Florida to New York 2016 - Day Six - Pennsylvania to New York

Last night we enjoyed a tour of Sunbury and enjoyed some ice cream with our friends! We saw the largest fabridam. What is a fabridam you ask? It is a multi-layer fabric made of synthetic fiber, rubberized on one or both sides.  The fabric is quite flexible, yet exhibits good wear-resistance characteristics and they are little affected by freezing conditions. They were developed in the early 1950s. Inflatable dams can be filled with water, air or both. There are more than 2000 inflatable rubber dams around the world. We saw the Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam (formerly known as the Sunbury Fabridam.) It is the world's longest inflatable dam. The dam is located just below the confluence of the Western and Main Branches of the Susquehanna, between the towns of Shamokin Dam and Sunbury, Pennsylvania. The dam is 2,100 feet long. When it is raised in the summer time, it creates the 3,000 acre Lake Augusta, which is used for recreation. The dam and lake are part of Shikellamy State Park. In 2001, the dam was renamed for Adam T. Bower, Chief Clerk of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Departed Fantasy Island Campground in Sunbury traveled along 147N. As we headed out of town, we saw many of the sights that our friends, Jack & Jackie pointed out to us last night from the top of Shikellamy State Park. The park is located at the convergence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Susquehanna River in Sunbury. We stood on the bluff on the western bank of the river and overlooked Sunbury; it provided us with some amazing views!

We followed Route 174N onto 80/220 and eventually onto US 180 around Williamsport. Our friend, Jack told us this way would avoid us pulling a few of the hills before and around Williamsport, he was right. It was a great day to travel on an interstate, Mother’s Day … there seemed to be a lot less tractor-trailers on the road.

As we came into Williamsport PA on Route 15, we saw a hometown favorite … Wegmans. For those of you not from western NY, Wegmans is a local grocery chain that has thrived, grown and expanded into many states. Wegmans currently has almost 90 stores, in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia. They are working to open their 90 store in North Carolina. Originally founded in 1916, Wegmans has appeared on Fortune's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list since 1998, and has ranked among the top 10 for many years. Consumer Reports ranked it the top large U.S. grocery chain in 2012 and 2014.

Heading up Route 15, you travel up the mountain named Steam Valley Mountain, elevation 1,704 feet. Why is it called “Steam Valley Mountain”? A couple of the tales related to the naming of this mountain are … Around 1849; a huge lumber mill was operated by steam near this site. The steam whistle could be heard for a distance of 10 miles and clocks could be faithfully set by it … After a rainfall, due to the cooling effects, “steam” rises almost unceasingly from the roads … Where Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch Restaurant now stands, and has stood since 1939, there once stood a pile of cans, water buckets and almost anything that would hold water. These containers were used and disposed of by people whose cars and trucks would heat up or run out of water while climbing “Steam Valley Mountain.” You decide!

Speaking of Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch, save your appetite for this one! The restaurant was opened at the current location on Mothers’ Day in 1939 and specialized in turkey dinners at a time when turkey was a rare delicacy. World War II forced the restaurant’s temporary closing but the brothers continued raising turkeys and kept the market going, raising up to 15,000 turkeys per year for the war effort. After the war they sold the business in the Growers’ Market just three days before the devastating flood of 1946. In the same year they reopened the restaurant, again on Mothers’ Day in 1950. The turkey barns were destroyed in 1970 to make room for the new Route 15 highway, thus ending the era of raising their own turkeys. Currently the fifth and sixth generations of the Fry family are contributing to the success of the Fry businesses. The restaurant now seats approximately 300 people, is open 364 days a year and serves approximately 100,000 customers per year. Mothers’ Day, 2016, marked the 77th anniversary on top of Steam Valley Mountain.

It is amazing that northern PA has a lot less tress in bloom than they do in southern PA. There were some trees that had leaves when we first entered PA and others had good sized buds on the trees. As we moved further and further north, the amount of leaves decreased.

Route 15A is more like an interstate now than an old two lane highway. There are even interstate style signs indicating it is the future 99 corridor. It is a sad state that shows how obsessed we are with getting everyway faster … the days of leisurely driving on the two lane roads looking at the sights is going by the wayside for the faster track of travel on the interstates.

We passed over the Cohocton River twice as we traveled to Cohocton NY, our final destination for a while.  The Cohocton River is a 50 plus mile-long tributary of the Chemung River. The Chemung River, it is part of the Susquehanna River watershed, flowing to Chesapeake Bay. The name "Cohocton" is derived from an Iroquois term, Ga-ha-to, meaning "log floating in the water" or "trees in the water". The river is a popular destination for fly fishing. We did see a few people on the edge and standing in the water as we traveled north.

The town of Bath is the last “big” town we passed before we arrived at our destination. Town of Bath lies in the southern part of “Finger Lakes Wine Country.” It is an area noted for its beautiful lakes, scenery and ability to produce quality wines and grapes.  Bath has been the location of a Soldiers & Sailors’ Home, the Veterans’ Administration Center since 1877 when the cornerstone was laid for the first building of the New York State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home and on Christmas Day 1878, 25 Civil War veterans were housed in the new facility. Since 1930 the facility has been the federal Veterans’ Administration Medical Center.

We arrived in Cohocton NY at my husband’s family’s house, where we are staying for a few weeks, in the early afternoon.

Here are our overall stats for this trip:

Traveled 1,307 miles over 6 days;

Our average gas price was $2.17 per gallon;

Our average mpg was 7.672;

We traveled an average of 210 miles per day.