Jim Thorpe - The man

 

We awoke to a flurry of bird calls and one oriole stayed still long enough to get pixelated.


We drove to the top of the D&L trail and 3 of us had a 35-mile ride down to the town of Jim Thorpe.  The slight downward trail made it an easy fun ride.


I am always amused when the rail trail we are riding crosses a running railroad.


Waterfalls and views were the order of the day along with lots of people on bikes.  The traffic was quite heavy at times occupying the whole width of the trail.  I don't have any camera shots since I was busy riding when around the large groups.



At one point a few miles from Jim Thorp the rails diverged and Robert Frost's memorable statement graced the tracks going to a town that may be a ghost town now.


A passenger train leaves Jim Thorpe a couple of times per day to take passengers and tourists up river so they can ride bikes or walk the trail.  We were interested but found the train fully booked for the time slot we wanted, hence our drive to the top where we arrived minutes before the train allowing us to start our ride before the train riders started their descent. 


Jim Thorpe was a great football player and olympian in the '20s and '30s.  His Indian background and athletic ability inspired the Carlisle school for Indians in Carlisle, PA.  There is much more info about him at this memorial and online.





After our ride and visit to Jim's memorial, we dined at Penn's Peak, a restaurant in the hills not far from the town of Jim Thorpe.  The views from the deck were stunning of the hills.



The roads in Pennsylvania are slow, winding, and hilly but a joy to drive through to take in the beauty.

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