Day 3 Scoping the Refuge

(Day 3) Arriving at the Atlantic Ocean

Today, Wednesday, the rains came later in the day. We said ‘adieu’ to the Leheigh Valley and moved out as the fog lifted. This gave us a chance to deliver the bells to the Malmart factory in Plumsteadville PA. To get there is not a direct route and if you have driven on these “colonial” roads in eastern PA, you know what I mean. Narrow, winding, bumpy but visually beautiful especially this week as the major flowering trees were in bloom, That includes the cherries, plums, magnolias, service berry, dogwoods, as well as the forsythia, and azaleas. It was a colorful landscape. Some of the roads actually meet themselves coming around in full circle. “You’ve gotta buy a program” (a map) Along the way we reminisced about seeing again as we drove by, the wonderful home of Henry C. Mercer the “tile king” in his day. (Look that one up on the net.) It is the present home of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. The entire inside of the home is tiled in ways never imagined.
The bells did arrive in the morning, however, and we were greeted by the staff, warmly, and their “mailing room “crew of Ken and his sidekick, who ounted the bell cases, and then gave us a receipt. On our return we will ask for a “tour” and take pictures. Every bell choir should see where their bells come from and how they are made, in part, at any rate.
Ruth is a terrific navigator and even though we did not “get lost”, and did not have to retrace our route at any time, there were times , especially as we approached Trenton NJ, that we did not know just where we were. The AAA maps we use do not have great township details, and thinking ahead one should bring local maps just to be sure especially if you spend any time in one place.
. Having disposed of the bells we continued south on PA 616 and then wound our way back and forth until we spotted US! Which goes across the Delaware River. There was a problem, however, as there is a big sign saying “NO PROPANE TANKS IN TUNNEL”. Yikes, and here comes the tunnel. We exited right down onto a surface road hoping there was another way to get across the river. I did not see the boats of George Washington’s crossing from there, or they could have helped. (They are up stream a bit). We saw a sign saying “New bridge crossing” and followed along. Low and behold there was a “new” bridge the style I had never seen before. It was like a tunnel just above the water, but with one side open so that light could get through to the street surface. The entire rest of the bridge was like a tunnel. It was very unique and beautiful. Then we were “home free” as we could take US 1 to the NJ Parkway and get to where the campground was for the week.
When we arrived it was pouring rain so we had to set up the trailer in the rain. I always think that it is worthwhile practice, as then we appreciate the sunny set ups so much more. This site was not muddy, but had just been filled with a sort of wood chips or shredded bark. As it was a bit soft I kept it in 4WD until we had it placed.
We are in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. I’ll bet you were not aware that they had any? From the NJ Turnpike (nearer the Delaware River) to the NJ Parkway (closer to the coast) lie the Pine Barrens. During the Revolutionary War the locals mined iron to make cannonballs for the Revolution. Today 24% of NJ agricultural income comes from the Barrens. The aquifer under the surface there holds 17 trillion gallons of water to aid plants and wild life. The cranberry bogs and blueberry farms are prolific. After all, the “Garden State” is aptly named.
Nearby is Menlo Park, where Thomas Edison spent some 10 years inventing things we still use today. The incandescent light is still used but on the way out!
In the afternoon Ruth and I took a brief excursion to see the NWR that we will visit here the next few days, The Edwin Forsythe N W Refuge covers most of the tidal lands of the Atlantic coast of New Jersey. It is divided into 5-6 units each some 10,000 acres in size. We expect we will see more than the Arctic Tern, White Ibis and Great Blue Heron that we saw in those brief moments today. Actually, in the parking lot in south Trenton, we saw our first sea birds; the Herring Gull and the Laughing Gull with its black head, on top of light poles in a parking area. It was doing its laughing call which sounds like “kiiwa” repeated over many times.
As I close it is still trying to rain a bit and there are puddles everywhere, but the prospects for the weekend are upscale weather wise. We shall see.! Thanks for “tuning in”.