It seems like a lot has happened since the last post. We left Connecticut early last Friday morning in great weather after a rainy Thursday. We took the Delaware Water Gap Scenic Drive - or at least we tried to. After about 3/4's of the way, the road was closed and we had to turn back and take an alternate route to the Delaware Water Gap KOA. In fact, the weather was SO NICE (and we had left SO EARLY) that we decided to tour Bushkill Falls on Friday afternoon. This turned out to be a very good decision.
If you have not visited Bushkill Falls, you should plan to do so. There are several waterfalls in a concentrated area and they are all beautiful. Bridesmaid's Falls (below) is an example.
On thing that amazed us was how much water was roaring in the Bushkill River. Jim was looking over my shoulder while I was reviewing the Bushkill Falls photos and he noted that the pictures don't do the scene justice without hearing the sound of the water pounding through the area. Parts of PA and New Jersey have received the highest rainfall amounts in August and September since records started being kept. We would have liked to have had a way to compare what we saw to normal water levels.
The shot above shows a fairly common sight along the river. So much water running in the area has compromised the banks of the river in many places causing trees to topple over. The excess water was also common on the trails through the area. We were often walking through water on the trail as seen below. We were very grateful for our waterproof hiking boots.
In the shot above, the third tree slice from the left side of the photo provided added thrills by rocking significantly when we stepped on it. FUN!
The next morning was raining and cold. We had originally planned that I would go to Bushkill Falls while Jim played golf. We were happy to have seen the falls on Friday when it was drier and warmer and Jim was there to help me along the hiking trails. Jim decided to skip golf which gives you an idea how bad the weather was. We moved on to our next destination taking a scenic drive that was also partially blocked because of water on the road but this time there was a detour. We did stop at the Washington Crossing monument near Trenton (below).
The monument was presented to the people of the United States in memory of Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on December 8, 1776 by the Indiana Limestone Industry. My guess is the monument is made of limestone. As I mentioned above, the water levels in the area are very high as again evidenced in the photo below also taken at the Washington Crossing site.
When we got to the West Chester KOA (on the banks of small river) we saw the tree below. Jim is standing next to it so you have an idea of the size of the tree.
Sunday, we drove from West Chester to visit friends in Selbyville, DE. On Monday, they took us to one of their favorite spots - Assateague Island in Maryland. The island is a National Seashore and State Park most noted for the wild horses that roam the island. We had several sightings (see below for a sample) which was the first major wildlife we have seen on this trip so far.
The other facet of Assateague that is quite beautiful is the beach (below). The long, flat, sandy beach extends out flat for quite a distance out into the water from the beach. This makes for some nice large waves coming on shore. We saw the fisherman you see here plus several surfers. Note the dark sky. We had rain on and off through the day.
Our next stop was Chincoteague in Virginia. This island is actually connected to Assateague but there is no road that goes from one end of the island to the other so we took a long ride to get there. Below is the Assateague Light, built in 1866 to replace the smaller light built in 1833. The light is 142 feet tall and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Note the sky. This is the same day as in the shot above.
After a very enjoyable visit with our friends, we headed for Williamsburg, VA. But that will have to wait for the next post as it is getting late and we have a busy day tomorrow. From where we are in Virginia, we are officially moving south on our way to Florida where we will be on October 12. There will be at least one more post from the road before we get to FL and a final one after we get there. Until next time!
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