we took to the road again and drove all the way into the mountains of Pennsylvania, more precisely in the Pocono Mountains area.

There is history here, but what really interested us were the nature and the fresh air.

This area is rich in waterfalls; some of them are easily accessible, while others require walking on steep slippery trails and are more for the adventurous type.

Dingmans Falls

Silver Thread Falls

Easily accessible and probably the most famous are the Bushkill’s waterfalls (what they call the Niagara of PA, fee required) and the Dingmans falls which are in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (free).

There are many others; the Hawk Falls in Hickory Run State Park, the Glen Onoko Falls in Lehigh Gorge State Park for example, require a bit more research and a good physical condition. Someone sure-footed and adventurous could go on a Waterfall hunt here.

My way to catch a fish!

I can just imagine what a walk in the woods would be like in early July here. The forest is covered with Rhododendron bushes, the biggest I have ever seen, and I was told that they bloom in early July.

Bear under a Rhododendron bush

One of the most unusual natural formations we saw was in Hickory Run State Park; the Boulder Field. It is a small piece of landscape left over from the last ice advance. According to the literature, this type of environment was common throughout North America 15, 000 years ago, but since then, the climate warmed, plants, soil and weathering have covered or removed boulder fields.

That would be paradise to my friend Lanna!

The field is about 400 feet wide by 1, 800 feet long and 10 feet deep. It is composed of an assortment of boulders ranging in size from a few inches to 25 feet long. Predominantly composed of red sandstone, you can also find some quartz and conglomerate.

Near Lehigh Gorge State Park, we found the Borough of Jim Thorpe (1887-1953).
This amazingly talented athlete has been dubbed the most talented athlete in the world. He won both the Pentathlon and the Decathlon in the 1912 Olympics (he tripled the score of the runner up in the Pentathlon and finished 688 points ahead of his nearest competitor in the Decathlon). It took 40 years of improved diet, techniques and training procedures to break all of his times and distances. His career in sports, especially Football, remains unequalled to this day. He played and won against West Point and was greatly respected by their halfback, Cadet Dwight D. Eisenhower, future President. He also kicked an eighty (80) yard field goal which to me is extremely hard to even imagine.

The Village is picturesque and the old part of town is rich with little shops restaurants and cafés.

Architectural treasures can be found like this pretty Victorian adorned with fish scale siding. A train departs from here and takes you through Lehigh Gorge State Park along the river. (The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway)

Yorktown is where in 1781, a joint army of 17, 500 to 20, 000 men (it depends on who tells the story) composed of Americans under the command of General George Washington, with the help of their allies, the French (including French Canadians) under the command of Major-General Marquis de Lafayette and some Germans (more on the Germans later…), inflicted a decisive defeat on the British troops of General Cornwallis and hastened the end of the Revolutionary War. Over a third of the British forces surrendered in one day.

Ok, about the Germans, this tidbit of history was amusing to me. When the French, under the command of Baron de Vioménil, led a force of 400 men, composed of French and German troops, to capture and control Redoubt 9, the difficulties were compounded by the darkness, the close quarters combats and the fact that the Germans were wearing the SAME UNIFORM on BOTH SIDES! Adding to the confusion, German commands were coming from both the attackers and the defenders at the same time. Amazingly enough, the French troops managed to do the job in less than 30 minutes. At the same time, American troops were capturing Redoubt 10.

We toured the battlefield, saw a demonstration of canon firing,

Canon firing demo

and visited the Augustine Moore House where the terms for the surrender of Cornwallis Army were negotiated.

Augustine Moore House

Show a guy a cannon and he’ll start fantasizing 😉

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We then visited the Yorktown Victory Center, where we saw exhibits of artifacts from the Revolutionary era and a living-history museum featuring a Continental Army encampment and a 1780’s farm.

1780’s Farm

We caught a corn thief red handed with his mouth full!

We saw a musket fire demo, where we learned that the muskets were not precise at all, in fact, the odds of hitting anything at a hundred yards were pretty low. That was ok, since amazingly enough, the goal of war back then was not to kill your enemies, but instead, to scare them off so they would retreat and admit defeat. It was like a giant game of “Chicken”.

We then went to town and had lunch at the Carrot Tree restaurant, housed in the Cole Diggs house, built around 1720. We highly recommend it.

Cole Diggs House

Apart from the old historic part of town, Yorktown also features a beach, and the River Landing Piers, where you can shop in a variety of boutiques featuring the work of American artists and artisans, some of them nationally famous. For the knitters and spinners out there, there is also a gorgeous Fiber Arts supplies shop (called Colonial Fiber Arts).

If you are in the mood for a cruise on a sail ship, the 106’ Schooner Alliance sails 3 times a day, including a sunset cruise on the York River.

Schooner Alliance

It was a pleasant day 🙂