Western NJ and Lehigh Valley again

[mortonfox]

Sunny and about 80 - 88°F. Had another go at the Western NJ / Lehigh Valley corridor. I spent more time in Western NJ today because I did a bunch of geocaches along riverside trails and rail trails south of I-78 between Raritan and Pittstown. After that, I crossed over to Lehigh Valley and continued geocaching where I left off last week in Whitehall. The last two geocaches were at and near the Allentown Rest Area by the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I found the back road (actually, the staff entrance) leading to the rest area so I didn't actually have to use the PA Turnpike to get there.

Dinner was at the Sheetz store in Bethlehem because a nachoz grande with everything on it was calling my name. This will probably be the last Lehigh Valley trip for a while. For one thing, I've run up against the Western boundary of my geocaching area in LV. For another, some undesirable elements have shown up there. I encountered a couple of impatient and/or careless motorists in Allentown, including one who nearly got me into an accident by sliding out of a ramp at 15mph right into 55mph traffic on US-22. Another undesirable element was the group of loitering, smoking teens at the Sheetz store. They also apparently don't believe in using mufflers on their cars and motorcycles. However, my mistake there was in not learning from what happened the last time. I should've gone to Sheetz in Whitehall instead, where the customer base is nicer.

Got home and wondered why police were pulling people over at several places in town. Probably just late night speeding enforcement.

Sunny Side Up (New Jersey)
Sunny Side Down (New Jersey)
Baily's Second Cache (New Jersey)
"Carpooling" Creek Cache (New Jersey)
Wooden Bridge Cache (New Jersey)
Tiny Often Empty Park: Pittstown, NJ (New Jersey)
Magnetic Anomaly: Clinton, NJ (New Jersey)
"Birth of Freedom" (Pennsylvania)
No PAF's Please! VI (Pennsylvania)
What's In A Name? (Pennsylvania)
No PAF's Please! IV (Pennsylvania)
Six Star Micro Stash (Pennsylvania)
Cache to Cash series #1 "Road Trip to AC" (Pennsylvania)

Comments

[pewter-skunk.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure which Sheetz you were at, but I agree that central Allentown has really gone downhill since I grew up there. Even Whitehall can be dangerous, but I suppose it is still more pleasant because it is a shopping area rather than a congested residential area. Oddly enough, if you keep going further West on rt.22, it gets much nicer. Rt.309 would take you to the house where I grew up. And beyond Rt. 309 is Foglesville, which has some beautiful country hills.

[mortonfox.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been to Fogelsville and Upper Macungie around I-78 and Route 100. It's not as crowded. Lots of open countryside. I was in that area early this year for the Lehigh Valley Geocachers breakfast event. I think it's sad that so many areas are going downhill. It's not just Allentown, but also parts of Bethlehem and even Easton. Lehigh Valley is far more interesting than Western NJ but just a few bad things can spoil a trip. I hope the same fate doesn't befall Central Pennsylvania. I love all those small towns I stopped at on my way to Anthrocon.