A Delaware Water Gap Waterfall

 November is not the best time to be exploring nature in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Center.  All the visitor centers were closed  but trails were open.  We opted for this one that was a board walk to a waterfall.  

Notice how low the water is.  Since September there had been drought conditions.

You can barely make out a trickle of water in the above photo.  It wasn't our destination waterfall.

Lots of rhododendron or mountain laurel along the way.  It would be beautiful in bloom.

Destination achieved: Dingmans Falls.

I'm sure it's spectacular when there has been more rain.

Books Read Last Year

 Here are the books I read in 2024.  As I scroll through the list I remember most of these but others I draw a blank.  I guess they didn't provide any long lasting thoughts or questions.  You'll notice a number of books by the same authors, some of these are series and others are authors I enjoyed so I looked for other books they wrote.  I've started 2025 by listening to a book which is something that didn't happen in 2024.  I decided I wanted to work on a cross stitch project and listening to a book works well with that. It may slow me down because I can read faster than a reader can speak.

How many of these have you read?

85. Judgement of the Grave by Sarah Stewart Taylor

84. Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

83. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

82. Dinner with the Smileys by Sarah Smiley

81. The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

80. Mansion of the Dead by Sarah Stewart Taylor

79. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

78. The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe

77. Blind Search by Paula Munier

76. Winter Sisters by Robin Olieira

75. A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier

74. The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

73. The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

72. On Kingdom Mountain by Howard Frank Mosher

71. The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini

70. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

69. Race to the Future - 8,000 Miles to Paris by Kassia St. Clair

68. The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear

67. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

66. Shanghai by Joseph Kanon

65. Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

64. Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron

63. The Guncle by Steven Rowley

62. The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

61. Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan

60.Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky

59. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

58. Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

57. How to Solve Your Own Murder. by Kristen Perrin

56. The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

55. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

54. A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander

53.  And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

52. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

51. Bright Hair About the Bone by Barbara Cleverly

50. Summer Island by Kristin Hannah

49. The Surgeon's Daughter by Audrey Blake

48. The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake

47. Seven Yorkshire Tales by James Herriot

46. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

45. The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe

44. Buried in a Bog by Sheila Connolly

43. James by Perival Everett

42. Hanging Ruth Blay by Carolyn Marvin

41. Mad Honey by J. Picoult & J. F. Boylan

40. Family Tree by Susan Wiggs

39. The River We Remember by William Kent Kreuger

38. The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel

37. The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal

36. The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason

35. Dead Man's Wake by Paul Doiron

34. The Women by Kristin Hannah

33. These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

32. Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott

31. Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict

30. The Glass Ocean by B. Williams, L. Willig, K. White

29. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

28. The Bee Keepers Ball by Susan Wiggs

27. The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

26. Uneasy Money by P.G. Wodehouse

25. The Color of Water - A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride

24. Hatchet Island by Paul Doiron

23. The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs

22. A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder btDianne Freeman

21. The Door to Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn

20. Her Own Rules by Barbara Taylor  Bradford

19. The Murder Stone by Charles Todd

18. The Coldest Case by Martin Walker

17. The Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker

16. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

15. Dead by Daen by Paul Doiron

14. Beaversprite - My Years Building an Animal Sanctuary by Dorothy Richards

13. Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

12. One Last Lie by Paul Doiron

11. The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgon Burnett

10. The London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein

9. West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

8. All You Can Ever Know - A Memoir by Nicole Chung

7. The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel

6. No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

5. The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel

4. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

3. The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans

2. Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini

1. The Arnifour Affair by Gregory Harris

Matamoros AirBnB

Yesterday I wrote about this trip we took in November to meet up with friends along the Delaware River.

The river was very low.

Here's the house we stayed in - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Very comfortable.  In warmer weather we would have made use of the deck and fire pit.

Link to AirBnB description

More on the Delaware River Water Gap National Recreation Area in my next post.

 

November 2024 Trip

In November last year we met friends at an AirBnB in Matamoras, PA.  The house was right on the Delaware River looking across to New Jersey and upriver to New York.  South of where we were situated was the small town of Milford, PA known for two things.  First the historical society where the flag that graced the box at Ford's Theater on the night Lincoln was assassinated now resides with the residue of Lincoln's blood still evident.

Photo of the box at Ford's Theater

When Lincoln was shot the flag was grabbed to wrap him in.

Blood residue was tested and it was a match.

Here's the story of how it came to this museum.

It's museum worth a visit for at least that.  It has many more exhibits of interest.

The second thing Milford is known for is that it was the home of Gifford Pinchot.  Have you ever heard of this man? You can thank him for our national forests.  Read here for more.

His home, Grey Towers, is now a National Historic Site.  It usually is open for touring inside but they were decorating for the holidays so we could only walk around outside.

One day we will pass through Milford again and stop to tour inside.  We should pick a growing season time because the gardens and grounds are well landscaped.  My friend spent most of her time wandering around and noticing the specimen trees planted on the grounds using the map provided at the visitor center.