Thanks for reminding us to take advantage of our state's treasured places! I love DeLeon Springs for a cook-at-your-table pancake breakfast on cold mornings and a walk along the nature trail. Gemini Springs is 6 miles from my house, and it is a beautiful place to walk my dogs and see nature, too. And Wekiva Springs is my favorite in this area. Mark and I were married on the arched bridge there, with ospreys circling overhead and turtles sunning below us. For camping, I like Alexander Springs and Juniper Springs, though Mark & I really prefer to backpack in somewhere more private. We can't do that right now with the problems they've been having in the Ocala Forest, so it's campgrounds all the way until they clean it up around there. Our State Parks are treasures we should support in every way we can. We have many, usually centered around a body of water of some sort, and most are really beautiful. You can even get some good gardening ideas from them. I've always wanted to go to Torreya in the panhandle area, but haven't made it there yet. Anyone been? Great thread! Marcia

Hi Tom, Last year was the first time I went. The farm staff had a presentation first - last year it was about a senior citizen/teen gardening project. There was seating for it but not enough for everybody. In the meantime, the children's seed art was in the room next to it. Once the presentation was done, the farm staff and other contributors set out their seeds - mostly in labelled bulk bags with coin envelopes and a pen or 2, for people to help themselves. I'm sure zip bags with slips of paper are fine. It helps to bring your own pen or marker, and a bag or pocket to stash your acquisitions. I hadn't known ahead of time how to do it so I'd already packaged up little packets with name and description. As it turned out, I'm glad I did because it wasn't a situation where you agree upon a trade. People just take what they want. The atmosphere was similar to the Incredible Edibles Clean Out Swap on the Round Robin Forum (which I recommend). You donate the (viable) seeds you know you really don't need, and have a possibility of picking up some stuff you've been looking for or just new things to try. In the meantime, a lot of people who have nothing to share may end up with a good percentage of it (can you count your contribution as a tax deduction if you go home with less than you shared?). I would say bring only the seeds you can easily spare. Most of the other contributors seemed to stay by their seeds - not to trade but to answer questions. One person even brought a seed catalog so folks could look up the pictures, etc. Because I had put descriptions on all my packets, I felt comfortable just setting them out on a spare end of a table for people to take as they wanted while I milled around the other tables looking for what I would like before it was gone. It was crowded last year and I didn't ask if that was normal. I wonder if the economy brought out a lot more gardener wannabees. I don't know how it will be this year but if a lot of seed savers bring our extra seed, we should also have a good chance to pick up things that we want. Last year, I mostly saw vegetable seeds (which was what I was looking for) but did hear some buzz about flower seeds being offered. I'd say a lot more people were interested in veggies, but flower seeds would not be inappropriate. Once the presentation was over, it was pretty much all standing and milling, so extra chairs would not be helpful. Indeed, if it's as crowded as it was last year, it might be nice to clear some of the chairs out of the way so there's more room. A small fold-up table might be useful if it's easy to carry. It depends on how many people show up with seeds to contribute, because they do already have a few tables. The seeds didn't get brought out until after the presentation, so the only reason to show up early is to get a closer parking spot and a chance to sit through the presentation (which lasted a little over 1/2 hour if I recall). I would guess that there were roughly 40-45 adults but the economic downturn (or cabin fever) might have increased the crowd. If anyone else has been to this event before, please share your experiences.

Parker Dam is half an hour below St. Mary's, about fifteen minutes above Clearfield, right off I-80. We are headed back there end of this month to see the baby elk. Never even heard of the Ice Mine at Coudersport, but nearby is an old lumber camp which is worth a visit, near Galeton. http://www.lumbermuseum.org/ It has original equipment and one original building, I belive, and you can really learn how the loggers guys lived. I highly recommend a visit. Yes, very familiar with the Kinzua Bridge. The year it fell down, two weeks before we were headed to see it on the way to Erie where my daughter lives, she called me and said, "Uh, Mom, I have some bad news for you...." Actually, the locals say it's had more traffic since the tornado knocked it down! We did go see the wreckage, it's worth the trip. Here is a link that might be useful: Pa Lumber Museum

Some wag said that at International Falls, the water spilling over the falls is frozen by the time it hits bottom - makes an awful racket - keeps the whole town awake and that explains some of the grumpy behavor of the inhabitants in winter.