Kalmia Mom

Category: Outdoor Adventures

  • A Breath-taking hike at Bushkill Falls

    Bushkill Falls is a beautiful place to visit. My husband and I annually celebrate the anniversary of when we got engaged. We go out to eat at a well-known seafood restaurant. He had told me that he would propose before the end of that summer. As it so happened, he asked me to marry him on the very last day of summer. Every year, even during COVID, we celebrate our engagement.  

    The anniversary of our wedding, however, is not always celebrated the same. One year I had surgery a few days prior and was recovering. Another year our anniversary was a week after I had a baby. Though the remembrance of that day is very important to us, sometimes other events in life take priority over a celebration. When we do celebrate, we usually enjoy an outside activity and a nice meal.

    Memorable Visits

    There have been some memorable places we visited for our anniversary. One such location, which was on our first anniversary, was in New York state. The Finger Lakes offer beautiful sights and have a relaxed and laid-back feel. We stayed on Seneca Lake and visited Watkins Glen while we were there. Another location we went to is Wildwood Park. We had an adventure while we walked around the lake. One more area we hiked around was Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Additionally, we checked out Bushkill Falls as a location to celebrate our lives together. As the name suggests, there were many waterfalls to gaze upon along the trails. Bushkill Falls is also called the Niagara of Pennsylvania. This is due to the lovely waterfalls throughout the park. Some of the trails were wooden and built along and on top of the pathway.  

    To find out more about Bushkill Falls, visit https://www.visitbushkillfalls.com/.

    “And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.” (2 Timothy 2:9, 10, NLT)

  • A Relaxing Nature Hike at Pine Grove Furnace 05.21.23

    Pine Grove Furnace State Park is filled with much to explore. For instance, hiking and water fun abounds. Also, there is lots of history throughout the Park. We were not seeking out the historical interests while we were there. Instead, my husband and I wanted to go on a nice outdoor nature walk. After hearing many positive things about the various trails, we wanted to check it out. Some of my friends had visited a week or two prior and saw many wild orchids. They would have been fabulous to see. However, later I found out that I was not at the right spot to find them. Also, I had missed the prime moment to see the orchids and the flowers were fading.

    Plant Life on our hike

    Jack-in-the-pulpit leaves
    Jack-in-the-pulpit flower
    Trunk of uprooted tree
    Creek at Pine Grove Furnace
    Ferns on forest floor
    False Solomon’s Seal
    Dame’s Rocket (phlox)
    Small spring along the trail
    Mountain laurel, full sun, by creek
    Mountain laurel, drier area, part shade
    Closer view of Mountain laurel, drier area, part shade
    Fern

    Hidden in Plain Sight

    The trail led us past Toms Run and Mountain Creek. As we followed the water, the rocks above caught our eyes. They are uniquely striped, which made them interesting to investigate. Therefore, while admiring the rocks, we had to take some pictures. At the moment, we completely missed the snake. However, looking closely at the second picture, the snake is basking on a rock in the middle of the picture. We didn’t notice it until we were looking through our pictures later.

    To find out more about this State Park, visit: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/PineGroveFurnaceStatePark/Pages/default.aspx

    “O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. They all depend on you to give them food as they need it. When you supply it, they gather it. You open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satisfied. But if you turn away from them, they panic. When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust. When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.” (Psalm 104:24-30, NLT)

  • A nature hike at Hoffer Park/Boyd Big Tree 07.01.23

    We made a quick trip to Boyd Big Tree Conservation Area at the beginning of July, 2023 for a nature hike. My husband and one of my sons had recently visited that natural area with a group of kids and their parents. I had never been there before and wanted to try it out. I found this trail to be a fairly easy walk, with light traffic for the duration of time that we were there. Most of the trail itself was packed dirt, small rocks and some grassy spots. The larger wet rocks were slippery to walk on, especially for my kiddos, as they were not as careful to avoid the wet rocks. We did not go to the end of the trail, but turned around part way through. This is also a good location to take a binocular to do some birding, as I heard several forest birds.

    Noxious weeds

    We also saw and identified several Noxious Weeds on our trip. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, “Noxious weeds are identified as a plant that is determined to be injurious to public health, crops, livestock, agricultural land or other property and cannot be sold, transported, planted, or otherwise propagated in Pennsylvania.”

    This nature hike is on the east side of Blue Mountain Parkway, north of Parkway west, just north of Linglestown, PA.

    Below you will see some highlights of what we saw:

    My oldest kept singing, “The Ants Go Marching…“
    I introduced my boys to Mile-A-Minute vine, one of Pennsylvania’s noxious weeds
    Striped Maple
    Sassafras
    I introduced my boys to Multiflora rose, another one of Pennsylvania’s noxious weeds.
    My youngest son found this Flat-backed Millipede on the trail.
    American toad
    We saw many of these Eastern Newts (juvenile, the red eft stage).
    Red eft stage of Eastern Newt.
    Red eft
    Land snail
    Spotted wintergreen/ Pipsissewa
    Young Poison Ivy

    To find out more about this Conservation area, please visit: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/BoydBigTreePreserveConservationArea/Pages/default.aspx

    “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!” (Psalms 111:10)