Pennsylvania - Day 7 - Museum of Indian Culture

Allentown KOA, PA
Saturday, 7 April 2018

This morning when I was out with the dogs, we heard what sounded like a wildcat warning of an imminent attack.  Both dogs alerted and wanted to go check it out.  That scared me almost as much as the sound, and I made them retreat the way we'd come.  In the pitch dark, the sound was extra spooky.

It turns out that there are bobcats throughout Pennsylvania, and they're seen as helpful in keeping the small mammal populations down.  I've seen plenty of rabbits - I even saw one in the parking lot at the last Walmart, heading towards a Wendy's - it was closed but maybe the rabbit knew where they threw out their lettuce.  Anyway, it might actually have been a bobcat we heard and I'm glad we didn't have any closer contact.

The weather reports keep saying the temps are 10° to 15° below normal.  But I have my new shoes now, so I'm sure this is going to stop soon.

continuing winter at French Creek State Park

Just before we left this morning, I walked the dogs around the campground and we came across a couple of little kids playing with radio controlled cars.  The dogs were absolutely fascinated.  It was pretty funny to watch them watching the cars apparently zipping around on their own.

A short way down the road, we passed a sign indicating Daniel Boone's Homestead and I decided we had plenty of time for a visit.  He was born there in 1738, and the family lived there until 1750.  Actually, the cabin he was born in was torn down after the family moved away but a stone house they built before they moved is still there.

The brown stone house is the one his family built.  Nearby, the state had a little museum and did different kinds of tours.  There was a sawmill and some other buildings that PA had preserved.  It was interesting.

Only about 5 miles out of our way to the new campground is a place called Museum of Indian Culture.  I'd heard about it in one of the children's books I read about PA and decided to take a look.  It was little but a very good museum.  They had pottery that was 4000 years old.  They had baskets and intricate beadwork and porcupine quill decorations on various items.  They had a birchbark cradle with beautiful decoration.  They had a uniform from one of the men on Iwo Jima, and one that belonged to a WAC and an exhibit on the Code Talkers.  They had many flints and stone implements.  Just all kinds of things.  I'd expected it to focus on the Natives of Pennsylvania but, instead, they tried to present information on all American Indians.  Of course what they had the most of was local stuff, but they had things from all over.  I can absolutely recommend this stop.

The campground I left had acquired quite a few campers for Friday night - a surprising number of whom were in tents.  I mean, it's been really cold at night.  This new campground, though, isn't at all overloaded, which is just as well because they're having to shut off some of their water faucets due to nighttime freezes.

Tomorrow I'll see what I can find in Allentown and Bethlehem.  At least, I will if the roads don't ice - there were some serious grades and winding roads getting in here, which means they'll still be there when we're ready to get out again.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.