Worlds End State Park is situated in a narrow S-shaped valley of the Loyalsock Creek, just south of Forksville, Sullivan County. Surrounded by the Loyalsock State Forest, the 780-acre park offers visitors diverse recreational opportunities, such as hiking, fishing, camping, wildlife viewing and hunting, within a pristine natural environment. As evidenced by the Loyalsock Canyon Vista below, the rugged natural beauty of the Endless Mountains landscape provides many photo opportunities.
I used my trip to the Poconos to stop and visit some historic covered bridges in the Allentown area.
My first stop was the Wehr Covered Bridge, a wooden covered bridge located in Lehigh County. It is a three span, 117-foot-long (36 m) Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1841. It has horizontal siding and gable roof. It crosses Jordan Creek. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. There is and adjacent park, appropriately named Covered Bridge Park and a dam across Jordan Creek forming a small waterfall.
Another interesting bridge with a nice setting is Manasses Guth Covered Bridge. It is a wooden covered bridge near the Wehr Covered Bridge. It is a 108-foot-long (33 m) Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1858, and rebuilt in 1882. It has vertical siding. It also crosses Jordan Creek and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. There is some interesting architecture near the bridge.
The Geiger Covered Bridge is a is a 112-foot-long (34 m) Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1860. It has vertical plank siding and an entry portal of stepped square planks. It also crosses Jordan Creek within the Trexler Nature Preserve. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Finally, the Schlicher Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that is 108-foot-long (33 m) Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1882. It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It crosses Jordan Creek near the Lehigh Valley Zoo. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980
Valley Forge National Historical Park is home to a model airplane field, a well-groomed grass runway (475 x 125) with a flight line that provides a beautiful view of the park. The field is used by the Valley Forge Signal Seekers (VFSS) Radio Controlled Model Airplane Club. VFSS is one of the largest and oldest clubs of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1959, with over 120 members. The club flies electric, gas, and glow-fuel powered planes and rotorcraft, as well as gliders and turbine powered jets.
I stopped by a recent event to get some practice shooting fast moving, flying objects, something I don’t get a chance to do very often. We’ll start with a close look at some of the planes on the ground. I am always surprised by how some of these large planes look so much smaller when in flight.
Now up in the air.
The Sheards Mill Covered Bridge is very close to Lake Nockamixon and its State Park. The trip to see the bridge allowed to make another visit to the park and the surrounding area.
The South Perkasie Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that is located in Perkasie, Bucks County. It is the oldest covered bridge in Bucks County and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1980. Built in 1832, this bridge is a 93-foot-long (28 m), Town truss covered bridge that once crossed Pleasant Spring Creek, but was moved and rededicated on August 15, 1959 as a feature in Lenape Park. It is the third oldest Town Lattice bridge in the country. The bridge was heavily damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in September 2021. As you can see below, it is currently closed for repairs.
South Perkasie is adjacent to the town of Sellersville which was founded in the early 18th century. It is centered on a major road known as Bethlehem Pike that connected Philadelphia to Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley. The town was very small and was called Sellers Tavern. Its most notable feature was a large inn. The present Washington House in Sellersville, however, was not Sellers Tavern. When the railroad expanded to the area in 1856, Sellersville experienced a population increase. After the borough’s incorporation in 1874, there was even more growth in the area. Cigar, textile, and other industries established companies in Sellersville, including Schulmerich Bells (one of the world’s largest producers of electronic carillons and hand bells). Today Sellersville is largely a commuter town.
One of the best know institutions in town is the Sellersville Theater.
Nay Aug Park sits in 73 wooded acres in Scranton. The name Nay Aug traces its origin to the Munsee Indians, a sub group of the larger Lenape tribe. In their language Nay Aug means “noisy water or roaring brook.” The Munsee settled along the banks of the Roaring Brook and were a peaceful group mostly committed to fishing and farming.
Nay Aug Park was established in 1893. Scranton’s 9th Mayor, W.L. Connell directed the purchase of 2 acres of land in the city’s east side from the Beckett Estate. The early years were a boom for the citizens of Scranton and the park. The population was growing and leaders had the foresight to realize the need for a place to gather. The city purchased five more acres of land from the Beckett Estate. Scranton received donations of land from the Watres Estate and Lackawanna Iron and Coal which owned the majority of land the park now occupies.
There was an amusement park located on the eastern side which was called Luna Park. It opened in 1906 and met with a disastrous fire in 1916. It never recovered and subsequently closed for good. The land was incorporated into what is now Nay Aug Park. The park today contains a variety of attractions and hosts a wide array of activities throughout the year,
The Electric City Trolley Museum sits across the parking lot from the Steamtown National Historic Site. Due to time constraints, I didn’t have the chance to look inside the day I was there. It is a premier electric railway museum . In 1887, Scranton was Pennsylvania was the first city with a successful pioneer trolley line and became known as “The Electric City.” The museum collection provides a highly representative picture of the electric railway history of eastern Pennsylvania, from the Philadelphia region to Northeast Pennsylvania. Trolley rides are offered seasonally,
The museum was created by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority. Lackawanna County manages the museum day-to-day. The facility itself, located on the Steamtown National Historic Site, is on long-term lease from the National Park Service. The trolleys operate over tracks owned by both Steamtown and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, including a portion of the historic Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley’s Laurel Line third-rail interurban right-of-way.
I ended my visit to northeastern Pennsylvania in Scranton. The Steamtown National Historic Site is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). Not all parts of the site were open to the public due to maintenance activities during my visit.
The museum is built around a working turntable and a roundhouse that are largely replications of the original DL&W facilities; the roundhouse, for example, was reconstructed from remnants of a 1932 structure. The site also features several original outbuildings dated between 1899 and 1902. All the buildings on the site are listed with the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Yard-Dickson Manufacturing Co. Site.
A lot of looks at the turntable.
A look inside the museum at some of the exhibits.
Vosburg Neck State Park has some lovely natural areas, in addition to the park facilities. Below are some more scenes from my visit. The birding was also very good here, and I had over 50 species during my trip here.
Vosburg Neck State Park lies five miles west of Tunkhannock in Wyoming County. The park’s 669 acres feature historic buildings from the 1700 and 1800s, a canal bed and rail bed,, and a 1700s-era cemetery. Recreational activities include eight miles of trails, non-motorized boating access, and picnic areas.
The park is one of Pennsylvania’s three new state parks, and the most developed to date. The park was formerly the Howland Preserve. It is located in an oxbow on the north branch of the Susquehanna River known as the Vosburg Neck and features a diverse range of habitat.
