A walk in the woods with Bob and Ernie and Carole

Yesterday, the 9th of October was stunning. The sun was warm and the fall colors were warmer. My plans were to photograph the sights not too far from home. Sounds simple. It was in most ways. My companions on this day were two men of which I had only met one in person the previous weekend when he had stopped to talk about the pictures I was showing at a Harvest Fest. He came back to see me a few hours later saying, "I have a proposition for you." A proposition could mean a few things; I was intrigued and interested in what this proposition was. We chatted and exchanged e mail info and I wondered what had I just gotten myself into. Long story short; it was an opportunity to explore and learn and record something almost lost to nature in a place that most people will never get to see but where long ago some brave people built a small town and mined iron ore while living in the valley of Central Pa. in the mid 1800s.

Bob and Ernie are local men, both retired, both passionate about history and experts on the site they were taking me to about a mile into the woods in a remote part of Centre County behind Scotia Range. After 33 years in the area I had never heard of the site and was really curious so I charged up the battery in the camera, put a bottle of water and an apple in my pack and went off to hike with Bob and Ernie for a couple of hours. It was a really good decision.

As we walked and talked and explored I snapped away. At close to the end of the hike I felt the definite voice of my aunt Carole saying, "Good for you, I would have done this, too." Carole made multitudes of friends everywhere she went and she would have loved Bob and Ernie. The friends my aunt made are people all around the world and right next door. She was friendly and warmhearted and liked all sorts of people. I remember the lady who owned the greenhouse near Sparta telling me how much she liked Carole and Ralph years ago when I stopped to get them a plant before a short visit and the man who would deliver the bushel of crabs in the Outer Banks that would end up staying and chatting for quite awhile. The butcher the baker and the candlestick maker became fast friends. She knew everyone's name and remembered their stories.

So Bob, retired Electrical Engineer and history buff (and hopefully future author) and Ernie the home grown local farmer, hunter, storyteller and grandpa, took me up and around and into a place we decided the Hobbits would be happy. We talked about the amount of work yet to be done to preserve and map the site and the days Ernie would spend here as a youngster with his brothers. We all marveled at the colors and the signs of life both high and low. We picked apples from the only live apple tree there and snacked on the ugly fruit. It was an experience to say the least. We observed where the beavers were busy building a tremendous dam, where the decay and vegetation are slowly covering up the story of a time long gone and where I was reminded of my adventurous aunt who I think may have been hiking with me. I will be going back there and will continue to record the world around me since it really makes me happy and, hopefully, will hear Carole's voice in my heart again telling me she wants to come along.

It was a nice way to spend a Saturday in October.