Not Quite The Pines But....
Two weeks ago while finishing up a slow moving afternoon I got a phone call from my regional service center asking if I’d be interested in some collections care work at the Zane Grey Museum in the Upper Delaware Scenic Area. Not being one to turn down a change of scenery and workload, however short, I agreed. So after making my way through the green and grey tape that is the Park Service I made my way north.
Since I was a young boy I’ve been making my way up north to hike and explore the Delaware Water Gap. Some of my first camping memories are tied up with the gap, and thus hold a special place in my heart. So for me, I thought this might be a chance to bounce around the Gap in between work hours. This however, was not to be, and I’m happy about it. You see the Upper Delaware has remained unknown to me all of the years, so when I got to my sleepy little inn in the sleepy little town of Milford I decided why not find some new destinations. After talking to the desk clerk I was first directed to the Milford Cemetery. While this solemn place is neither especially old nor grand, it does have a beautiful placement on a rolling hill side. After a bit of wandering I came to a gap in a tree line and decided why not give a follow. Although I had missed Fall by what must have been days it was still a nice change of pace wandering through an unknown set of woods. Soon the trail started to climb up and up until I reached the top of a wonderful knob looking out over the town. The sun was high, and the unseasonably warm weather let me lay back in repose listening to the wind and trees.
My time spent working at the Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen PA was a real pleasure. Delving through intimate pieces of Zane’s life with the Delaware as a backdrop was a wonderful way to spend the week. Outside of hiking little gives me as much pleasure as working with cultural history and imagining the lives of folks who helped shape American History. Zane Grey is truly an exceptional American personality. His collections of books, dental equipment (he had been a dentist) photography, and fishing gear made for some great days interesting work. This is all in addition to meeting some fine colleagues from outside my normal work area.
High above the Zane Grey House sits Minisink Battlefield, a place were Joseph Brandt (Thayendenega) leading a band of loyalist and Iroquois warriors routed a colonial led force. Well this is was a meat and potatoes walk for me really. A Revolutionary War Battlefield set high up over the Delaware and colored with rock overhangs and glacial errata, I was really in my glory wandering through this battlefield. The only thing that kept drawing me back was the urbanization that had crept so dangerously close to this landscape. For fifty years after the route of the colonials the battlefield remained untouched with the hamlet left in ruins, yet in the span of the last fifty years a growing community has threatened to erase this picture first from the American consciousness and second from its physical place, who can say what the future holds.
To slow the pass of work down for a bit the group of us accepted an offer from the Forest Service to visit the estate and home of Gilford Pinchot, one of the Father's of the Forest Service. Grey's Tower was an exceptional place. Set high over the town of Milford, the two towers of the castle like stone building are an amazing sight. The grounds have a variety of amazing areas, including the floating dinner area on the main grounds. Indoors the area was filled with varieties of elm and mahagony furniture combined with a variety of tributes to Pinchot's life. One could spend an entire day searching about the inner and outer grounds, unfortunately for me, I only had a couple of hours.
My last stop before the week ran down was Raymonskill Falls right outside of Milford. A few folks had told that while the Falls were impressive, they were not much of a hiking destination. What I found was more then a pleasant surprise, 80 ft or more of falls surrounded by old beautiful eastern hemlock made for some pleasant walking for two miles or so. Over a small fence led me up to these powerful Falls mist covering me in a thin layer of water. I even approached within 10 feet or so of lovel doe, she was framed by the cliffline. By the time I left I was filthy, sweaty, and grinning from ear to ear. That actually is a fair assessment of my entire week in the Upper Delaware.
Two weeks ago while finishing up a slow moving afternoon I got a phone call from my regional service center asking if I’d be interested in some collections care work at the Zane Grey Museum in the Upper Delaware Scenic Area. Not being one to turn down a change of scenery and workload, however short, I agreed. So after making my way through the green and grey tape that is the Park Service I made my way north.
Since I was a young boy I’ve been making my way up north to hike and explore the Delaware Water Gap. Some of my first camping memories are tied up with the gap, and thus hold a special place in my heart. So for me, I thought this might be a chance to bounce around the Gap in between work hours. This however, was not to be, and I’m happy about it. You see the Upper Delaware has remained unknown to me all of the years, so when I got to my sleepy little inn in the sleepy little town of Milford I decided why not find some new destinations. After talking to the desk clerk I was first directed to the Milford Cemetery. While this solemn place is neither especially old nor grand, it does have a beautiful placement on a rolling hill side. After a bit of wandering I came to a gap in a tree line and decided why not give a follow. Although I had missed Fall by what must have been days it was still a nice change of pace wandering through an unknown set of woods. Soon the trail started to climb up and up until I reached the top of a wonderful knob looking out over the town. The sun was high, and the unseasonably warm weather let me lay back in repose listening to the wind and trees.
My time spent working at the Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen PA was a real pleasure. Delving through intimate pieces of Zane’s life with the Delaware as a backdrop was a wonderful way to spend the week. Outside of hiking little gives me as much pleasure as working with cultural history and imagining the lives of folks who helped shape American History. Zane Grey is truly an exceptional American personality. His collections of books, dental equipment (he had been a dentist) photography, and fishing gear made for some great days interesting work. This is all in addition to meeting some fine colleagues from outside my normal work area.
High above the Zane Grey House sits Minisink Battlefield, a place were Joseph Brandt (Thayendenega) leading a band of loyalist and Iroquois warriors routed a colonial led force. Well this is was a meat and potatoes walk for me really. A Revolutionary War Battlefield set high up over the Delaware and colored with rock overhangs and glacial errata, I was really in my glory wandering through this battlefield. The only thing that kept drawing me back was the urbanization that had crept so dangerously close to this landscape. For fifty years after the route of the colonials the battlefield remained untouched with the hamlet left in ruins, yet in the span of the last fifty years a growing community has threatened to erase this picture first from the American consciousness and second from its physical place, who can say what the future holds.
To slow the pass of work down for a bit the group of us accepted an offer from the Forest Service to visit the estate and home of Gilford Pinchot, one of the Father's of the Forest Service. Grey's Tower was an exceptional place. Set high over the town of Milford, the two towers of the castle like stone building are an amazing sight. The grounds have a variety of amazing areas, including the floating dinner area on the main grounds. Indoors the area was filled with varieties of elm and mahagony furniture combined with a variety of tributes to Pinchot's life. One could spend an entire day searching about the inner and outer grounds, unfortunately for me, I only had a couple of hours.
My last stop before the week ran down was Raymonskill Falls right outside of Milford. A few folks had told that while the Falls were impressive, they were not much of a hiking destination. What I found was more then a pleasant surprise, 80 ft or more of falls surrounded by old beautiful eastern hemlock made for some pleasant walking for two miles or so. Over a small fence led me up to these powerful Falls mist covering me in a thin layer of water. I even approached within 10 feet or so of lovel doe, she was framed by the cliffline. By the time I left I was filthy, sweaty, and grinning from ear to ear. That actually is a fair assessment of my entire week in the Upper Delaware.
