A unexpected event greeted me on my way home from a fairly unsuccessful trip to take some photographs. I came upon a fireworks display in celebration of Exton Community Day at Exton Park. I have no idea if this event is usually at this time of year, but it was nice to see fireworks a little earlier in the evening and with good weather.
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Memorial Day Away
I am spending this Memorial Day at a state park cabin. I will be back soon with more photos of northeastern Pennsylvania, including some new locations.
In the meantime, here is a look back at my visit to Fort Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.
and the Foster Joseph Sayers Memorial at Bald Eagle State Park …
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A Drive Through Clinton County
Here are some shots from southern Clinton County. Most were taken on my drive from the Lock Haven area to Logan Mills this past fall.
One of the more creative uses of hay bales that I’ve seen. 
Horses enjoying the fall air. 
There were some lovely trees along the way …. 
This must have been a lovely home at one time. This next stop, made before my drive south, was bittersweet. I visited the Woolrich factory store at its original location several times when I was younger. This store is just not the same, although I am glad to see there is still a presence in the town of Woolrich. The business was bought out my an Italian company which had been a minority investor. They still manufacure items under the Woolrich brand, but it is now made in Italy since local maufacturing has been shut down. The new stuff is very nice but is expensive, as the present owners are trying to position Woolrich as a luxury brand. Woolrich made good quality products at fair prices, but a luxury brand it was not. The new direction doesn’t seem to be in keeping with the heritage of the brand. While I was at the store, I managed to buy one of the last made in the USA pieces.
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The Wertz Covered Bridge
The Wertz Covered Bridge, also known as the Red Covered Bridge (but aren’t most of them), is a historic wooden covered bridge located at Bern Township and Spring Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The bridge is a 204-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1867. It crosses the Tulpehocken Creek. It serves as the walkway entrance to the Berks County Heritage Center, which also includes the Gruber Wagon Works. It is one of only five covered bridges remaining in Berks County. It is the largest single-span covered bridge in Pennsylvania.
The bridge was restored in 1959 and later in 1984, however, when the Warren Street Bypass opened, the bridge was closed permanently in October, 1959. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1978.
The bridge is part of the Berks County Heritage Center, an historical interpretive complex commemorating important eras of Berks County cultural history. The Gruber Wagon Works (a National Historic Landmark) the C. Howard Hiester Canal Center, Wertz’s Covered Bridge, Melcher’s Grist Mill, Deppen Cemetery, Bicentennial Eagle Memorial, the Distlefink statue and a salad and herb garden are all encompassed within the Heritage Center.
The view from Tulpehocken Road. 
Inside Pennsylvania’s longest single span covered bridge. 
The Bat Colony of the bridge. I love bats. They eat insects and are so cute. 
A look around the Berks County Heritage Center… 
A look up at the bridge. 
The view from the other end. 
Tulpehocken Creek -
A Little Diversion
On my way home from Swatara and Memorial Lake State Parks, I decided to swing through Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. Middle Creek is not a place I visit much in Autumn, but it is well worth a stop. Middle Creek is administered by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for game propogation and wildlife conservation, but it feels park-like. With opportunities for hiking, picnicing, boating and fantastic birding and wildlife watching, it makes for a great day out.
The view from the Visitor’s Center. 
Relaxing by the lake. 
The nearby area has some lovely farms. 
These horses are enjoying a fine Autumn day. -
A Pair of Parks
The 3,520-acre Swatara State Park consists of rolling fields and woodlands situated in the Swatara Valley, between Second and Blue mountains. Swatara Creek runs through the park and is surrounded by forests and wetlands that support an abundance of wildlife. The park is also a hotbed for fossil hunters.
In the past this landscape was dominated by a feeder branch of the Union Canal and then a railroad. Today, Swatara Park features a rail trail, hiking (including a few miles of the Appalachian Trail), fishing, hunting, cycling, horseback riding and kayaking.
The lovely rail trail. 
Off for a ride. 
The mountains are ablaze in Autumn. Nearby Memorial Lake State Park consists of 230 acres at the the base of Blue Mountain in East Hanover Township, Lebanon County. The park is surrounded by Fort Indiantown Gap, the headquarters for the Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guard. The park is dominated by its lovely lake. It is a great spot for a picnic or some boating and fishing. There are also hiking trails at the park and and an exercise course.
Fort Indiantown Gap was named after the American Indian village known as Indiantown and the gap in the Blue Mountain where Indiantown was located. Indian artifacts found in the Lebanon and Swatara Valleys indicate a human presence as early as 2,500 BC.
Established in 1931, Fort Indiantown Gap was built as a National Guard training center. During World War II, it was used as a training site for seven Army divisions, and also as a demobilization site once the war was over. Memorial Lake was established in 1945 in memory of Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers who served in World War I and World War II. In 1955, Memorial Lake was transferred to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and became Memorial Lake State Park.
I would love to have a canoe moored here. 
Done fishin’ for the day. 
A beutiful picnic spot. 
Let’s just enjoy the beauty of the lake. 
A great view of Memorial Lake. -
One Bridge to Rule Them All
The Pomeroy-Academia Covered Bridge in Port Royal, Juniata County is the longest remaining covered bridge in Pennsylvania.
The bridge was built in 1902 and is 278 feet long. It is a single-lane, double-span wooden covered bridge which crosses the Tuscarora Creek. Its design is based on the Burr truss developed by Theodore Burr, who was a preeminent bridge designer and builder. This bridge has been owned by the Juniata County Historical Societysince 1962. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
A view of the bridge. It is so long it has a center support. 
Let’s look inside. 
Looking toward the new road bridge. 
A view of Tuscarora Creek. Downstreem and off on the tributary Licking Creek, one finds the Lehman Covered Bridge, an historic covered bridge located near Port Royal in Juniata County. It is a Double Burr Arch truss bridge and was built in 1888. It measures 107 feet and has vertical siding, windows at eave level, and a gable roof. It was damaged during Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and subsequently rebuilt. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
To the south is the Delville Covered Bridge. This bridge is located at Dellville, Perry County. It is a 174-foot-long, three span, Burr truss bridge over Sherman Creek, constructed in 1889. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. On November 3, 2014, the bridge was significantly damaged in a fire that police believe to have been caused by arson. By early 2019, most of the structure has been completely restored back to its original condition.
There is a nice little park around this bridge for a picnic. 
Sherman Creek. 
Some additional bridges on upstream on Sherman Creek are pictured in my blog post on Sherman’s Valley.
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Let’s Hang onto Autumn a Bit Longer
Here are some late leaf season shots of Blue Marsh Lake in Berks County. I’ve been holding off on the Christmas posts as long as I can just as I was trying hold onto Autumn on this day in late October.
Blue Marsh National Recreation Area contains an artificial lake located northwest of Reading, Pennsylvania. It was constructed and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is fed by the Tulpehocken Creek. Blue Marsh was the name of the village that was located where the lake now is. It was the first settlement in Lower Heidelberg Township. The United States Army Corps of Engineers began constructing the lake in March 1974 with the impoundment of the Tulpehocken Creek and was completed in September 1979. The lake is now a popular spot for recreation, including swimming, boating, fishing, wildlife watching and picnicing.
A view toward the mountains. 
One of several great overlooks toward the lake. 
The Autumn color was haning on. 
This snag looks great against the fall leaves. 
A view toward the dam. 
A lovely old barn. 
This shoreline is very inviting. 
The color of this tree is just … wow! 
A great view of the lake. 
A close-up toward the left. -
Finding My Way Home
My trip to central Pennsylvania this past October came to and end, and I made my way back home slowly that Sunday. Blessed with some nice weather, it was a great drive.
My first stop was the Logan Mills Covered Bridge and surrounding village. This bridge is located in Loganton, PA in Clinton County. The bridge is a 55-foot-long 12-foot-wide, Queen post truss bridge. It was constructed in 1874 and crosses Fishing Creek. It is the only remaining covered bridge in Clinton County. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Logan Mills Covered Bridge. 
Some nicely preserved buidlings are adjacent to the bridge. 
My next stop was an overlook on Jones Mountain Road in Union County in Bald Eagle State forest. This was a spectacular vista, with nothing visible but trees and mountains all the way to the horizon.
The panorama shot. 
Up close with some brilliant reds. 
A smoke in the wilderness. A made a quick drive through Raymond B. Winter State Park and came across this enchanting scene:
A Sunday picnic in the park. -
A Study in Contrasts
Greenwood Furnace and Penn-Roosevelt State Park may be close to one another, but they are very different in history and atmosphere. First up is Greenwood Furnace, which is one of those state parks with a lot of different activities available. It is in Huntingdon, PA.
In its 423 acres, the park offers a lake with swimming, small craft boating, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, as well as a chance to view some local history. The park also provides access to the 80,000 acre Rothrock State Forest. However, a trip to the park begins with its historic district, which contains a blacksmith shop and the remains of an iron furnace. The community that existed on the site from 1834 to 1904 was a 19th century ironmaking complex.
The village blacksmith shop. 
An old iron furnace. 
The dam at the lake at Greenwood Furnace. 
Care for a dip? Penn-Roosevelt is a 41-acre park is in an isolated area of the Seven Mountains region known as the Stone Creek Kettle. While the park is small in size, it is surrounded by a large block of Rothrock State Forest in Centre County.
Penn-Roosevelt is a good base for those seeking off the beaten track, low-density recreation in the State Forest. Activities include hiking on the Mid-State or other trails, gravel-riding on over 100 miles of Forestry roads, and mountain biking the nearby Cooper’s Gap area. There is also picnicking available. The small campground is rustic (tent camping only with latrines). However, one really does have the sense of being deep in the woods here. There is fishing in the streams in the park and access to hunting in the State Forest.
One of the most notable aspects of Penn-Roosevelt State Park is that it was constructed during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-62, which was built in Stone Creek Kettle. This was, unfortunately per CCC policy, a segregated camp. The members of the camp were all African-American and it was one of only 12 such CCC camps in Pennsylvania. The members of Camp S-62 constructed many of the facilities in use today at Penn-Roosevelt State Park. They constructed a log-crib dam that has since received a stone facing. They also built many of the roads and trails in the surrounding Rothrock State Forest. Remnants of the camp, including two stone fireplaces and a stone bake oven, can be seen today in the woods of Penn-Roosevelt State Park.
Remains of the CCC and a picnic area. 