Geocaching on The Susquehanna on a rainy day

Don't worry. I show the caches, but not specific locations and I hid them in the same place but in a different way. I love geocaching and todays rain didnt stop me. It just drove me further south to explore an area I had not planned on visiting today. I was so happy to find the caches along the river, but the rain forced me back to town to hunt down some urban C&Ds but the rain was not at all cooperative. I am amazed at the number of caches along the SusQ and in Lancaster County so I will be back for more.

Geocaching at Neversink

My first day back to geocaching and what better place then Neversink Mountain. I have been here several times, but I never expected to come across an abandoned 19th century wine cellar and a vineyard that has been neglected since the early 1900s. The wine cellar is a huge 35x50 room that is 30 feet high or more with ominous Hellraiser movie like chains hanging from the ceiling. It was so cold in that cellar that it was difficult to take any pictures. Not because my lens was fogging up, but because of the "steam" pouring from my body. It enveloped me and the camera giving an ominous vibe to the place. It was a shame to see some vandalism, but we can fix that and discourage this behavior in the future. It would be nice if we could  tell everyone where this place is, but there are some who would ruin it for others. I am honored for the chance to see it. This vineyard and wine cellar are on the site of a sanitarium in the late 1800s to the early 1900s which was burned to the ground with little evidence surviving. This cellar and a nearby "concrete pond" and remnants of the  railways peers that brought people here, are almost all that remains. the Witches Hat Pavilion at the crest of this mountain is a small piece of the puzzle in this once grand resort area turned into a Tuberculosis clinic known as a sanatorium to treat the "white plague" or "consumption" as TB was once refereed to as. The treatment back then was fresh mountain air, clean water and rest. That works for me, but times have changed and my reason for visiting this place are far more pleasurable then those visitors from the past that probably never left this place, but not by their own  choice.

SlyFox Bock Fest 2011

The SlyFox Bock Fest is an interesting way to market a micro brewery in Pheonixville PA. They hold a goat race each year and this was my first time to attend this event. I was not expecting much, but as soon as I got close to SlyFox Brewery I could see that this was not just any old promo event. I drove down to the fairgrounds for parking and a free shuttle back to SlyFox and I couldn't believe how many people were there. The beer was so much better then I could have imagined and who would have guessed that watching a goat race would be so much fun. I think the live Polka band and German Beer fest atmosphere just made this event something that I will not forget. For me the SlackerBock beer was delicious and the winner of the goat races was a three legged goat named "Peggy". Although there was one wipe-out during the race, no goats were harmed during this event, but I can only assume that a few million brain cells were killed in the enjoyment of this festival.

Hikeathon

With such nice weather I wanted to visit Nolde Forest State park again and get some better pictures of the root cellar I saw there a few weeks ago. I was amazed at the difference in the foliage and wild life that blossomed within such a short time. the forest was truly alive with birds and chipmunks and red squirrels it felt like a completely different place from my most recent visit. The day started out a bit chilly, but after a few miles of hiking at Nolde Forest it warmed up and I didn't want to let this beautiful day pass by so quickly so I decided to head south to French Creek State Park. I have been to French Creek many times, and I proposed to Dee at Hopewell Lake in French Creek, but I had not been to Scotts Run Lake in French Creek since I was a child. It was nice to hike the perimeter of the lake and see the nice trails that are easily traversed by foot or mountain bike. Although there was not much in the way of flowers I did come across a few little specimens along the way. This small man made lake is ideal for fishing and boating and there are numerous trails to follow.