30 June 2017 Checking Our Cache

We needed to check one of our Pennsylvania caches today so we decided to take a couple walks near the cache. We started with a walk along the Allegheny River in the National Forest on the old Newbold Estate. We enjoyed a few early summer wildflowers, but saw no ducks on the Allegheny.

Indian Pipes

We spotted creeping bellflower not far from where the old estate was built.

The spotted wintergreen was not quite yet in bloom.

The old estate holds the remnants of old trout ponds. Over our years of visiting, they have continued to fill in, but they are havens for herons, turtles, and a few ducks. The dogs make capturing any of these in images a feat of luck.

Over the past couple years, the National Forest Service has been working to reduce invasive species and replant the old bean field. Our geocache is in the area along the Brokenstraw. There were still construction vehicles present for this visit.

The parking lot is a nice addition rather than the roadside pull-off. The field seems to just be coming into bloom, but the area seems to have been replanted with prairie wildflowers.

There were still a few berries available for eating pleasure.

Hopefully when we return with the replacement cache, there area will be filled with wildflowers.