Nice combination.  This corner of Pennsylvania is recognized as a dark sky haven and is the host of the Endless Mountain Music Festival.  The two were brought together at Cherry Springs State Park.  Music drifted across the grassy meadow as the sun set, the sky darkened, and one by one stars and planets appeared until we sat underneath a magnificent star- blanketed summer sky.   Music ranged from classic quintet (the theme from masterpiece theatre), a huge Holtz piece, some classical tango, jazz and even a couple excerpts from Sound of Music.  Hey Mike, I think I could see you in this place.

The park had telescopes out.  The view of Saturn and its rings was spectacular.  The Milky Way streaked across the darkening sky.  We had a 40 mile drive on curly narrow road so we snuck out before all was inky black but I can see why people come here just to lay back and star gaze.  It is beautiful.

The laptop has ground to a complete halt. The processor runs full tilt all the time just being turned on. It is hopeless trying to actually do anything on it.

So, Kent wiped it and is starting over. I will let him tell the fuller, gory story once he gets a bit less aggravated. For now let it suffice to say that he’s spending a LOT of time in front of the screen. It is particularly unhandy since we are not in a good Verizon zone and our aircard is not up to the task. He spend all afternoon yesterday in town on McDonald’s wifi. Good thing he likes their fries. At least Word is working again and I can blog.

We strolled a lovely shaded trail around Hills Creek Lake just NE of Wellsboro. August isn’t really great birding season here but a few of the locals were out. The best sight was a barred owl. It swooped just in front of us along a wooded section of the trail then perched about 30 feet away to let us get a good look. We stood very still but he was not happy and let out a raspy alarm call the whole time.  

Closer to the lake we found a Great Blue, a Green Heron, King Fishers, Mallards, Spotted Sandpipers, and an Osprey

Founded in 1806 and born of the lumber industry there are some huge beautiful old homes.  The Public Library occupies one of those homes and is well worth a quick visit….pay attention to the signage or the librarian will be after you pretty quick.  Just saying.  A 300+year old elm tree graces the corner of Central and Main.

There is a 100 year old Mercantile and a handful of cafes and restaurants along with fun boutique window shopping.  Check out Highland Chocolates.  It is a sheltered workshop for Tioga Country adults with disabilities.  The Tree Stumps are yummy as is the dark chocolate coffee bean bark.

If you close your eyes it tastes just like the red ones.  But wow, I was sure surprised when I cut into it.  Our first ever yellow watermelon came courtesy the not-so-complete signage at a street side market in Sunbury.

Fresh local sweet corn.  Gotta find some more

A glacier started it some 20,000 years ago and Pine Creek continues the work of deepening the magnificent gorge. While nature takes its course, man stepped in and deforested the entire area, trains set fire to thousands of acres, and hunting and trapping decimated the wildlife populations. We made a huge mess but fortunately for us the restorative powers of nature have healed this land. It has taken 100+ years but the gorge is once again tree lined and beautiful. Deer, beaver, elk, and river otter have been reintroduced and thrive here. Leonard Harrison and Colton Point State Parks provide access to rim trails affording panoramic views and steep gorge wall trails leading through thick forests to beautiful waterfalls.

Wild Pennsylvania, yep that’s a great byline for this area.

Art

Cherry Springs State Park was filled with a swirl of sound that could only be compared to a swarm of giant, crazed bumble bees. Chips were flying as chainsaws of various sizes were coaxing fantastic shapes out of solid logs. We arrived just in time to watch the first Quick Carve competition. Given just one hour, ten carvers wielded chainsaws like fine paint brushes creating amazingly intricate sculptures. Lots of bears emerged in the works. Some were whimsical and others majestic. I’d love any of them on my front porch some day.

In another area, larger Master Carvings came to life as chainsaws rang out for a total of 10 hours over the course of the three day event. At eight hours in they were all pretty amazing. I think that the eagles were my favorites, they are a great carving subject.

Brute Strength…well, and a bit of skill!

One man wrangles a 6 foot long, toothed steel blade through 14” of white pine..8 seconds or so. The single bucksaw.

A team of two in a smooth coordinated motion slices through wood like butter. 14” diameter in 3.8 seconds.

Wielding 50 pounds of roaring metal delivering 50+Hp the open chainsaw class sends chips flying making three cuts in 4 seconds including getting the thing started.

A guy with an axe, still provides for the most fantastic show.

Horizontal log chop..they stand on a log and swing a scary big axe to hack out huge chips from the log between their feet. Powerful. Best time through the 13 inch log was just over 17 seconds.

Springboard..carve a notch in a tree to hold a board for a step. Carve another notch for another board. Climb on up to stand some 8 feet above the ground to chop down the tree. Acrobatic.

They threw axes, rolled logs and chopped down more trees but we moved on to check out creamy smooth home made ice cream, delicious pirogues (don’t ask me why pirogues at a woodman show in PA), and grab a bit of locally made maple syrup.

If you come upon a Woodsman Show check it out. It was a fun way to spend a beautiful day.

A Fabric Dam. A series of rubberized canvas tubes span the wide Susquehanna River at Sunbury. They inflate them in the Spring to hold back about 12 feet and form Augusta Lake, a powerboat playground. Apparently the river free flows in the winter. This is a grand example of how waterways are manipulated just for recreation, a bit amazing. Wonder why the ice doesn’t tear it up?

Knoebels Amusement Park… more big rides but still lots of wonderful shady picnic areas. I rode the Grand Carousel, complete with vintage organ; and Tight Turns, a rollercoaster-like ride but the rubber wheeled cars are released to gravity glide down a heavily banked bobsled-like track. Of course there was a funnel cake and some birch beer (it was white but tasted same as always).

Millville…which house is it? It looks like they removed the brick suicide steps that emptied into the street and replaced them with porch level steps. Big pines are still out back above the rolling lawn. The Sapochek house (60 State Street?) is purple but still lovely with wildflower gardens. The pharmacy is gone. Community Park is familiar but updated with plastic playground equipment – no metal slide to slick up with wax paper. The Carousel building has no windows so we couldn’t check it out but we did find that they now have a Ferris wheel too. The carnival must be quite the thing nowadays.

McClure…I remember an all stone house with a pretty square footprint, a summer kitchen out back and a springhouse on the front corner of the lot. A big stone foundation barn sat just across the road. The place was just before the creek at the edge of Bannerville.

What we found

A much enlarged and cosmetically changed stone and frame house, the springhouse gone as the road was widened, the barn still standing very much as I remember it…I think. Those who might know, is this it?

In town the Bean Soup grounds look a bit more ramshackle than I remember but they still stand. I don’t think that we ever found our in-town home, the brick apartment building that I vaguely remember. We snapped a few pictures of possible buildings but none looked exactly right.

Twin covered bridges – Columbia county has purchased and preserved a number of covered bridges in the area. We had coordinates for four but found only the double bridge. Still, it was worth the twisty back road drive that included two closed bridge detours; especially since we found a Pizza and soft serve place in Shickshinny.