off the beaten path.

tin_can · Dec 30, 2006

im planning on going early tomorrow to md on a towpath along the lehigh canal in bethlehem pa (google it, its cool!). its off the beaten trail and its new years eve, and its cold. do you think i will be met with much resistance? i only ask because i seriously have no idea who to approach about that area other than the cops, and i have a feeling with all the historic signifigance in that town that they would NOT say ok...someone here said its better to ask forgiveness than permission!

i live right next to bethlehem, and its been historically active for hundreds of years, but this is one of the places i know i wont get in trouble md'ing. here is a link for some info on the canal:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/delaware/canal.htm

you cant imagine (well some of you easterners may be able to) how much crap could be found in the city of bethlehem if only i could figure out who to talk to. there is a building where washington and jefferson stayed, ben franklin made his way here, moravians were here since 1741, musikfest is held here, and so much more.

so many coins!

here is a link for bethlehem:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem,_Pennsylvania

and a link for musikfest, which draws about a million people during 10 days...lots of dropped change!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musikfest

so tell me your thoughts on ALL i have written about and if anyone lives close by then come on down and we can detect this town!

Carol K · Dec 30, 2006

Thanks for the invite. I think you are going to do well, but oh what a huge area to cover. Hopefully the ground is not frozen there yet? First time out, I think sticking to the tow path is a good idea, and you may be surprised what you find. Are there like river banks along the canal? That's where I would be, also where people would sit to take in the view.

Cool looking place.

tin_can · Dec 30, 2006

there are definitely some banks there; i will make my way to those first. thanks for the tip! the ground isnt frozen from what i know, i was out last week in the rain and it was fine. hopefully i wont be met by rock solid earth tomorrow morning!

Carol K · Dec 31, 2006

If you could check the banks first I think that would be a good idea. I have found that over the years things wash down from the bank and is just laying there. Most of our oldest coins were on the bank, not even 2 inches down, practically laying on top. Best of luck!

tin_can · Jan 1, 2007

well, the canal turned out to be a flop, at least for now (im sure ill be back soon.) it was littered with beer cans and bottles and pull tabs and such, and i only found one thing there, some lump of metal which i will be cleaning soon to see what the heck it is. ill be back sometime in the spring to try again. it angered me how much of a dump that place was! i did bag some trash, but it would take a whole task force to clean that place up!

in order to make myself feel better i hit up a tot lot near my moms house in bethlehem and bagged a few coins as redemption. only about 6, but for a beginner like me and a morning like i had, well 6 is golden for now :yes:

carol, when you hit banks do you actually hit the edge of the water? it was too cold to be all wet, but i thought about that...perhaps come spring/summer i will try that if you think its where the goodies are...

Carol K · Jan 1, 2007

Sorry to hear it was so trashed. Hmmm I guess we should of expected that as old as it is. But our riverbank is pretty trashed too. I think at one time it was a iron dump. We picked up bags and bags of old corroded metal pieces. And still to this day I can go back down there and it's like we didn't pick up nothing.

Ok so next trip start on the tow path, take it slow, and not like you have to cover a major area all in one day. It's possible the banks have all been rebuilt or filled in because of erosion.

Do boats go out in the canal? Is there a marina?

tin_can · Jan 2, 2007

well here is what it looks like. i was on the towpath, in between the lehigh canal on my left (if i was facing east) and the lehigh river on my right. towpath is now a gravel path, probably redone within the past 30 yrs? and the bank of the towpath is too steep. i ended up on the lehigh river side and started to hit clearings and banks on the river.

there is another path on the other side of the canal, but it looks like a rundown railroad track that runs along the canal. you think its worth trying? i mean, what could i find along a track, the only people who probably went that way were the folks who built it i suppose.

perhaps ill take pictures next time? then you can give your opinion on whats there.

Carol K · Jan 2, 2007

There was a period of time where there were bums jumping the trains. (Hobos?)They used to camp by the trains too, so you really never know what you are going to find.

You might even find a Hobo Nickel

http://www.hobonickels.org/scraps13.htm#hobojeep

The name "Hobo" first started appearing in the early 1800's. Before the Civil War many hobos had taken to the rails as a way of life. Around the time of the Civil War, railroads were being built a an astonishing rate and in the early 1870's there were between 50,000 and 60,000 miles of track interwoven throughout the United States. During the early days late 1880's a depressed economy was certainly prevalent, times were hard and hoboes took to the rails in great numbers, hitchhikers were also increasing, nobody had any money to go anywhere and pay the ticket to get there"

Plus people use to put coins on the track so the train would smash them.

steve in so la · Jan 20, 2007

I saw a word origin site that said the word "hobo" came from the farm boys who rode the rails. They were "Hoe Boys" shortened to hobos. steve in so az

Shark81 · Apr 11, 2015

Bethlehem, Pa

any further info on detecting in Bethlehem? Who to contact? Where is fair game?

Just got my first setup going, did the back yard and alley, now I don't want to stop. Looking to see how to get permission .

Thanks

off the beaten path.

tin_can

Full Member

Carol K

Co-owner

tin_can

Full Member

Carol K

Co-owner

tin_can

Full Member

Carol K

Co-owner

tin_can

Full Member

Carol K

Co-owner

steve in so la

Shark81

New Member

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