Fall foliage fever (Oct. 14 / Ricketts Glen State Park)

A couple enjoys sitting in front of Ganoga Falls in Ricketts Glen State Park.

As I climbed up a muddy ridge toward the top of Ricketts Glen State Park, I looked over at one of the 22 named waterfalls and thought: "Why are people so fascinated by running water?"

I know there's a difference between water dropping over a 94-foot ridge and it dripping from a kitchen faucet, but at the end of the day, that's all it is -- moving water.

Nevertheless, I visited Ricketts Glen for the sake of taking pictures because I also love waterfalls.

I wasn't alone: Nearly two dozen other people came to the park with cameras and tripods to photograph both the falls and the changing leaves that day. Certain spots looked like a press conference. One hiker who wasn't taking photos saw my camera and asked me if there was a special filming event going on at the park.

A group of photographers takes pictures of a nearby waterfall in Ricketts Glen State Park.

All of the photographers were likely there for the same reason as I was: fall foliage. During the past week, I've been traveling to different areas looking for the best color as the leaves start to change over. I visited Nescopeck State Park, in addition to the Delaware Water Gap, but had little luck.

I've visited Ricketts Glen several times before, and each time is more beautiful than the last. I figured it would be the place where I'd get my break.

As I had expected, Ricketts Glen delivered. I went to the park with an empty camera card and left with almost 350 pictures, which took two days to narrow down and tone. Below are some of the better ones I took.

Creeks

Waterfalls

Adams Falls (30 feet)

Cayuga Falls (11 feet)

Erie Falls (47 feet)

Ganoga Falls (94 feet)

Ganoga Falls (overhead)

Harrison Wright Falls (27 feet)

Mohican Falls (39 feet)

Oneida Falls (13 feet)

Sheldon Reynolds Falls (36 feet)

Tuscarora Falls (47 feet)

Fall foliage fever (Oct. 12: Appalachian Trail / Delaware Water Gap)

A sign points the way on the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap.

On Monday (Oct. 12), my dad took off work so he and I could spend the day together in the outdoors. As I stated in my last blog post, I'm at my parents' home in Mountain Top this week while on vacation. I decided to use some of it to look for fall foliage in different areas of northeast Pa.

However, when dad and I were trying to figure out where to visit, we were making as much progress as the Legislature on the state budget (too soon? If the budget stalemate weren't already more than 100 days old, then maybe). Finally, he suggested a location I didn't consider: the Delaware Water Gap.

Known formally as the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Gap in eastern Pennsylvania consists of 70,000 acres of woods, streams and lakes and includes 37 miles of the Delaware River bordering both Pa. and New Jersey, according to the National Park Service. Originally, I planned on sticking to locations in northeast Pa., but I've never been to the Delaware Water Gap. In addition, a portion of the Appalachian Trail -- the nearly 2,200-mile behemoth stretching from Georgia to Maine -- runs through the Gap. The A.T. has been on my bucket list for a while, and my dad also seemed enthusiastic about attempting a portion of it. I figured the Gap and the A.T. had some great vantage points to view possible fall foliage, as well, so we settled on a trip to the Gap.

The drive there, about one hour from Mountain Top to the Borough of Delaware Water Gap, offered some gorgeous red and yellow trees along Interstate 80. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like pulling over on a busy highway to take photos, so you'll have to use your imagination as to what the scene looked like. I promise I have pictures later on.

Though I can't promise they'll be as entertaining as this one.

Before we got started, we stopped at a small mom-and-pop store for lunch. Simply called "Apple Pie Bakery," the store offered dessert pies, pot pies, doughnuts and sandwiches. Outside the store that day was a barbecue complete with smoked pulled pork sandwiches and half-chickens with sides like coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad and beans. Dad and I munched down on some barbecue to "build strength" (we just wanted to eat homemade barbecue, really) and left. Before getting in the car, I noticed three vibrantly colored trees surrounding the cookout area: one red and two others with a mix of yellow and orange.

The Apple Pie Bakery in Delaware Water Gap Borough

The trees at the store and along Interstate 80 gave me some hope that Dad and I would be in for a color show during our hike.

After leaving the store, we found what we thought was a trailhead for the Appalachian Trail, got out of the car and started our journey. The trail started out flat and stable, but we came across an area with a small pond where the land and water had virtually no border between them. Worse yet, the trail wrapped around the pond right at the water's edge.

Not wanting to puss out just five minutes into the hike, we tenderly walked through mud while trying not to go for a swim in the process. At the same time, we had to make our way around brush and low-lying branches.

After a few minutes of meandering, we finally reached another dry, flat portion of the trail. It was shortly after that we both felt dumb. It turns out the trail we were on wasn't the Appalachian Trail, and additionally, there was a flat, stone road not far from our car that led right to the true trailhead. We pretended that the past five minutes never happened and started our journey anew.

The Appalachian Trail started as a flat dirt trail that eventually became rock-filled and hilly. We progressed along the hillside of Mount Minsi, which borders the Delaware River on the Pennsylvania side. After about an hour of hiking, Dad and I reached an overlook that provided a view of the river, Mount Minsi to the right and Mount Tammany to the left. The view was remarkable, and it made the hourlong hike, sweating and heavy breathing worth it.

The Delaware Water Gap, with Mount Minsi in Pennsylvania to the right and Mount Tammany in New Jersey to the left.

Dad posing in front of Mounts Minsi and Tammany.

Me just wanting to show off my newly grown beard.

As great as the view was, it disappointed me in the respect that it lacked fall foliage. I saw more red and yellow along the interstate than I did on two large mountains

We decided to move on for about another half hour past the overlook. Other hikers told us there was a second overlook further up the Appalachian Trail, but Dad and I started to get tired, and we still had to make the return trip. While going back to the start location, we came across one or two places with some fall foliage, but overall the trees around the Appalachian Trail are still holding on to their green.

A small red tree stands out among several green ones.

The trip was a bust as far as fall foliage was concerned, but the Delaware Water Gap and the Appalachian Trail both contained some of the nicest views in Pennsylvania. I'm sure in the next few weeks, the mountains surrounding the Gap will be glowing with fall colors. In the meantime, I'm looking into my next trip for this week. I hope to have better luck at my next location.

Fall foliage fever (Oct. 10: Nescopeck State Park)

Lake Frances at Nescopeck State Park.

I'm back at my parents' house in Mountain Top for vacation this week. It's mostly going to be a staycation, so I figured I would take advantage of it by looking around for the fall foliage that Pennsylvania has to offer.

From what I've seen in the Altoona area and now Mountain Top, the leaves are just beginning to change color. There are some parts that are still seas of green, and there are others where they are vibrant with orange, red and yellow.

On Saturday (Oct. 10), I decided to visit Nescopeck State Park since it's close by. I started out my vacation battling a cold, so I didn't want to strain myself.

The park's leaves are just starting to transition from green to fall colors. As seen in the picture above, the trees along the shore of Lake Frances are vibrant with red and orange in some spots, but green still dominates the scene. Below is another picture that shows a better perspective of the foliage surrounding the lake.

The shoreline of Lake Frances

I was actually more impressed by the deep blue hue of the water. Lake Frances is quite shallow, so it usually gives off more of a blackish or brownish color. But on Saturday, the sun made it look more like an ocean than a lake.

In the middle of Lake Frances is its little island. It has fewer than a dozen trees and saplings, but at least three or four of them shined with an orange glow on Saturday.

It doesn't have a name, so I just call it "Nescopeck Island."

After going around the Lake Trail, I decided to go further into the woods to see if there might be more color. I took the Nescopeck Trail from Lake Frances down to Nescopeck Creek and then walked along it via the Creekside Trail. I saw some orange and red trees along the way, though they were on the opposite bank of the creek. Most of these trees were set far back into the forest behind rows of other trees, so I didn't have many great photo opportunities.

There was one spot where there wasn't really any foliage, but the leaves on the ground and the sunlight above gave the area a golden hue. In this grove was a creek so small that the water in it was barely moving. It was more of a trickle of water than a creek. Based off the banks surrounding it, the creek looks as though it could be much larger at times.

A small creek runs through the forest near the Nescopeck Creek.

After awhile, I turned around and hiked in the opposite direction on the Creekside Trail to see if there was any better foliage elsewhere. For the most part, the trees along the trail were slightly yellow, but didn't deviate much from that. I eventually reached an unnamed pond in the park not far from Lake Frances. Just like the latter, this pond had some red and orange around it, but green still remains the main color.

An unnamed pond in Nescopeck State Park.

Overall, there was some color that made the park beautiful, but it's going to take a few more weeks before the woods are ablaze with red, orange and yellow. The weather was gorgeous, however, and it beat being stuck in my house with a cold and doing nothing all day. It was worth the trip and the one and a half hour hike.

My hunt for fall foliage will continue through most of the week while I'm home on vacation. In the plans are possible trips to Ricketts Glen State Park, Big Pocono State Park and Lehigh Gorge State Park. Since this will be my last time in northeast Pa. until November or December, I want to enjoy the outdoors and foliage as much as possible. I encourage you try to, as well. Before you know it, the leaves will be gone, the cold will drift in, and we'll be complaining about how the snow never seems to go away.