When we lived in Pennsylvania, we would take a fall foliage trip every year. The first year we were out there, my husband planned a trip through the Poconos and Endless Mountains in northeast and northern Pennsylvania. We left super early in the morning to get around Philadelphia traffic, and drove up the northeast extension (I 476) to Jim Thorpe, our first stop of the day. I will never forget when I drove down the mountain (in my stick shift!) into the valley and Jim Thorpe was before us. Simply gorgeous!
Now, we’re historic preservationists, so we love exploring quaint little towns and old buildings in general. There was a little festival going on, so we picked up a few crafts and some amazing fudge and enjoyed it along with the scenery. After we left Jim Thorpe, we continued north to Scranton and Steamtown USA. This was probably my favorite part of our trip. We took a steam locomotive ride through the mountains!
It was so neat and we got to see things you would never notice if you were driving. Ever since this train ride, I have made it a point to find if train rides are given in our area or anywhere we are visiting – for you fellow Hoosiers out there, check out the Indiana Railway Museum!
After we checked out the rest of Steamtown, we got back in the car on our way to the hotel for the night, driving along US 6 through the Endless Mountains. But first, we stopped at the Tunkhannock Viaduct, one of the largest reinforced concrete structures in the world.
It’s so crazy that this is almost 100 years old now and was built without the technology we have today! After seeing the viaduct, we made our way along US 6 towards Mansfield, where we stayed the night. Driving along, we got to see beautiful vistas like this.
The next morning we woke up bright and early only to discover it was super foggy! We were headed to Pine Creek Gorge, aka the Grand Canyon of PA, another highlight of the trip. However, once we got out of the valley, the sun was shining and we knew it was going to be a beautiful day.
Now, I love to go hiking, but I will admit that I was not prepared for this.
We had missed the peak color by about a week, but it was still awesome to see. Can you believe it goes on like this for 45 miles?! I was determined that we were going down to the bottom, but little did I know that it would be a zigzagging trail that went almost straight down. I thought I was going to die coming back up!
Afterwards, we spent some time in the nearest town, Wellsboro before heading back home to the suburbs of Philadelphia. It was an amazing trip and I highly recommend that you check this area out!
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