It's Friday June 21st, our last day in Ives Run for this trip. We will stop back for one overnight after the Bluegrass Festival. I enjoyed my morning walk. I stayed close to the water and enjoyed the views! We made a late morning move to Bellefonte State College KOA. We can't check in until 2pm and if you check in early there is a fee! So, we will take our time and stop at the grocery store on our way down.We did a drive by this KOA a while ago. It is very spectacular looking from the road and as you drive to the office. There is a large "kids" area along the roadway into the campground. This area includes the traditional bouncing pillows, but it also includes a bike track and multiple swinging hammocks. The other side of the road includes volleyball courts and basketball courts.
We purchased a pull-thru 30-AMP FHU site. I have to admit, it was a moderately priced site. As soon as we started to pull down the one way street I knew we could be in trouble... all of the sites we passed went up a steep grade and then leveled off. As soon as Charlie started the turn into our site #25, I heard the dreaded noise. That is the sound of dragging along the road. I guess the good thing was it was a gravel road and not paved. We were able to get off the road and get the RV level, without unhooking the car. Unhooking the car, was the whole point of purchasing a pull-thru site. Don't even get me started on how close the neighbors were! Good thing we are only here for one night!
On Saturday morning June 22nd, I got my 4-mile walk in around the campground. I have grown to enjoy walking on the paved roads. That was not the case this morning, all of the roads are gravel, except the entry driveway. I did spend about a mile of my walk on that paved surface! The flowers near the entrance were beautiful! We waited until the last possible minute to leave. Check-out was 11am and I think we pulled off the site at 10:59am! We only have a 15 minute commute to our next destination and we can't gain access to the fairgrounds until noon.
We went directly to the fairgrounds and were surprised to not see a line of RV's lined up at the entrance. As we came up to the gate, we figured out why. We pay for our camping directly to the fairgrounds. There was a fair board member at the gate taking the money for camping and directing you into a line of RV's waiting to be parked by the festival organizers, starting at noon. We did not do too bad, we are 15th in line! We did not come early to get a certain camping spot, we have never been to this festival. We came earlier because the camping price was reasonable!
When we moved to where the parkers were taking campers to their sites, Charlie asked him if there were any spots with shade. He directed us to pull out of line and Charlie got on the golf cart with him. I pulled the car behind and waited. They came back and Charlie took us to a spot under a tree along the perimeter fence line. We are about 2/10 of a mile from the music, but with temperatures in the 90's, I'll take the shade over closer to the music. We enjoyed the shade of the tree for the rest of the day and planned some visiting for Monday. We met our neighbors in the other two rows along the fence line. Both are seasoned visitors to this festival. One side are friends of Little Roy & Lizzie and they plan on having many jams right by us. Gotta love that... music, music, music!
On Sunday June 23rd, I enjoyed my first walk at the fairgrounds. I stayed on the paved roads! There were beautiful flower beds everywhere. This place is huge! Technically, it is called Grange Park. It is located in scenic Penns Valley on 264 acres. It offers 1,500 RV camping sites with water and electric hook-ups. But what is the history of this place?
The fair originated as a local extension of the national Grange mission. In 1867, the Patrons of Husbandry, or Grange, organized as a national movement to improve the economic well-being of farmers, a group particularly hard hit by the aftermath of the Civil War and a later economic downturn. The Grange grew from local associations of farmers that met to discuss their problems and to seek solutions. In Centre County, Rhone was a key supporter of the Grange’s local efforts. Besides organizing the Granger’s Pic-nik, he helped shepherd the creation of the Progress Grange. By 1874, sixteen local granges were established in Centre Hall.
The first fair took place on September 24, 1874, in Leech’s Woods, near Centre Hall. Leonard Rhone organized the event and invited members of the local Granges to attend. About 3,000 people attended the event, which was called the “Granger’s Pic-nik.” There were eight or ten acres of the woodland were dotted with many hundreds of tablecloths and tents. In 1890, the event moved to Grange Park, a 26-acre site in Centre Hall purchased by the Centre County Pomona Grange. In 1890, organizers created a permanent committee to oversee the fair. Committee members were responsible for the fairground layout, as well as prioritizing and scheduling improvements and additions, including road and fence construction, tent placement, and new buildings. By 1914, the county granges and various rural groups could appoint a committee member. The use of tents and the inclusion of various exhibits were introduced to the fair in 1877. Initially, the Pennsylvania National Guard lent the organizers tents. Exhibits that year included pieces of farm machinery.
During the 20th century, the fair continued to expand. To meet the the increasing number of people who made the event an annual tradition, event officials needed to expand the park. In 1923, the park grew to about 70 acres after the Fair Board purchased an additional 45 acres. The number of tents increased from 28 in 1877 to 200 in 1910. Tents also were more sophisticated. Once primitive Army-style shelters, many tents had a wooden floor, bench, table, and bunk. Several tents shared cook stoves and firewood. Small grocery stores were opened to provide campers with food during the long stay.
By 1916, the fair had entered the electric age. The midway and main street of the park were illuminated with a 75-watt light bulbs powered by a 12-kilowatt transformer. Most tents continued to rely on kerosene lamps, but eventually campers could rent a light bulb for a dollar. The fair was equipped with electric lights before many surrounding homes and farms in Penns Valley. In fact, most of Centre Hall remaining without electricity until the 1930s when the Rural Electrification Act stirred projects that brought electric power to many rural areas. Public telephones were installed at the fair in 1928.
The fair persevered through wars and conflict, weather disasters, and economic upheavals. In 1890, the first year that the event was held in its expanded Grange Park, a series of rainstorms turned the newly cleared fairground into mud and caused tents to collapse. Yet, eventgoers continued to show up, confined mostly to a five-acre section that was adequately covered with roofs and canvas. The fair continued through World War I and in the economic uncertainty that followed. The Great Depression sent waves of unrest and economic repercussions throughout the area, the fair economy was relatively unscathed. A general admission ticket for the week-long event cost 50 cents, the same price as before the Depression. Event organizers actually lowered the cost of automobile parking to 25 cents in 1933. Even World War II thwarted but did not completely scuttle the event. The fair was cancelled in 1943, mainly due to gasoline rationing, but a one-day picnic was held instead. Like many things, the 2020 fair fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Agricultural demonstrations and livestock exhibits are the picnic’s major attractions, but livestock sales generate interest. They also generate significant income. In 1998, for example, 268 animals were sold, raising more than $120,000. The first amusement ride — the Wave — was introduced in 1915. The organization now estimates that the park is home to about 1,000 tents and 1,500 recreational vehicles during the fair. The park also makes room for hundreds of concessions stands, 7,000 exhibit items, along with numerous amusement rides.
We spent the day sitting out watching more campers arrive. We had to keep going inside because it was sprinkling rain. Then we would come back out and go back in. However, rain set in around 7pm, with severe thunderstorm warnings. We now have water front property along a creek... no extra charge! We are in for the night now. Tomorrow is another day!
On Monday June 24th, I took my regular walk around the Grange Park grounds. It was cooler, but the sun was shining and everything was very blue and green! Later, we are headed to see Jack & Jackie Laubach in Sunbury.
We took Route 45 most all the way from Centre Hall to Sunbury. Along the way, we passed a ton of farm land, many small Pennsylvania towns and Amish farms. Millheim, the heart of Penns Valley, is a town that surprises. Lets look at the basics facts... It's a borough of only 900 people. It's named after mills that have been gone for a hundred years. On the positive note, the town has the only traffic light in 35 miles on Rt. 45!
A quick drive-through town probably wouldn’t change your mind. However, Millheim is also a great place to take in the sights. There are historic buildings and homes, an occasional Amish buggy and the brightly painted mural that graces the side of Elk Creek Café + Aleworks.
Driving the rural two lane road of PA Route 45 towards Woodward, by the time you reach Spring Mills you would usually see the familiar sight of the Amish buggies hugging the gravel side strip of Route 45 and the Amish farms on each side of the road growing corn.
I have always been fascinated and curious about the Amish communities we pass. I notice the differences in their horse drawn carriages. I marvel at their work ethic. I love to photograph them, but I also try to respect their privacy and religion while capturing the beauty of the way they live and work. There were always some noticeable characteristics in the Amish areas such as the well worn tracks from the buggy wheels. I couldn’t live like they do, but I respect it and it has reminded me to always take the two lane roads and you will be surprised with what you find.
In Mifflinburg I saw one of my favorite sights in an Amish area. The horses and buggy or wagons hitched up in a parking lot with our cars and trucks. This was at Cole's Hardware in Mifflinburg.
We passed through Lewisburg and turned south onto a familiar Route 15. We turned onto Route 11 and passed through Northumberland on our way to Packers Island. Our friends, Jack & Jackie, are summering at the Airport Campground on the island. Packers Island is the Island Between Sunbury & Northumberland. It has also been known as: Shamokin Island, Lynn's Island, and Island Of Corsica.
John B. Packer, one of the owners of the island, was one of the largest landholders in Pennsylvania, and he was a stock holder in the Philadelphia and Erie railroad. His wife, Mary, was a major donor for the Mary M. Packer hospital, and she also helped to start the Opera House. It was in May of 1923, that a group of capitalists headed by S.M. Weist purchased 18 acres of land on Packers Island for an Amusement park. The park opened on June 30, 1923, and operated for 11 years, closing in 1934. In 1918, when the first air mail route between New York and Washington DC was established (with a stop in Philadelphia) lighted runways were rare, and safety was a concern. For the transcontinental route, pilots considered the area between Sunbury and Bellefonte the least desirable and nicknamed it “Hell’s stretch.”
In 1920, low clouds and fog forced an air-mail pilot to land in a farmer’s field on the Susquehanna River island. The pilot learned that another air-mail pilot had landed in the same field, for the same reason, a few weeks earlier. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Department of Commerce designated the island an official emergency stop for aircraft and established a charted airfield on the farm. Its location was ideal because it was midway between several stops. Jack & Jackie summer on the side of that still active grass runway airport. Tucker loves to watch the planes land! We enjoyed our time with Jack & Jackie and they served us a great picnic lunch!
We departed there and headed north on 405. We came across these white circles in the road. The white dots on some roads in Pennsylvania are oval-shaped road markers that are used to prevent tailgating and rear-end collisions. They are also known as Botts' dots or raised pavement markers. The dots are spaced at intervals that allow drivers to maintain a safe distance between vehicles and have enough time to react. The dot treatment is part of a low-cost safety enhancement project with a goal to reduce the number of aggressive highway crashes, injuries and deaths.
We arrived in Montgomery, at Riverside Campground, to see Dwight & Marie Laylon, friends from our community in Florida. We picked a great day to visit... they have been out of power for three days since a bad windstorm came through! We spent a few hours sitting outside in the shade visiting before we headed back to Centre Hall.
Tuesday June 25th, I enjoyed my morning walk on the Grange Park grounds. We had a leisurely morning at the camper, listening to the jams around us. We had a 3pm reservation for Penn's Cave.
Penn's Cave is America's only all-water cavern in Pennsylvania that is on the National Register of Historic Places! In 1976, the United States Department of the Interior named Penn's Cave and Penn's Cave Hotel on the National Register of Historic Places, because of its cultural and historical significance.
We milled around the gift shop as we waited for our tour to be called. We walked down the 300 foot ramp to the 95-steps that lead us underground to the boats and to see the breathtaking limestone formations during our fully-guided 45 minute cavern tour with Marty.
We learned from Marty that the cave itself is nestled under about 1,500 acres of rolling fields. It boasts over 600,000 square feet, and its limestone rock is estimated to be millions of years old. It remains a scientific mystery how waters from the streams around Nittany Mountain, nearly five miles away, pass through the valleys into the cavern. The water is full of trout, too.
Penn's Cave clearly show that the original inhabitants of this natural wonder were Native Americans. According to the Penn's Cave tour guide, distant relatives of Edgar Allan Poe accumulated tracts of land in battles won against the Native Americans, including Penn's Cave farms. As the land encompassing Penn's Cave was passed down, the dry entrance to the cave was frequented more and more. It wasn't until 1860 that two men, Issac Paxton and Albert Woods, decided to explore further into the cave. They built a raft and successfully traversed the cavern for the first time in documented history.
Penn's Cave limestone is theorized to have formed from ocean bottom mud compressed into rock over millions of years. This rock is an estimated 400-500 million years old. Penn's Cave follows the linear cave pattern, which in geological terms means its tunnel forms a rather straight passage along the strike of limestone formations.
The cavern itself is thought to have formed in two cycles: the dissolving of limestone rock from acidic groundwater, and draining of water through naturally-formed cavities, essentially fractures in the typically impermeable limestone.
Centuries of this dissolution caused the fractures to enlarge into cave passages. It is estimated that despite the age of the limestone within the cavern.
Penn's Cave is about 30 million years old, which is much older than the average cave age of 10 million years. One lighted section looked very different under different lights.
In 1885, the 30-room Penn's Cave Hotel was constructed and hosted hundreds of visitors annually. Ownership of Penn's Cave farms changed often over the years due to owners' financial troubles, but notoriety continued to spread.
Between 1927 and 1929, the owners designed and engineered the opening of the rear of the cave, which created a tunnel from the main rooms of the cave to Lake Nitanee outside. Today, visitors to Penn's cave can enjoy the same one-mile boat ride that Paxton and Woods first discovered over 100 years ago, complete with a guided tour and circle around Lake Nitanee.
We did not purchase the "wildlife" tour. But on our way out, we saw a herd of reindeer with 2 fawn near the big one.
And a beautiful brahma. Now I kind of wish I had!
Stay tuned as the #TwoLaneAdventures continue.
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