Area Fun Stuff!!!

Bull riders--Dave Martin's "Bullride Mania"

Fall is unofficially here, and there is lots and lots of fun stuff coming up in our area in the next few weeks...

First and quite interesting, is, the rodeo is coming to town!!  Dave Martin's "Bullride Mania" will be blowing into town on Saturday, September 7th, at 7 pm, at the Pleasant Valley Ranch.  There will be some really exciting bullriding, plus a cookout, and as they put it, LOTS of INTENSE entertainment.  I'm actually down to see that!  Tickets are available at the gate, or online, at:  http://www.apleasantvalleyranch.com/

Next, we have lots happening over the next few weeks at Hawk Mountain--migration season is starting, and they have lots of activities planned, including a Monarch Migration Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 18th, and the Hawk Mountain Art show and Sale, being held at Cabela's in Hamburg, Saturday and Sunday September 25th and 26th.  Also, several new lecture series are scheduled to begin, including "The Eagle Watchers: Eagles around the World" with Dr. Todd Katzner.  Be sure to check their website for details at:  http://www.hawkmountain.org/

Fall foliage celebration is coming to Jim Thorpe, and that's a biggie!  Lots of festivals,  including the upcoming Anthracite and Heritage Bluegrass Festival, tours, including the upcoming Art Odyssey, hiking, biking, shopping, FOOD, and good times! 

Anyway, don't miss out on the fun stuff that's coming our way--book early and avoid the crunch!

Lehigh Valley Zoo

Labor Day has come and gone, and now the kids are all back in school, and all of the wonderful Autumn events are gearing up...Autumn happens to be my favorite time of year, but then, all of the seasons have their beauty, and I'm looking forward to all the crisp days and cool evenings that are soon to be here!

We went to the Lehigh Valley Zoo recently, and here's a cute picture from there (I happen to adore penguins)...the kids had alot of fun, and was a really enjoyable and interesting afternoon.

It is about 15 miles away, but for those of us that reside in rural Pennsylvania, that's just a "hop, skip and a jump." Heck, the "corner" store is five miles down the road, so this trip was "nuthin"

Anyway, visit our website to see all of the upcoming fun events in our "neighborhood," and enjoy this beautiful weather!

Upcoming Labor Day!

The Lehigh River is still bursting with activity, even now in late August!

Well, summer is fast coming to a close, kiddies go back to school, and all of the fun Fall activities go into full swing~

There is so much coming up, I can only begin to post it in increments, as we go along, which is how I can tackle it with some degree of organization :-)

In the meantime, enjoy summer's last hurrah with a final fling--enjoy some awesome rafting down the Lehigh River!

Here are some cool links to help you arrange that end of summer splash down:

http://www.jtraft.com/

http://www.whitewaterrafting.com/

Weissport Canals/Lehigh Valley Canal System

We took another long, peaceful walk today along the beautiful canals between Weissport and Jim Thorpe.

It's so very peaceful, and this time, we almost went all the way to Jim Thorpe, so we got a nice, healthy walk in. We saw lots of different fish species in the canal, and the dragon flies were plentiful, zipping back and forth over the clear waters. We also saw many frogs, and caught a glimpse of a small, golden colored snake by the reeds of the canal...only when we approached, he jetted very quickly into the green and disappeared.

The broad-winged hawks were flying low over the mountain gorge, so we were able to see all of nature's splendor on this fine, bright blue day!

There were occasional, leisurely bicyclists that would meander onto the path, then back off to the bike trails, and here and there, couples could be seen enjoying each other's company, and the beauty of the day.

Definitely not a place to miss when you come to our place for a lovely Autumn visit!

Cabela's

We headed out last night for a relaxing night, first stopping at Hawk Mountain at early dusk, to take in the beautiful and serene views. Heading up rt.895, we then turned on to rt.61, and headed the 4 miles to Cabela's!

Cabela's is definitely not a place to miss if you are avid about the outdoors, as we are. They have an immense selection of gear (we were looking for kayaks), from camping equiptment, clothing, guns, fishing gear, you name it, it's there. They also have a gift shop, a restaurant, and lots of really cool displays of taxidermed animals and a live aquarium.

Initially, the taxidermed animals made me feel queasy, since I felt bad for them, but they are actually pretty interesting, and have been dead and gone for many years (all animals are tagged as to their origin and date of demise), so at least I know they weren't killed to be on display at Cabelas!

After, we went for some good old fashioned comfort food over at The Cracker Barrel, which is right across the street...all in all, it was an enjoyable evening!

Area Fun Stuff!

Late summer is bursting with cool stuff to do in this area, but amongst the favorites, is Musikfest in Bethlehem.

It's already in full swing, running from August 6th to August 15th, and it always has some great music and good times to be had. I mean, their line up is completely filled up with something for everyone, from Polka to Heavy Metal, Latin techno to Classical Bach.

So, don't miss your chance to have a great music filled day, get your culture on, and even have some good local treats while listening to musicians that range from school kids to Lynyrd Skynyrd (which BTW, are playing today).

Here is the link for more info:

www.musikfest.org


See you there!!

Dog Days of Summer!

"Inside the chopper" Dutch Springs scuba diving "wreckage" site

Wow, it's been hot and humid! With this kind of weather, one thing springs to mind--WATER!

We have two nice lakes nearby--Mauch Chunk lake in Jim Thorpe, and for the power boat and jet ski enthusiasts, Beltzville (swimmers are welcome too!). Both of these lakes have very nice picnic areas, swim areas with lifeguards, and beautiful, serene scenery for some wonderful family memories. Beltzville is really quite large, and has pavillions for the larger groups, and I really just enjoy it there so much, and have been going there for years. Mauch Chunk offers fishing and boat rentals for a lovely afternoon or overnight trip. Here are the links for these two parks so you can check them out before you check them out:

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/beltzville.aspx

http://www.delawareandlehigh.org/index.php/visit/mauch-chunk-lake-park/

For the waterpark enthusiasts, now is the time to hit up Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. They are located about 30 minutes away from us, off of Route 309...this is a great amusement park, with some really cool coasters, and of course, their Wildwater Kingdom. They have a package right now of "All-you-can-eat-meal and Admission" for $47.99. You can check out their upcoming events, and specials below:

http://www.dorneypark.com/

And last, but certainly not least, is an awesome local waterpark that most people out of the area don't know about, and it's also about 30 minutes from us. It's definitely for the adventure-minded, but the kids can have a great time too. It's Dutch Springs, and it offers a 50-acre lake, with scuba diving sites, an aqua park for the whole family, on site restaurants, picnic area, lots of really neat stuff! If you are looking for a new and unusual vacation, or getting scuba certified for a trip, or if you are scuba certified, and would like to take a night dive to a "shipwreck" at 100 foot deep, this is the place for you!!

http://dutchsprings.com/scuba.html

All in all, there is some really hot places locally to cool down at! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) Then, come relax with us and have a pampered evening in our country retreat! Hope to see you soon~