Gettin' squirrely and just nuts about it!

 August 8, 2022

This tableau is my time at Cascade Park in New Castle, PA with my son! Although the park is totally awesome with a waterfall and lots of history, the best part of this day was playing with the wildlife that we encountered along the way. I don't GET to do this type of thing with my son since he is away at college, so we took the time on this cloudy day to take a stroll around the park, but we didn't anticipate we would see so much wildlife on our walk.

You can read more details about the park via the link above, but the bottom line is this used to be an amusement park that was founded in the late 1800s. There are still some of the roller coaster that's claim to fame was going through the woods. Can you can see the rails on the picture on the left and what is left of a base on the right.

When you enter the park, you pass the ballroom that features a wooden dance floor (and can be rented for special events). We passed by the italian ice stand which is open each day (my son is on the left).

When you enter the park, you have a very large area (outside the old carousel building, which is also available to rent) that is completely dedicated to our fallen veterans. There is a monument for every American war. They are newly updated and very well kept. Here are some of my favorites.

They also have a couple areas dedicated to people who have kept the park alive over the years (I mean it has been around since 1892, so some of these people are no longer with us). Here are the ones that are at the front of the park:

There are also specific areas of the park that have features dedicated to people who have been special to the park or the park was special to them, including the gazebo and pollinator garden below. As I mentioned earlier, this park is full of history and pride from the residents of New Castle (and rightfully so).

I love waterfalls, so this is my nearby waterfall fix when I don't get to one for awhile. It is usually the highlight of my visit.

It used to be clear and the paths used to be open to walk down on to the rocks of the falls, which was really awesome (my husband and I even considered getting married on the rocks), but the trees have become overgrown and the paths closed (duh, why would you let people walk on a waterfall), but still a sight to see and listen to. You can hear the falls as soon as you go into the main park.

Usually, I spend most of my time returning to the falls or stopping on the bridges, but today, we came across oh so many squirrels (ducks, chipmunks, and a ground hog)!!! Since, as you know if you follow me, I am obsessed (some days good, some days bad) with squirrels. I will not tell the story in words, but let it unfold in all the cool action shoots and squirrel commentary below:

Okay, you got me... these are two different squirrels. We "played" with the first one for a long time, but he got scared away by the ducks of all things. The little guy was the one that came right up to us and took the peanut we found on the ground! Yes, it was very funny to watch the ducks chase the squirrels. We probably saw about 10 squirrels.

We then went across the bridge that starts to take us to the other side of the park. Of course, there was a squirrel there as well. In fact, there were about four squirrels on and around the bridge while we were in that area.

As we rounded the corner, you pass a playground, Boccee court, the pollinator garden (see photo above), and then you start up the hill back to the beginning of the park. We of course had to stop for a photo shoot on the little stage/pavilion. Then we exited back where we began. Of course, the Italian ice stand was open by that time, but we didn't have any cash on us and boy is that a steep hill to go up to get back to the parking lot to the moola, so thank you, but no thank you!

Overall... what a wonderful time! It is a quick walk, but it is hilly. I recommend if you do go to visit, when you get to the park entrance, go straight past the old coaster load platform... the hill is steeper, so it is easier going down than up!