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We are known as PaWingers or just The Wingers by our Geocaching friends. When we found our first cache we had to come up with a name to log the find. We came up with this name simply because of residing in Pa. and because one of our many passions is cruising this beautiful country on our Honda Goldwing. Aside from geocaching we are passionate about most anything outdoors including hiking, kayaking, snowmobiling and biking. We are blessed beyond words with a wonderful son and daughter in law. We're also blessed with some terriffic family and friends. We consider ourselves very fortunate due to the fact that after being married over 40 years we still enjoy these things together.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Ya' don't see this everyday!

I think you would agree these two photo's satisfy the necessary requirements of a "Whoda' Thunk".  We were up in the Chautauqua area to do a bit of kayaking and this caused us a bit of a double take.  This is what's known as good old Amish ingenuity.  Gotta say though we were a bit disappointed that the horse wasn't wearing an old fishing hat.  And here we thought the Amish spent all their time in the fields.  Whoda' Thunk!!


Sunday, April 17, 2011

A bond that lasted an eternity!

Although we aren't certain of the details that led up to this memorial, the bond between these two is very obvious.  The inscriptions are so simple but carry so much meaning.  The chain continues to hold these two together.  In reality the bond between these two was forever and far stronger than the chain that link them now.  The chain will eventually rust and fall away while the friendship will last until eternity.  Whoda' Thunk something so amazing is within a mile of our home.


Beauty at the conclusion of a stormy day!

April showers sure can make things grow but it can also ruin a long awaited weekend.  Saturday was pretty much a wash with rain, high winds and then fog pretty much all day long.  Just when we figured the day would end like it had started, the rain stopped and the sun began to show itself thru the heavy clouds moments before it would set for the day.  Whoda' Thunk that a miserable day could have ended in such beauty, but it sure did!


Monday, April 11, 2011

Whoda' Thunk Elk could act like little kids.

Typically Elk pretty much act like Elk.  They eat grass, sleep and poop, same routine every day. However when a puddle of water enters the equation all bets are off.  It seems that Elk can be pretty much like little kids when there is a puddle nearby and they don't think anyone is watching.  On this day we were watching and many of them took turns running and splashing in the puddle.  It's important to note that this puddle was in one small corner of the field and there was no reason for them to be in that puddle other than to splash and play.  Yup, elk can be silly!


Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Lost Children of the Alleghenies

I don't know if many of you have ever heard of the Lost Children of the Alleghenies.  It's a true but tragic story.  One of the images that I have attached explains what happened here so it isn't necessary for me to explain it again.  A couple years back we had heard about this and since then knew we had to visit the spot where these sweet children were found.

The theme of this Blog is and will remain "Whoda' Thunk", but this post will not follow that theme.  Instead the main substance of this post will be "WHY".  These "WHY" statements are based on our feelings and observations.

WHY is it that when you stand where the children were found does the hair stand up on the back of your neck?

WHY do you feel a constant chill up and down your spine even on a warm summer day?

WHY do you feel a constant breeze at your back yet the leaves on a nearby oak tree remain motionless?

WHY does the creaking of a distant tree sound like the cry of a small child?

WHY does the sound of the nearby brook  mimic the sound of a children's lullaby?

WHY did these children have to endure this frightening experience?

WHY did these children have to perish?

We will never have answers to these questions but the visit was very moving to us.  We stood there imagining the horror that these poor children had to endure.  This location is far from any populated area and not easy to find but we are glad we made the effort and paid our respects.



Sheltered from the rain.

Allegheny National Forest sure has lots of opportunities for hiking.  This cold and rainy February day we decided to get out and enjoy a nice walk to shake of the winter cobwebs.  One thing about living in Pa. you just never know what the weather will be like from one moment to the next.  This particular day the snow turned to a nice cold rain.  We sought shelter in what appeared to be a cozy rock shelter.  Well, whoda' thunk that this particular cave had a story to tell.  As it turned out others also thought it was a special place.  See the pictures.

This plaque was actually attached to the wall of the shelter cave.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Whoda' thought nature was so crafty!

Here's something that you just have to look at and say, "whoda' thunk"!  And whoda' thunk this is probably a mere 6 miles from our house.  Nature sure can be crafty and artistic.  This formation is known as Umbrella Rock but I think it looks more like a Golden Eagle perched on the edge of a cliff.  Since there is nothing in front of it to give it scale, it is difficult to decipher the size.  Trust us when we say it is large.  It's called Umbrella Rock because you can easily stand under the overhangs to get shelter from the rain.  This is a a wonder of nature that can best be appreciated by standing before it instead of looking at a picture of it.  You will surely stand in awe and mutter these words...Whoda' Thunk"!!


Tragedy in the winter of 1909.

We will never forget the night that we stumbled onto this memorial.  It was nearly dusk and we were a good ways from our vehicle and we couldn't believe what we were seeing.  It's important to note that this is definitely miles from any civilization and right smack in the middle of nowhere.  This gentleman must have been highly thought of by his hunting companions to have erected this memorial in his memory.  Whoda' thunk there would be something like this back in the boonies.  Ya' just never know what is around the next corner or over the next hill.  It's things like this that powers our curiosity.

Some memorials are so monumental.

We ran into these two memorials in State College a few years back.  They really caught our eye because of their design..  What really caught our eye is the name on the motorcycle monument.  Whoda' thunk there would be our last name engraved on it.  The motor home was also awesome and the detail was amazing.  It seems as though every cemetery has monuments that stand out from the others.




Okay, let's move on to these next two memorials.  These were not located in a cemetery but instead we spotted these in places that you probably have driven by and never saw them.  Gotta say the one seemed real unusual.  Instead of the typical, RIP or Sadly Missed, this one simply has the name and "killed by a two ton rock".  Talk about getting away from mainstream.  The other one was also an eyecatcher.  We loved the engraving.  It was like they just began chiseling and then they decided they should insert the word "here".  Apparently the cross was chiseled first and then the text had to just fit in however it could.    We are always on the lookout for monuments in unexpected places and always causes the old "Whoda' Thunk"!!



Whoda' thunk there would be a street intersection with my wife's name.

Before I say another word I want to assure everyone that this picture is real and not Photoshopped in any way.  We were on a little ride on the Goldwing and we happened to notice the street sign that said Dorsey Ave.  We thought that was neat and decided to take a picture at the next sign.  It was then that we noticed that the intersecting street was named Jeanne St.  Whoda' thunk in a million years there would be a street intersection with my wifes name!  Everyday holds a new surprise.


Nature can be cool!

Whoda' thunk that a tree could grow like this.  It's called the Arch Tree and it's not too far from the campground at Sinnemahoning State Park.  On the right side of the arch there is just barely enough room to slide your hand under the tree and along the ground. 


Whoda' thunk we would find this on our hike.

We were on a hike up on the mountain high above Kinzua Dam.  We were just walking along just enjoying the day when we happened upon this hand carved memorial out in the middle of the boonies.  We thought it was very touching but whoda' thunk we would run into something like this on top of that mountain.

Humans and dogs and horses, oh my!!

We were strolling through a park up in Portville NY and stumbled onto this fountain.  Whoda' thunk that they would have built a drinking fountain for humans, horses and dogs.  Yup, that's just what they did.  The dogs got their drink out of the lower trough, and humans drank out of the fountain direstly above the dogs.  The horses had a big trough on the other side that was the perfect height for them to sip away.  Whoda' thunk about satisfying the thirst of man and beast.  Someone surely did!


Orange County Grouches

Okay, Paul Sr is on the left and Paul Jr is on the right but whoda' thunk Jeanne knew these guys. 

Rocking the night away!!

Whoda' thunk a bunch of rocking chairs could have made such a cool picture.  Well, at least we thought it was cool.  Hope you do also.


You are probably wondering why this is a "Whoda' thunk" image.

We had been hiking in the rain in the Quehanna area and came upon this beautiful spot.  We were well aware of the bridge being there so that is not the reason for it making it into the "Whoda' thunk" Blog.  The reason this image was a "Whoda' thunk" moment is because we were drenched from hiking in the rain and did a couple quick self timer photos by balancing the camera on a rock and then ran like crazy to be in the picture.  When we uploaded the images we said, "whoda' thunk" these would have been such cool pictures.



A young mans love of flight lives on.

Many of our "Whoda' thunk" moments occurs in cemeteries.  It absolutely amazes us as to the thought and emotion that goes into many of the memorials.  This one is in Boalsburg Pa and apparently this young man had a love for flight from his early childhood.  Very touching to say the least.

Rothrock Tunnel

We were running around the Rothrock State Forest area doing a little biking and hiking and we run smack dab into this awesome tunnel.  When one looks at this picture you invision the smaller opening to be quite small, more like for drainage.  In reality, you can easily sit or stand on your bike and pedal easily through this opening.  The other side of the tunnel is rather crude in comparison but awesome just the same.  This was definitely a "whoda' thunk" moment.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Picture running into this in the middle of nowhere.

You can't imagine how surprised we were when we discovered this monument back in the woods.  Someone went to a lot of effort to lay the brickwork and haul this back in the woods.



First entry on the new Blog

Well, this will be the first entry on our new Blog.  We had been hiking along the bank at the upper end of East Branch and found this single Wild Rose.  Whoda' thunk there would be a single Red Rose growing there just for her.  I picked it and presented it to her.  I clearly remember earning brownie points for that.