July 12 - 19
Spread your wings and reach for the Skylands this and every week this summer. Don't wait; the days are already getting shorter!
Crafts in the Country
Wilbur's Country Store has been hosting craft fairs for 38 years. This weekend, July 14-15, craftspeople and artists will set up their wares in a real country setting, on the lawn behind Wilbur's barn-style complex. Crafts include jewelry, pottery, quilting, folk art, dolls, decorative signs and country wood items, silk and dried flower arrangements, stained glass creations, pillows, toys, children’s clothes, bird houses and much, much, more! Located at 735 Route 94 in Frelinghuysen, between Newton and Blairstown, Wilbur's is the perfect destination on a drive through the New Jersey countryside. For more information about Wilbur's or the fair, click or call 908-362-8833.
Tune Up!
Lee Rocker at Centenary University in Hackettstown on Saturday.
Strut your stuff this Saturday (July 14, 8pm) as Centenary Stage Company's Summer Jamfest gets a rocking lift-off with Lee Rocker. This Bass Player Hall of Famer had much to do with the Stray Cats popularity, as his fanatic following of rockers and rebels will tell you.
Next Saturday (July 21), the George Gee Orchestra packs a lot of swing into compact songs and tight, well-organized sets: long enough to catch a groove, and short enough to catch your breath! The Jamfest continues with performances scheduled through August 11 at Centenary University's Lackland Center, 715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown. Call 908/979-0900 or click for tickets.
Mothers of Invention
The Van-Bunschooten Museum in Wantage
Since the turn of the 20th Century, New Jersey's Daughters of the American Revolution have been inventing ways to preserve our heritage. For the past forty-four years, Sussex County's D.A.R. chapter has been concerned with the renovation of a house built around 1787 as well as its preservation as the Van-Bunschooten Museum. This weekend's (July 13-15) Christmas in July Open House is the best way to get acquainted with this story of post-Revolutionary settlement. The house is located at 1097 Route 23 North in Wantage.
Email with questions or concerns.
In Morristown, the
Schuyler-Hamilton House is where Alexander Hamilton courted Betsy Schuyler during the War for Independence. Next Saturday (July 21), Patricia Sanftner, a member of the local D.A.R., and curator of the Schuyler-Hamilton House, will guide a walking tour through Morristown visiting sites associated with Alexander Hamilton’s stay here in 1777 and 1779-80. The tour is one of several planned for this summer by the Morris County Tourism Bureau.
Short Walks on the Long Trail
The Appalachian Trail,
which stretches over two thousand miles from Georgia to Maine, enters New Jersey at the Delaware Water Gap, heads north along the Kittatinny Ridge to High Point, then east through the Pochuck Valley. The
72-mile New Jersey section
is mostly undeveloped, and striking panoramas -- comparable to those in the Blue Ridge, Berkshire, and White Mountains, even the fabled Great Smokies -- are not uncommon along this rugged and remote section of trail.
You can
explore the midsection of New Jersey's Appalachian Trail
as it traverses two of our most celebrated state parks — High Point and Stokes Forest — and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, along a 45-mile route along the Kittatinny Ridge through Sussex and Warren counties. Country lanes or park roads every few miles intersect the entire stretch so that you can plan any number of modest day hikes along the AT. Or take a couple of days to walk the whole distance. Elevation in this section ranges from 350 to 1,685 feet, and, if you prefer to walk downhill most of the time, hike north to south. You can conquer the Trail this summer by taking
these suggested day hikes.
Twilight Time
Craters of the moon, photographed from 238,855 miles away at the UACNJ site in Jenny Jump State Forest by Wolfgang Damm, NWJAA.What better occupation on a serene summer evening than to star gaze? The United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey (UACNJ) facilities in Jenny Jump State Forest, near Hope in Warren County, are 1,100 feet above sea level, one of the few dark sky locations left in the state. And at Voorhees State Park in Glen Gardner, the New Jersey Astronomical Association has installed a 26-inch Newtonian reflector telescope, one of the largest privately owned telescopes in New Jersey.
But there's more than stars in the sky. How about fireflies? Experience their magic at this Friday's Firefly Festival at Duke Farms! It's free, but please register in advance.
Camp Skylands!
View of Delaware Water Gap from atop Mt. Tammany - direct trail access from Camp Taylor Campground.
For more than fifty years, campers have been drawn to the Genuine Outdoor Experience at Camp Taylor Campground. Located on 350 acres adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, this family-owned and operated campground offers direct access to the state's most majestic and pristine terrain. That's not to say that Camp Taylor is for rugged wilderness tenters only; there are deluxe cabins, fully outfitted RVs, and "glamping" tent rentals as well. An extra, added bonus: Lakota Wolf Preserve makes its home at Camp Taylor! 85 Mt. Pleasant Road, Columbia, 908/496-4333.
Forward Thinking!
Tickets to ride!
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While you wait for the mailman, tap our calendar for the best events for you and your family, or check our current stories. Stay tuned to our Day Trip Map for good ideas for a scenic drive! For the more aerobically inclined, the
Outdoor Map
shows the way to go, or
choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website. Northwest New Jersey and destinations just beyond those borders, in Pennsylvania and New York, offer brilliant ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season.
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