We had a lot planned for today! We headed out early this morning to hike the South Park Trail at Lake Nockamixon State Park in Bucks County. The smooth, twisty singletrack would be amazing for mountain biking, and we did indeed see a few mountain bikers enjoying the trail while we were there.
It’s probably predictable that I would fit some benchmark hunting into today’s plans. I had some interesting marks on the list for today! First, we searched for (and found) a mark set into the stone wall of a church very close to the state park. After that, we spent some time searching for a triangulation station called ELEPHANT (partly because it’s an old tri-station, but also, I admit, partly because of its name). The mark apparently got its name from the hamlet of Elephant in which it is situated … but why is that particlar crossroads called Elephant?!
This is what I discovered at livingplaces.com:
Elephant consists of a tavern and two houses at the intersection of Ridge Rd and Elephant Road. The name of this hamlet originates from the Elephant Hotel sign which portrays the image of a white elephant. The original sign was obtained by Dr. Henry Mercer and now hangs in Doylestown’s Mercer Museum. A replica of the first sign still swings from the small crossroads tavern. The ruins of a stone foundation occupy one corner of the intersection.
Next on the list was an easy landmark station, a church spire (at Quakertown Tohickon Church) also very close to the park. Then we headed into the town of Bethlehem.
By this time we were hungry, so we stopped for a bite to eat at the Bethlehem Brew Works. Rich had the excellent idea to check BenchMap for any nearby benchmarks we might be able to find before heading to the Banff Film Festival World Tour showing at Northampton Community College. I knew there were no disks nearby, but I was pleased to see that at least there was a landmark station within easy walking distance. Dad was most agreeable to the plan, so we took a quick stroll to the corner of E. Market St. and School St., and easily found and documented another church spire.