Delaware Water Gap and Grey Towers

Despite my dislike of family campgrounds, I slept pretty well. At 5:00am there was a pretty intense thunderstorm but by daybreak it was sunny again. I decided to drive back through the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area. It was mostly a scenic drive but I came across some waterfalls at the end of the drive that were really nice.

Silver Thread FallsI love how I finally got a good picture of a waterfall where the water is all blurred together. I put my shutter on the slowest speed to get the pic.Dingmans Falls

I love this pic! I kept the green of the leaves and turned everything else black and white.

Raymondskill Falls

Driving out of the gap I saw a sign for Grey Towers Historic Site that I debated visiting. I’m so glad I decided to stop because it was stunning! It is the home of Gifford Pinchot who was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania. Pinchot is known for reforming the management and development of forests in the United States and for advocating the conservation of the nation's reserves by planned use and renewal.

I didn’t get there in time for a tour but I did get to walk around the gardens. I was just in awe of this place. Everything was just gorgeous. My absolute favorite part was the Finger Bowl. It is an outdoor dining area consisting of a raised pool surrounded by a flat ledge. Chairs were pulled up to the ledge and food was served from bowls floating on the water. It was sheltered by a wisteria-covered arbor supported by 12 stone piers. How cool is that!? If ever I am rich, I want to build me one of those.

After that it was time for the long drive home. I really enjoyed my trip to New Jersey. It was great to explore a state with so many negative connotations. There really is a lot of preserved land and sites of historical significance. One word of warning however is to beware the toll system. Sometimes its 35 cents, sometimes 50 cents and sometimes $1. Sometimes you pay when you get on, sometimes you pay while you’re driving and again when you exit. I don’t have an EZpass and I kept scrambling to find change because sometimes there are no toll collectors so you’re expected to pay exact change. At one point I threw in a $1 coin for a 35 cent toll since I couldn’t find change. I figured that covered me for the next 100 miles,lol