Are your taste buds ready for the next New Trail Brewing state park series entry? 

Here's your chance to support the restoration of the Civilian Conservation Corps buildings at French Creek State Park. The brew ships this week to your favorite retailers. Check the Beer Finder and track yours down. 

The first opportunity will be at a tap takeover at Barley Mow Craft Beer House in West Reading on October 25th from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM. Marci will be there along with the French Creek Park Manager James Wassell and folks from New Trail. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Find out more about the restoration efforts at the PPFF website's Special Funding Initiatives page. 

Two of the three newest state parks are in the news and on our minds. Weigh in on the future of development of Susquehanna Riverlands by completion of DCNR's Master Plan Public Survey. Survey response requested by November 1.

That phase has already been completed for Big Elk Creek. Next up? The public meeting that will address results of the survey and present preliminary design plans. The meeting will take place on November 6 at Lincoln University as below. 

Meeting Details:

• Date: November 6, 2023
• Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
• Location: Lincoln University’s International Cultural Center Auditorium
• 1570 Baltimore Pike, Lincoln University, PA 19352
• Campus Map: https://www.lincoln.edu/_files/campus-map.pdf (building 121)

Please RSVP to BigElkCreekSP@pa.gov by October 23, 2023. Please contact the park office with any questions, comments, or concerns.

The Friends of Weiser-Haldeman Tract were out on Sunday staging some lovely long bridge beams nearly a mile from the trailhead to the location of a new bridge along the Preserve Line Trail. DCNR will finish up construction but look for the Friends to put out the call for a work day in the spring for covering the bridge with some anti-slip coating.

Big thanks go out to all the young (and not-so-young) bucks who came out to help with the beam-totin'. Friends Chair Jim reminds everyone to come out to the Forest this fall and enjoy the gorgeous trails of the Haldeman Tract. Good advice!

Coincidentally, tomorrow is Bridge Day (third Saturday of October) down in West Virginia wherein the New River Gorge Bridge is closed to automobiles and various daredevil types leap or rappel over the edge. To each his own for sure.

The indigenous nation whose identity I sought in the last trivia session was the Shawnee.

As All Hallow's Eve approacheth, we know there are some interesting and potentially spooky plants out there, including this Doll's Eyes (white baneberry) found by Marci this week.

How about you go out and find me something creepy to include in a special post next week?

Enter each week to increase your chances of a fabulous prize at the end of the month when I'll draw one entry from all correct answers received during the month.