end of the parking lot to the intersection of Middle and Laurel paths and choose the Laurel path. This will eventually hit a gravel path which you will take to a Y intersection at Kissinger Road. Turn right and walk about 30 steps. Yu will see a few small rocks and a downed tree on the right side of the path about 20 steps off of the path. The box in on the backside of the middle of the downed tree. There is a small rock about 3 foot wide in front of this section of the tree.

Edited 7/6/09. I checked on this box and it is still in good shape but the downed tree is deteriorating. However, if you take the 30 steps and look to your right, you can see the rock which is in front of the tree very easily even with all of the summer growth that we have this year.

Featherhead

Planted by Cichlid Guy for Team Little Dog
Difficulty level: Easy to Medium
Length of hike: 1.5 miles

This box can be found at the Sterner Mill hiking area at Nockamixon State Park in Quakertown, PA. Take Route 313 to 563 north, follow 563 north. You will soon see a sign on your right for the Sterner Mill hiking area. There is only one parking area.

Note* One pace in these set of clues is equal to right foot, left foot hitting the ground.
Some of the trails in this clue may be difficult to see because of the fallen leaves covering the trails.
BYOI

Once upon a time, two HUNGRY TERMITES lived in these woods but one lovely fall day, they decided they had been invaded with too many visitors so they picked up and moved to the foreign country of Michigan. The spot where they had lived was nice and cozy anf very quickly another resident took over their home.

Your quest to find this new resident begins in the southeast corner of the parking lot. Follow this trail down to where it forks off. Turn left and follow the path to where it forks again. This time turn right. Follow the path to where it forks again. This time you are going to turn left. Continue on the path to the small wooden footbridge crossing the small creek. Turn right after the bridge and continue on your way. Wow, so many rocks under your feet! You will soon come to another bridge. You are not going to cross this one, instead head to your left up the steep hill. At the top of the hill make a sharp right and continue on. What a wonderful meadow full of pine trees. Continue on the path and cross over another wooden footbridge. Continue on the path. At the fork turn left, which will take you due north. Looks like those pesky termites had made it to this part of the trail - so many trees on the ground. Continue on the path. Look at that, trees that look like snakes on your left. Continue on the path. More evidence is all around you that those termites had made it to this part of the trail. Looks like the termites knocked over a large tree, which is lying over the path. Cross over this tree and continue on. Do you see the red block on the tree up ahead? Continue on 16 paces after the tree with the red block on it. Now look to your left at the split ree. Featherhead is hiding in a small plastic box inside the tree. Please let me know if Featherhead is still safe and sound in the Hungry Termites old home.

Last found: June 9, 2008

The Tyler Park Boxes

Battle of the Bands - Taking Care of Business

Difficulty level: easy
Time: about 30 minutes
Placed: November 6, 2004

Elvis was looking for something...he didn't exactly know what it was but he knew that when he found it,he would know it. He made up his mind I DON'T CARE IF THE SUN DON'T SHINE because of the EARLY MORNING RAIN. I BELIEVE IN THE MAN IN THE SKY and I need to find what I am searching for. So he decided to take a trip in his LONG BLACK LIMOUSINE with his HOUND DOG in beautiful Tyler State Park. He started by driving past the fields that reminded him of the GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME and that today were filled with GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS and EARTH BOYS playing soccer. I GOT MY MOJO WORKING today, he thought, I can feel it! Ahhh! Look at that sign; it says "Maze" which reminds me of one of my favorite songs - AMAZING GRACE. This must be an omen so I will park here and FOLLOW THAT DREAM.
Look, there is a trail at the end of this parking lot, the Tyler Drive Trail that looked like a LONG LONELY HIGHWAY to Elvis. But he decided to try it out. He took the path at 285 degrees and crossed a little stone bridge. On his right, he then noticed a drinking fountain. I GOT A FEELING IN MY BODY that I may need that a little later. He then walked through two yellow posts and past the Dallons Grove Picnic Area sign. "HOUND DOG," he said, "IF YOU TREAT ME RIGHT we will bring our lunch and eat it here."

He reached a little circle then and after choosing the clockwise direction, he noticed A BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER. Another omen, he thought. Let's STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN to the water passing through here. Upon reaching the other side of the bridge, Elvis noticed a cylinder shaped object and thought "if I touch that, I MIGHT GET STUNG by those bees flying around. So I will head up the path behind the sign that says 'Nature Trail Start'. I am getting closer to my goal, he thought, I GOT A FEELING IN MY BODY. Look at that large JAILHOUSE ROCK on the left - IT FEELS SO RIGHT here." He walked a few steps further to a smaller rock on the left and took a little look at the downed tree behind it. SLOWLY BUT SURELY this SMOKY MOUNTAIN BOY looked for a fork in the downed tree and there he found what he had been looking for. And best of all, he thought, I DID IT MY WAY!
After he was through TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS, he GENTLY rehid his treasure and began to retrace his steps humming VIVA LAS VEGAS but knowing in his mind that the words should be Viva Pennsylvania.

If you have to figure out how to get around the tree in the path, you have gone too far.
Words in capital letters are actual names of Elvis songs.


Battle of the Bands - Hound Dog

Difficulty level: Easy
Time: about one hour for both boxes
Placed 11/6/2004

It was a beautiful day when Elvis and Hound Dog visited Tyler State Park in the Long Black Limousine. After a nice picnic lunch at the Dalton Grove Picnic area, Elvis stretched out for a little nap. Hound Dog, being a typical hound dog, had to investigate every new smell in the area. Before he knew it, he had wandered the whole way down to the Plantation Picnic area. He stopped to watch the children playing on the swings before he continued sniffing along the Quarry Trail. Then he spent a few minutes watching the frisbees flying back and forth on the disc golf course. But there were more places to investigate so nose to the ground, he continued. He noticed pungent odors coming from the little house on the right, so he hurried by that and made a right hand turn onto Tyler Drive Trail. Meandering along, he got excited as he began to hear the sound of water to his left. Just before the curve in the road, he spied some benches on the left. The first one was occupied so he walked past it around a little bend and found an empty one right on the bank of the creek where he could enjoy the view for a while. By this time, Hound Dog was getting a little tired himself, so he looked at the little patch of woods behind him and saw a great area to take a nap. Directly behind his bench, deep in the little wooded patch was a downed tree with a large arm pointing up to the sky. He nested himself into the roots and began to dream of Elvis and his happy life with the King.

Battle of the Bands - Blue Suede Shoes

Hound Dog awoke from his nap and noticed that the sky was getting dark. He must have slept longer than he meant to and now it was time to get back to Elvis and the Long Black Limousine. However, he was now totally disoriented and didn't know how he was going to do this. "Hound Dog", he said to himself, "you ARE a hound dog, blessed with a magnificent sense of smell. You just need to sniff your way back to Elvis."
So putting his nose to the ground, he went back out to the Tyler Drive Trail and headed left on it. Sniff, sniff, sniff, he passed a set of double benches on his right. He hadn't picked up a good scent yet but he did smell water and when he saw a drinking fountain down a little path on his right, he decided to take a drink. After quenching his thirst, he figured that he might be able to take a shortcut to where he had last seen Elvis. He headed into the woods behind the drinking fountain, heading north on the faint trail that was there. After taking about 23 human size paces (left foot, right foot = 1 human pace) he noticed a really familiar smell in the leaning tree with the exposed roots. Could he have found Elvis? If not, where of where could he be? And what WAS that smell?
Update 10/23/10:  Taking Care of Business and Hound Dog are probably missing.  Blue Suede Shoes has been moved slightly "7 double paces NE of the big root ball. ".  Thanks to The Soul Mates for the update and repairs to the Blue Suede Shoes box.

Signs

You can find the clues to my favorite of my planted boxes at:

http://letterboxingmimsersigns.blogspot.com

French Creek Rocks

French Creek State Park
Mill Creek Trail
3 mile round trip if you return the way you came, longer if you choose an alternate route.

200 feet elevation
Placed 6/1/07

Those who know me, know that French Creek is NOT my favorite park. So if you are reading these clues, you probably asked me why I don't like this park. Or you were just lucky and I gave them to you. Don't expect an easy walk.


Visit the Miller.

After heading south, take the first trail coming in from the right after the Miller.

Pass a 6' rotting stump.

Go to the next downed tree on the left side whose root system is facing the trail.

15 to 20 feet off trail.

Look under bark in crook of tree.

The Green Triangle

Location: Schuylkill County or is it Lehigh County
Blue Mountain House Road
Distance .2 mile
Altitude 1342 (not hiking elevation - just altitude!)



I was meandering around the hills of Schuylkill County one warm June morning when I spied an interesting little pillar at the side of the road. So, I grabbed my trusty camera and got out to take a picture of it, when I discovered that the opposite side of the pillar bore a different inscription. So, I had to take a picture of that one too. As I was standing there looking at my surroundings, it struck me that there was a curious white blaze on the side of the pillar. Hmmm, why was that, I wondered? I parked in the little parking area about 20 feet north of the pillar. Looking around me, I decided that this was a pretty neat spot to hide that letterbox which had been riding around with me for awhile.

I poked around my car, looking for the box, and as I stood up, I noticed that there was a man with a big backpack standing on the other side of the road observing me. Startled, I asked him if he was a through hiker and he responded that indeed, he was and that he had started in Vermont but he really sounded doubtful that he would make it the whole way to Georgia.

My new companion appeared to be in no hurry to move on. I WAS in a bit of a hurry to be on my way but was determined that I was going to place my box somewhere in this vicinity. But his presence somewhat discouraged my going too far away from my car so I just meandered west on the trail, bypassing a little side trail on the left leading to a big field. This would have been a perfect area for hiding but it also looked as though it were a perfect spot for hikers to rest so I kept moving. But I didn't have to go far before I passed a three trunk tree and shortly after that, I saw a V tree on the right with a downed tree directly behind it about 25 feet off the trail.


After checking it out, I decided that it was a good spot to place my little Green Triangle and that it was time to be on my way to my next adventure. My new friend, the through hiker, also appeared to be relieved that I was leaving so that he could continue on to HIS next adventure.


Bring your own ink - guess what color is recommended!

Last reported find: July 6, 2007

PS: The above story is true!

The Gift

Chester County
Distance 1.2 miles roundtrip
125 feet elevation
Planted 6/1/07

Last year I was given a stamp carved by RTRW, a wonderful carver from Connecticut. I have been carrying it around for almost a year now and decided that it was time to plant it. So, I went to one of my least favorite parks to place this stamp, thinking that I might like the park a little better if it held something that I liked a lot.

Go to where the masked nighttime forager trail meets the water powered turnwheel trail and take 32 steps NW to the large tree with the pocket behind it. This tree is between two large V trees.

3/7/10: Checked on box and all is well.

Kaleidoscope #4

Update: Found on 3/31/10 by 2Stargaze

Mifflin County

Distance 1.2 miles round trip

Planted April 28, 2007

This Kaleidoscope is located near a series of boxes in a township in north eastern Mifflin County. You will need to identify the location from the clues to those boxes. Find the boxes with this description - “From the closest town along Rt. 322, take a drive north east through a beautiful valley between Strong and Thick Mountains (do not confuse with nearby Thick Mountain in Centre County). Stay on the road named for the valley the whole way to the trail head.

At the point where the paved road turns to gravel (poor winter maintenance) you will travel 5 more miles to the suggested parking. You know you are on the right track when you see Strong Imp Road going off to the left (at 2.2 miles). After you pass a camp with the name of Reading on it (4.8 miles) be watching for a pull off along the left at the blue blazed trail head. If you cross a low wooden bridge, you have gone too far. Park without blocking the trail.”

After you have viewed the two old hemlocks, passed the long rock, observed the new orchard trees and seen the interesting cherry tree, continue down the trail a little further and stop at the second blue blazed tree. This tree is located on the right side of the trail. Spy a very small stump on the left side of the trail and look inside the stump for Kaleidoscope #4. Please use only black ink.

Cyanocitta Cristata on the Blue Jay Trail - Missing

7/25/2020 Both boxes missing
Update: Found 3/31/10 by 2Stargaze. Bonus box may be missing.

Reed’s Gap State Park
Mifflin County, PA
Distance - 1.5 miles round trip
Planted April 28, 2007

From park office, take the yellow and blue blazed trail up the gravel road till you come to the trail register. Sign in at the register and turn left unto the square blue blazed Reed’s Gap Spur trail. Watch on the right side of the trail for the first square blue blaze after the Spur Trail Sign and notice a crooked tree on the left side of the trail. About 15 feet behind the crooked tree is a rotted stump with another tree close behind it. Box is in niche on SE side of tree.

Friends – planted with my friends, the Crayola Posse, in mind
From the Blue Jay trail box, head back down to spur sign and turn left on Blue Jay trail. Cross footbridge and head up the trail. As it begins to level out slightly and turn SE, you will be able to see the round roof of a building down the hill on the right side. You will also see a downed tree with its roots and rock system almost on the trail directly before a tree with a blue blaze. In a nook between the root and rock system and the base of the tree trunk, you will find a micro box.

Kaleidoscope #2 - Retired

Holy Man Colic
Berks County, PA
Distance – 1.25 miles round trip
Planted May 24, 2007

Begin at the beginning from the only parking lot for this park and head west past the little outhouse. Look for the Layers which will be followed by the Tulip Tree, Ashleaf Maple and Norway Maple. Continue heading West and walk past the trail at PawPaw. The Mockernut Hickory will appear soon – watch for the next trail on the right because you will be taking it.

Pass the stump that looks as though it HAS to have a letterbox in it – I considered it but it is too close to the trail. Your next landmark is a triple trunked tree which is on the left side of the trail. It has a red blaze on two of the three trunks. Stroll about 30 feet to the next blazed tree. Stop beside this tree and face the woods on the opposite side of the trail where you will spy a small triple tree about 20 steps into the woods. From that tree look NW and 11 steps to another triple tree. This triple tree has two live trunks and one dead one. About 3 steps W of this tree is a dead standing tree with a nice little hiding place on its W side. Here you will find Kaleidoscope 2.

Please use only black ink. You can color in later.

Yuengling Brewery

In July 2005, we visited the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville on a very hot summer afternoon. Yuengling is the oldest family owned brewery in the United States and although the Pottsville brewery is not the only plant these days, they do continue to make beer there to maintain their "oldest family" status on the National Historic Register. We walked up and down old staircases in this 175 year old building going from the heat of the manufacturing plant to the cool caves holding the aging beer. After the tour, we were encouraged to sample some of the many fine brews that are produced by Yuengling and although I am not a beer lover, I quickly learned that if I DID want to drink a beer, it would be a Yuengling Lager.


I came home from this tour totally inspired to share my experience with my letterboxing friends in the form of a box in Yuengling's honor. So I carved a stamp and prepared my box and drove to Pottsville to hide it, only to find that there really don't seem to be many good hiding spots IN Pottsville. The box sat in my car for about a year and I made two or three more trips to the area, casually driving around and expanding my circle of search. And now, I decided that today was the day that I had to hide this box, freeing it from its 22 month captivity. So I again drove to Pottsville, drove around Pottsville, drove up and down the hilly streets in Pottsville and in frustration started to head home yet again after finding that the only place that seemed suitable to hide a box was in a beautiful cemetery and it just didn't feel right to put a beer stamp in a cemetery.

I soon noticed a woodsy area to my left as I was heading south on Route 61 and made a turn into the road to find that these woods were owned by the Tumbling Run Water Treatment Facility. Unfortunately, there were no trespassing signs on both sides of the road for miles. But I persisted for 3.6 miles and found a little pull off which was unposted. Six large white stones prevented me from driving up the little road which obviously led to a nice view but they didn't stop me from walking up the road. I came to a little clearing and looked all around me at the mountains which towered over me and soon noticed a little fir tree to my right. This looked like the ideal new home for my little box. I hung it, much like a Christmas ornament, off of a hook, deep in the tree. Please do not remove the hook when you find this box, just lift it off gently.

While you are in the area and if you have the time, please consider taking the tour. You can find the information on it at http://www.yuengling.com/index.htm.

Kaleidoscope #3

Did you ever drive by a road time after time and each time you do it, you say "next time I come this way, I am going to see what is down that road"? Well, there is a road like that a little north of Port Clinton and today was the "next time" that I had promised myself. I drove up this road which is right off of Rt. 61 and is sometimes gated. I found out why the gate is there as I drove up and up and up. There is no way that I would even want to consider driving here in the snow or ice. I found a map which gives the elevation at 1300 feet and I hope to head back there soon to verify that with my GPS.

I drove 2.9 miles enjoying several different vistas on my way up and when I saw a towering fire tower, I knew I had reached the end of the road. The fire tower is fenced off and I can only imagine the views that one would see from it. Not me, though, heights terrify me so I would never have been able to climb it even for a spectacular view.

I parked at the fire tower and walked to the gravel road behind the brown and white striped gate. As I headed downhill, I saw a large evergreen ahead of me on the left side of the road as the trail begins to bear to the right. A little further along, there were a pair of almost matching three foot stones on either side of the trail and I passed through them.

A little further along I saw a trail heading off on the right side of the road and decided to explore that area a little bit. I walked back to the little raised island and headed clockwise around it to the first faint trail on the left and soon saw a three trunked tree which looked like a good spot for my Kaleidoscope #3 box.

I hope you have the time to enjoy the views while you are driving up this mountain, they were beautiful on this lovely sunny day.

Kaleidoscope #1

KRAP YTNUOC OLLOPA

I passed by the sign for this little park while driving to another box and decided to turn around and see what was there. Boy, was I really glad that I did. It was a lovely little park in the middle of nowhere and looked like the perfect spot to place a box I have been carrying around for a few weeks. I also took the opportunity to try out my GPS which I received two Christmases ago and still can’t use. With it, I found that this walk is 1.2 miles long and there is a 226 foot elevation, so although it is not the most challenging walk I have ever taken, it isn’t really a walk for kids or those more out of shape than I am!

Begin at the beginning – take #1 from the parking lot and stay on #1, not hard to do since all the trails are named #1! When #1 splits, take the straight ahead #1.

As you approach a tree laying across the trail with a narrow cut in it to allow hikers to go through it, you will also catch your first glimpse of the Susquehanna River. Go through this narrow cut and continue on the trail.

You will pass several more trees which have been cut to allow people to remain on the trail. As the trail begins to go slightly downhill and you see a stone wall on the right and a full view of the river on the left, look for a long downed tree. Its root end is close to the trail. Go to its other end and look in the little niche on the river end of the tree. Please use only black ink on this stamp. Take it home to add color to it.

1/2/2010 -Box has been found in good condition by Idlemoon.  Thanks for the update!

I Heart Joe

It was the summer of 1968 and I was in love with Joe, the older brother of one of my best friends, Lyn. We all were in the same grade in high school and to Joe, I was just his little sister’s friend so I had to keep my unrequited love a deep secret. Joe’s family was the only family that I had ever met who had two homes – a winter one and a summer one. They were only about 25 miles away from each other, one being in the countryside of Starview and the other along the Susquehanna River in Long Level. As soon as school was out for the year, their family migrated to their life along the river and I was a frequent visitor that summer of 1968. Their house was close to the river, only the road and a narrow strip of shore separated them and we would spend hours sitting in their yard, just watching the boats go by. Sometimes we would walk over to the marina which was always a hubbub of activity, with boats constantly coming and going. We would often buy ice cream at the snack shop there. Other times we would go over to the park which was right on the northern edge of their yard and walk around a bit, swinging on the swings or just hanging out on the picnic tables – again watching the river go by. When it was time to go home, Joe would pile Lyn and me in his teeny little MG convertible (these were the days before seatbelts) and we would race along the river roads with the top down to my home in East York.

A few years ago, Lyn and I were reunited after 35 years at our class reunion. Unfortunately, Joe was not able to join us since he had passed away several years previously from pancreatic cancer. The day after the reunion, Lyn’s mother prepared a wonderful brunch for several other of our high school friends and me at her home in Long Level, which was now her permanent home, and we did a lot of reminiscing about Joe and how much we had all cared about him. Sadly, it will be the last time I ever visit that home because Joe's mother died a few months later when she never recovered from a broken hip.

I have placed a box in Joe’s honor in the park next to his home in Long Level. To find it, go to the south west corner of the park. Here you will find several picnic tables and an intersection of several fences. Northwest of the tables is a rotten stump and about three steps from the stump is a rough barked tree with a nook in its base. My box for Joe is in this nook.

Threshing Festival Dayv- Missing

It was a hot, steamy August Saturday and Pa woke me early to tell me that we weren't working in the fields today. Seems that we were going to a big get together over in Shirktown, the annual Threshing Event. I had forgotten all about this big day which we attended every year. The summer was flying by so fast and the thought of school coming soon was almost unbearable. The good thing was that I would be in eighth grade and this would be my last year of school. But that was next month - for today, we had a lot of fun ahead of us. We hopped into the wagon and started off down the road to Shirktown. Here the action was limitless and everywhere I looked, I saw members of our family - aunts, uncles, cousins, my sister Rachel and her four kids, brother Elam and his new bride, Barbara. My favorite cousin, Samuel, and I quickly found each other and went to watch Uncle Daniel and Uncle David demonstrate their new thresher. Then we moved on to see the thresher from the Stoltfus family who lived over in Morgantown. From there we went over to see Aunt Mary and Ma at the home made ice cream demonstration and sampled the chocolate AND the vanilla! Tiring of all of this farm stuff, we decided to look for girls and went to the wool making demonstration .....and we weren't disappointed! The tallest one actually smiled at me! By this time cousin John had joined us and we decided to walk down the big road to the old forge there. The Conestoga River flowed through it and we wanted to cool off on this hot summer day. Cousin John's father, Uncle Amos, worked at the forge so we had the freedom to go anywhere we wanted there. Sensing that we were up to something, Cousin Rebecca headed to us and insisted on going with us. We had to let her, she was bigger than us and could beat any of us at wrestling so we always let her have her way. And when my little sister, Katie, saw us headed out, she ran to catch up to us too. Oh well, the two girls could keep each other company.

It was a long walk to the river and the road was very hot on our bare feet but we soon arrived. The old covered bridge had just gotten a fresh coat of paint and was looking pretty spiffy. One of Cousin John's grandfathers on his mother's side, Elias Mellen had worked on this bridge in 1859 and a member of his family had worked at the forge ever since. Cousin John would probably end up here too since his dad AND his uncles worked here. Once we got on the other side of the covered bridge, we noticed that there had also been work done to the Amish parking lot and it was looking fresh and new. But the place that we were after was on the east of the road through the bridge - the river! We boys rolled our pants legs up and prepared to go running and splashing in the water but the silly girls didn't want to get wet and played on the two rocks under the trees beside the river a little south of us. We could hear them giggling and whispering. Girls are so stupid sometimes, the water was so refreshing, what could be so wonderful about hiding in the brush.

As the girls continued to do girl things, we caught polywogs and minnows and built dams. Pretty soon we noticed that it was getting close to sunset and we had to walk back to Shirktown. So we went after the girls and found them fast asleep on the rocks between the speckled tree and the rough barked tree. A little further away there was another tree with peeling bark. We woke them and they groggily joined us in the walk back to the Thresher festival, arriving there just in the nick of time. Our parents were loading things into the wagon and gathering the rest of our brothers and sisters for the ride home. As Katie and I got in the wagon, Katie's eyes got big and filled with tears. "Oh, Daniel, I left my doll back at the river!" Pa heard her cries and made a promise to her. "Tomorrow I will excuse Daniel from his chores on the farm and he can take the buggy back to the forge to find your doll." Katie happily laid her head on my shoulder and fell asleep knowing that her big brother would save her precious doll. So if you happen to be in the area and see Katie's doll, please leave it there till I can get back!

Training Camp

We made our annual trek to our favorite football team's training camp. This year, the team just happened to be the reigning Super Bowl champions. We saw Ben Roethlisberger, we saw Troy Polamalu, we saw Duce Staley, we saw Hines Ward, and I was getting restless. So I started walking around the beautiful campus.

First I headed to our car to drop off all of the goodies I had purchased at the team store. Shirts and hats and towels and lanyards. Once I was unburdened, I started up the steps at the basilica but headed to the left of the buildings and walked past "venite, filii, audite". After passing a little red fire hydrant, I then walked through a set of arches and spotted a second set of arches.

But before I got to those arches, I noticed that to the left of them, there was a really neat little alcove. As I walked into the alcove, I could see a wooden gazebo straight ahead of me. And when I was standing IN the alcove and facing the training fields, I could see a meditative garden below me. And I also saw a white statue a bit further downhill. But I couldn't quite make out what the statue was so I headed back out the way I came into the alcove.

Just as I passed through the doorway, I dropped my backpack and since it had been open because I had just pulled my notebook out, everything scattered every which way. I picked up all of my belongings and walked downhill to view the statue closer. I then made my way back to the field and refreshed from a little exercise, enjoyed watching the rest of the practice.

However, once we got home, I discovered that I had NOT picked up all of my belongings. I had left a little film cannister laying somewhere around that doorway into the alcove. I thought that I had checked all around the area but it slowly dawned on me that there was one place that I hadn't checked - in the ivy at the base of the little lamppost which was about two feet away from the door. Would someone please check there for me and let me know if it is there? If so, I will retrieve it when we visit the area again next year at the same time.