D &H Rail Trail - Day 1

Finally re-energized after a month of fasting, we decided that we had better get out there and log some serious miles! Josephine grabbed fellow Scranton Goes Green member Amanda Karpiak after school to go riding with us along the D & H on a gorgeous late afternoon. We started in Simpson by taking the bicycles off the car in a passing downpour, which turned into a drizzle for the first mile or two and then cleared into a blinding setting sun by the time we were heading back. In the end we biked 10 miles in all going slightly past Forest City and turning around - this was simply warm up for Day 2 - Election Day No School - when we planned on starting from the Forest City trailhead to going further. The photo above was taken near the Forest City sign (below). As you can see the rail trail and a natural gas pipeline run together on this lower section. The Waymart Wind Farm is turning and turning behind the girls and through the trees on photo below. From Simpson north for not quite 10 miles these yellow pipeline markers are found - I'm a terrible estimator - every several hundred feet? If you watch the video below you will be able to see their frequency in the landscape. It's complicated and worth our contemplative energy - anthracite coal rail road converted with much volunteer effort into rail trails to encourage hiking, walking, and biking to reconnect us to a wounded but recovering landscape, followed by fantastic upgrades (for the walker, cyclist, and an occasional ATV as we found out) funded by the new here-today-gone-some day fossil fuel natural gas, and finally a wind farm that overlooks it all. Indigo Buntings, Wood Thrushes, American Robins, Blue Jays, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, and Cardinals accompanied us along the way.