28 October 2016 SGL 218

We enjoyed our recent visit to SGL218 so much (and there were more caches to find) that we returned again. There we still no ducks, but the quiet ponds were still in fall colors. We also enjoyed seeing bluebirds and many cedar waxwings on our walk.

23 October 2016 No Ducks

We stopped at SGL218 hoping to find a few caches and spot a few ducks in the ponds. There were no ducks this afternoon, but we found the caches and enjoyed a walk.

22 October 2016 Finger Lakes Trail

All roads except two in Allegany State Park close during the winter so we were enjoying the fall colors and using the open roads to access the trails. We spent part of our day on the North Country Trail or the Finger Lakes Trail as it is known in New York.

We eventually made our way to a cache near an old ski jump in the park. Phineas looked like he was measuring up the distance. In general, Phineas' main form of travel when he's off leash is running away and making me chase him for miles so maybe he's just contemplating how quickly he could run down that hill. As for the old ski jumps, I'm surprised anyone survived the jumps with older equipment, and I can't imagine getting hurt in a ski jump fall with the medical capabilities of fifty years ago. The jumpers were truly daredevils.

We finished our day with a couple "night" cache finds. We often look for these in the daytime with mixed success at finding. With the lower fall light and the quick fade into darkness, we were able to find both with a small bit of light left at the end of the journey. I was happy we reached the scenic stream before light fell. It was much better looking during the day and easier to cross. Liz was actually granting photo opportunity today.

21 October 2016 Northwest to Home

I planned to visit a few caches on my journey home. The first stop was a cache along Sherman's Creek, The hide location wasn't far from the Dellville Covered Bridge which was burned in 2014 by an arsonist. The area seems to be perfect for a covered bridge. I hope the plan to rebuild succeeds.

My second stop was near Philipsburg and along water called Cold Stream. I really liked this park. It seemed ironic when I mentioned this park to Ali. She looked at a map and realized that she had also found a cache in the same park along Cold Stream on a trip when she was traveling alone. These separate visits happen occasionally with all my travel. Despite visiting them alone and at different times, they become closer to a shared journey.

A walk through rhododendrons is a stress reliever.

Different people see their geocaching adventures in different ways. My last stop on the way home was a visit to a cemetery in Clearfield County. The cache page focused on the unmarked graves of native Americans sprinkled through the cemetery. With muddy roads through the cemetery, I had parked near the entrance and walked to the back of the cemetery for the cache find. I took a different path back and happened to notice the markers for the Robinson family. The markers told a sad tale of two parents who said goodbye to very young children.

19 October 2016 N99HU

I was late to leave the office and decided to pass by caching for the night. I was driving past the Carlisle Airport when I noticed a Grumman Albatross. The 1950's plane was used in the Korean War as a rescue plane for downed pilots. The plane was removed from service in 1958 and given to Brazil where is served until 1980. Over 20 years later the abandoned plane was brought back to flight worthy condition and amazingly flown from an airstrip in Brazil to Carlisle Airport where it is still in restoration. The complete story can be found here.

Hopefully, there's plenty more sunsets left for this piece of history.

18 October 2016 Short Days and Fall Scenes

By October my time to be outside after work when I travel is short. For some locations, sunset comes quickly. Carlisle is far in the east and one of the earlier sunset times. Since I hadn't cached in the area for a while, I was lucky to have a cache available in a park along the Conodoguinet Creek. Most visits here include an empty park. This evening there were a few fishermen enjoying the a little fall perfection.

17 October 2016 Pennsylvania Roads

Pennsylvania roads make driving fun. They twist. They turn. This was at a roadside, private, residential cache on my way to Carlisle.

16 October 2016 Mount Tuscarora and the NCT

We spent a fall afternoon hiking to the Mount Tuscarora fire tower and hiking on the North Country Trail in Allegany State Park. It was a perfect afternoon for fall walks in the woods.

15 October 2016 Baldwin Flats

There is an area of SGL162 called Baldwin Flats. The flats portion is a flood plain for French Creek. It's roots trace back to the 1830's when there was a schoolhouse in this location. The area also hosted a church and for a time offered an iron bridge as one the the two closest means to cross French Creek. The road through Baldwin Flats used to link the boroughs of Wattsburg and Waterford, but has been closed for a long time. It's home to some nice views of French Creek and some caches.

The trees were a mix of mostly bare to bright colors.

As usual, Lizzie found a spot for a rest while we signed a log and replaced the cache. She really likes the chicken leg position.

The old road is crumbling and overgrown, but clearly still visible.

A couple views of French Creek...

The area still had a few late season New England Aster in bloom although most goldenrod had disappeared.