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The name for this photo-essay was suggested by
Melissa, who, along with Evan, took the incredible risk of accepting
my invitation for an afternoon of geocaching in Lackawanna State
Park. We attempted and succeeded at three - a Hat Trick!
I'll not bore you with the details of the hunts
- I know you're just here to enjoy the scenery.
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are odd and beautiful things in this park, once you get off the
beaten path, like leaves hanging in midair... |
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...and
beautiful trails through the woods, with miles of stone fences and
unexpected sun-filled clearings. |
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| Let me explain
about those little orange flowers you see below, next to
the blue ones. They generally grow near water, and they
have these little banana-shaped pods hanging on them... |
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And when you gently squeeze one of
the ripe pods, it explodes. (It really does!) I learned this from
a book I spent a lot of time with when I was a kid - How To Do
Nothing With Nobody All Alone By Yourself. The book called them
"Green-shaped banana bombs." Melissa and Evan were truly
impressed. |
| The park has an assortment of
animals large and small. Melissa pointed out this little spider
that weaves a sun-catcher... |
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...and unfortunately, she was
also the first to spot the largest animal we saw on our travels.
:-) Evan and I confidently assured her that black snakes were
not poisonous, nor speedy. You can't really tell from this
picture, but this guy was about four feet long. We gave it
a wide berth - especially Melissa! |
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| Beautiful spots around
here, and some sad ones as well... |
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| Little people who never had a chance
to hear Puccini. |
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A cathedral of stained-glass
greens and heavenly blues.
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| Here you have the team - Evan the Finder, Melissa
the Navigator, and the Supervisor. Evan and I were able to get
a nice harmonic going and assisted this tree to its demise. It
made a real nice noise, much to Melissa's dismay. Hey! It's a
guy thing. ;-) |
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While we're on the subject of guy
things, Evan thought he saw something peeking out at us, and we
were sorely tempted to, ummm... explore further. But we satisfied
ourselves by pointing the flash of the camera inside and lighting
up its life. If it was in there, it had a flash of inspiration.
;-) |
| Our third cache in hand
(a remarkable feat!), the sun was starting to descend, and we
decided we'd better do likewise. |
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And
so we returned once again to civilization. |
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We stopped for a Coke at a table by this magnificent
tree. Melissa (the truly observant Melissa), suggests that the
tree poses the question, "Why."
Well, I can't let this get by unanswered, so
I reply, "Because somebody has to."
Thanks to new friends Melissa and Evan, who
I hope were not too worn out not to come along again, and to
the cachiers (click on the cache names to see their pages, which
will open in a new window in your browser):
Rich in NEPA for Cozy
Squirrel Lookout and Riddler's
Revenge (he is so good at this), and Capt. Jer and
Gunner for the Lee
Hill Cache.
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© Frank Burnside Jr. 2002
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