Presenting impressions of Jim Thorpe town on Black Friday 2016: unedited shots taken in late afternoon.
The best place to park is behind the train station, along the river. $5 for the day.
Hike up the hill to the Asa Packer Museum. The attraction is closed for the winter, but well worth the climb past the Civil War monument, so steep there are switchbacks.
Even closed the site yields detail after detail, all interesting and worth learning more about. I was fascinated by the casted buck sculpture, can you tell? Placed to greet visitors, it demands your attention.
Climb some more to explore the porch…
The sun makes an appearance, drawing attention to the other mansion of the site. Two brothers, and families, lived up here.
Of course, my interest turned to that neighboring mansion. It is a B&B. “Mystery weekends” advertised. That is a two day event. Guests, presented with a scenario, draw on their resources to solve…..a crime. Today, the façade decorated for Christmas. The entire village decorated for Christmas!! Christmas!! Christmas!!! I just love CHRISTMAS
For me, the charm of these places are the details. These pull the attentive visitor into the character of the owner and/or designer. A simple storage room dug into the hillside, designed and crafted with love in the interest of the residents who experience it everyday. Built for a lifetime and longer. The door and fittings appear to be modern, “nice work.”
A substantial finial of a thick wrought iron fence rail.
More so, the choice of building materials for retaining walls. These were spotted in the countryside, quarry or wherever by someone with an eye for unusual beauty…or a rock hounds. The boulders are carefully dressed conglomerate specimens with interesting clasts and matrix.
The museum is a place to enjoy the gathering night. Take note of the thick groves of rhododendron, native to this area: a reason to return springtime.
The surrounding hills, locally called mountains, increase the charm of the setting.
We descended into town for shopping, dinner at Molly Maquire’s and a show in the Mauch Chunk Opera house. The village was named Mauch Chunk previously until the town fathers decided to rename it to Jim Thorpe, the notable native American sports star, in a then failed effort to encourage tourism. The last decade business has improved.
Molly Maguire’s Irish Pub is a fine place for a companionable meal. Pam and I enjoyed the New York Strip steak with, of course, potatoes. A baked potato for me. Pam had the red skinned garlic mashed potatoes.
The pub is located near the train station.
If you don’t know about the Molly Macguires…google ’em.
A few more notable details.
Ahhhh, nature….
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Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
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