Gateway to Northeastern PA

I took this photo as Andy and I drove north to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s NE PA Annual Dinner. He pointed out that each side is a different shape.  Rectangular on the northbound side. Circular on the southbound side. The circular side has big blowers near the ceiling. I probably had noticed this before but not thought much of it.

As a 5 year old kid, I remember heading from the coolness of Tunkhannock to the oppressive heat of Philadelphia and Valley Forge.  I loved driving through the tunnel.  And today it remains a landmark. 

At the dinner I saw lots of old friends and newer ones.  Dick Cochrane told me that he only has four more states to bike in on a tandem with his wife: Nebraska, Kansas, Washington and Oregon.  “We have to bike 10 miles in a state for it to count,” he said. Dick is retired from PennDOT, and he continues to help develop trails.

I met some spouses and significant others of people I know.  That was cool.  Janet’s husband, Terry, is an avid cyclist and promotes active living in one of the courses he teaches at the University of Scranton.  Greg, another guest, was planning a surprise getaway to a place that I’m mapping.

And of course I saw Lynn Conrad, who was receiving the lifetime achievement award for her work with the D&H Trail.

At dinner, I sat between a mine surveyor named Jason Tarnowski who now works for the Earth Conservancy, and Nick Lylo, the Pinchot District Forester.  This was really interesting because they both came from mining areas and taught me a lot.  Rylan Coker and Paul Lumia from the North Branch Land Trust were at our too.  

And it was great to sit with Elissa Garofalo, from the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, along with Lauren and Kelly from the D&L.  I showed Elissa some of my digital renderings of the Lehigh Gap, and she told me about a painting she has in her office. When I got home, I looked up National Heritage Corridors.  They are diverse, and the D&L seems to be one of the more developed areas. Elissa, Claire and others have accomplished a lot.

I’d like to bike from Binghamton, NY to Jenkintown on the D&H and D&L within the next year.

I saw Stephanie and several others from Barry Isett. It’s cool to see that they have been developing their office in Hazelton as well as Wilkes-Barre.  I think Stephanie is a good example of the multi-faceted capable kind of people I meet in the Scranton Wilkes-Barre area.

Annette Schultz came over from New Jersey.  We have worked together on some memorable projects in the past.  And Andy pointed out how unique and well-educated and talented and hard working Annette is.  That says a lot.  It was good to see her.

Lots of people were there from DCNR, including Christine Detorre, Lorne Possinger and Dennis Demarra.  And I was glad to see Tim Dugan, the Delaware Forest District Forester who introduced me to a great campsite at Stairway Lake.

I know I haven’t mentioned everyone I saw at the PEC dinner, but it would have been nice if Gary Bloss had been there.  Maybe I’ll just have to drive up and visit his farm south of Stroudburg and then go camping along the AT. I’ve never been there.

N   40 57.366  W  075 13.547

I didn’t talk with anyone from P&G, but I always smile when I see their display because my dad was the plant engineer in Mehoopany in the early 1970’s.

Janet Sweeney and Angela Vitkoski at PEC do a good job at creating a welcoming culture, and Davitt Woodell came all the way from Western PA and Patrick Starr came up from Philadelphia.  PEC is definitely a gateway that gets me up to NEPA and is doing good work throughout our state.