Hi Everyone!!! I hope you all have been enjoying the Fall season!!! Winter will be upon us soon so my parents and I have been getting out as much as we can, although we certainly hope that we can still get out in the winter too! We've been doing lots of running on the trails (I just finished my first 8-mile run today!) and we've been getting out for a lot of fun hikes as well. One of our favorite places to hike is High Point State Park. High Point is the highest peak of the Kittatinny Mountains and is the highest elevation in the state of NJ at 1,804 feet. A leaf peeping trip to the top of High Point will provide spectacular views of Fall foliage in three different states (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania). I certainly like the view from up there because I definitely like to keep my eyes on things and there's plenty to see from that vantage point!
The site of High Point State Park was once the High Point Inn, which was built in 1888. The inn was advertised in national magazines as a place to behold mountain scenery and partake of spring water; it was open for almost 20 years, before it went bankrupt in 1909. The inn was then purchased, from the National Bank of Port Jervis, by Anthony R. Kuser, a prominent New Jersey businessman and philanthropist. The Kuser family's business interests included companies such as the Peoples Brewing Company, Fox Film Corporations, Prudential Insurance and Mercer Automobile. The Kuser family transformed the High Point Inn into a country estate mansion with an accompanying private wildlife sanctuary. However, the family seldom used the estate and as such, they eventually donated the mansion, along with 10,000 acres of tree-filled mountaintop, to the state of New Jersey in 1923. The High Point Park Commission was created to oversee the property and the mansion was initially used as the park's headquarters and to offer lodging to travelers "automobiling" through the park. The park headquarters were relocated to their curent location on Route 23 but rooms were still available for visitors until 1977, when the mansion had to be closed to the public due to its age and neglect. Although the mansion was destroyed in 1995, there's still an impressive monument at the top of High Point, that was also donated by Anthony R. Kuser, in honor of veterans. The monument is 111 feet tall and is a great local landmark, especially for pilots who fly into the Sussex Airport, including my Dad, who has been flying out of Sussex Airport for a few years now.
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In addition to our runs and hikes, we've been getting our fill of apples from our favorite local farm Windy Brow Farms. My Mom and Dad love their ice cream. My Mom always gets a non-chocolate flavor and saves me a bit of hers (too small a bit in my humble opinion) and I also enjoy it immensely! It will soon be somewhat cold for ice cream eating (although truthfully, it's cold for it now but we're a bunch of very dedicated ice cream eaters in our house) and the holidays will be upon us! I wish you all a very, very happy Thanksgiving holiday and I hope it's a fun and laughter-filled time with family. Make sure you remember to give a couple of pieces of turkey to any fur-clad family members!!! ;) I look forward to checking back with you all in December!
With lots of love and sloppy puppy kisses,
Piper, the Rescue Mutt
