September 7, Jim Thorpe!

Following Jeff down the mountain from the little gravel area near the bar, I made a wrong turn. Sigh. Not until I looked at the sign which told me I was heading WEST, did I even realize it! So, got the Big Beast turned around, which is always a challenge, and went to find him on the correct road. I turned the wrong way at this cute little church.  Once I found him, the place I chose to sit and wait was an apple orchard! I have been waiting for a chance to replace the awesome apples that I got in western Pennsylvania. I had to wait about half an hour until they opened, but it was worth it. They had so many different types of apples! I bought 2, one I'd never heard of but was recommended by the really nice fellow that was working there. He was very helpful, too, about what a great place that was to visit on October weekends, when the corn maze is open and all the fall colors and harvests are going on! I would love to do a corn maze! Maybe we will find one before Emmitsburg.

                 

You can see part of their orchard.

                 


And, while I was out touring the countryside, Jeff "ran" into this running group! What a beautiful place to have to run in all the time! We were also following the Pennsylvania bike trails.

                

We went through a couple of little towns before coming to Hazleton to meet our Monkey friend Shannon Genovese. Most of these little towns are very narrow, and the houses are all lining the main road very close together and very close to the road! I'm sure there are houses off the main drag, too. But it is very interesting the way they are laid out. In one little town, after lunch, these two ladies tried to get the local TV station to come out and do a story on Jeff. Apparently they were too busy at the local street fair going on in Hazleton. No problem. It was really nice of them to try! I have had zero luck getting any of the city TV stations interested in doing a story on us. I have emailed Philly, NYC, and a couple of smaller towns we are skirting, such as Allentown. The media in the west was much more interested an accommodating! Maybe as we get closer....

So we got together with Shannon "Jellyfish" Genovese in Hazleton for lunch. She drove 2 hours just to come see us! She is so sweet! We met her at the Flying Monkey marathon a few years back, and see her there periodically. She is getting married next month! I'm so happy for her, she is such a sweet girl. Did I mention she also bought our lunch, which was totally unnecessary! Thanks, Shannon! Hope we get a chance to see you again before we head home! It was funny, too. She didn't really know Hazleton, which was a very urban type setting for a small town, not many restaurants, either. Both of the ones we picked from Urbanspoon were closed for the weekend due to that street fair! So we ended up in Perkins, which was great as Jeff had pie.

I wish I could really include all the interesting photos that Jeff takes here. There are so many! And his phone and Facebook are not getting along right now, so they don't all get uploaded for me to use. That is a shame. I wonder how many really cool ones never make it to my eyes at all? Here are the interesting things he found along the road today.

What a unique way to announce your town!

You can't tell, but this tree stump is purple with stuff stuck in
it. 

               

I looked all over State College for this! 

                 

                 

Patriotic statuary.

                     

Junk artistry.

                      

               

He also found a bar of Dove soap, still in the box...

Now, to talk about the real jewel that we discovered. Jim Thorpe. This is a town in the mountains, I guess the edge of the Pocono's. OMG! What an absolutely drop dead gorgeous place! I went on ahead to find the local RV park so that I could refresh the tanks. We were not staying there, but going on into Lehighton. I just had to stop and take some pics of this town. People have put a lot of money into updating all these buildings, and it is just amazing. It is built into the little narrow valley there where the river goes, and then up another road to the ridge. That is where I found the Jim Thorpe RV Campground. They were already closed, and I called the number on the door. I could see his dump, but nothing about the cost. And I wouldn't just use it and leave without trying to ask. I didn't see too many campers there, but then I guess the season has wound down. Anyway, the guy on the phone first told me that the dump was for their campers only. (This seems to be a common theme!) However, once I explained what I was doing and that I had 2 days worth of stuff in my tanks, he told me to just go ahead. He was very nice. I tried to leave money, but he said not to, but he would appreciate a good review on Tripadvisor! Of course! I can do that. There is nothing bad to say about a place in these mountains! So, I am mentioning his campground here, as well. There are not many in the area, surprisingly, but he is just outside of Jim Thorpe, up the ridge. I will say definitively, this town is worth the time to visit! With luck, we may be back here before heading home.

               

                     

                    

                  

I love the detail on the buildings!

                 

This had a Civil War reference.

                   

A big piece of anthracite coal.

                    

The train that goes to the Lehighton Gorge.

                      

                     

The scenery, especially once we hit the mountains, is phenomenal! I just can't even express how beautiful this land is. I am so thankful that I have had an opportunity to make this journey and see all of these wonderful things. I know the pics that we post really do not do justice to all the beauty we have seen.

                           

Some fall color starting! 

We actually ended up staying in Lehighton, at the new Walmart Super Center parking lot. We were the only RV there, but the lot was huge. And it was on the top of this rise that left us with a view forever.

There is such variety now in the houses. We found one that was amazing, and built to look something like the big barns in the area. I bet it didn't come cheap, either. And it was huge!

             

And here are the Mailbox of the Day shots!