Two of us chose to test our mettle on the advanced hike this morning, and at 9:30 we hopped in the van with Lars at the wheel and headed for the Poconos Environmental Education Center.  Again, we took 402 to 209 north, then turned on to Brisco Mountain Road.

We are hiking on the orange-blazed Tumbling Waters Trail.

Supposedly, you can see remains of marine creatures preserved in these rocks.  The photo isn’t very good, but I’m not sure I recognized the fossils in real life.

We almost stepped on a red eft, the juvenile terrestrial stage of the red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). After two or three years on land, the eft finds a pond and transforms into the aquatic adult.  Speaking of animal sightings, there are two species of venomous snakes which live in this area, but we did not see them.

I believe we are looking through the trees at the Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey.

We stopped again to admire the view.

We arrived at a lovely little waterfall.  The dominant forest tree here is the hemlock.

Water cascading over rocks creates patterns of light and shade.

These trees, part of a pine plantation, were planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps.  I believe these are red pine (Pinus resinosa).

We arrived back where we started, at the Poconos Environmental Education Center.

According to the website, PEEC “advances environmental education, sustainable living, and appreciation for nature through hands-on experience in a national park. PEEC is one of the most respected and recognized residential environmental education centers in the northeastern United States. PEEC is a private non-profit organization and is an education partner of the National Park Service in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.This unique public/private partnership has served the education community for over forty years.”