The
Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers at Grey Towers National Historic Site 151 Grey Towers Drive Milford, PA 18337 October 3, 2014 |
![]() |
|
|
Below: The entrance from the parking lot and the building where the two RV Gypsies bought tickets for the inside tour, plus a round window that Karen Duquette liked, and some beautiful flowers. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Below; The mansion itself is a three-story L-shaped fieldstone chateau. Conical roofed towers at three of the corners gave the property its name. A service wing juts out from the fourth corner.
|
|
The front of the mansion |
The back of the mansion |
![]() |
![]() |
Below: Forest Service Department of Agriculture Building and a walkway to the rest of the grounds. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Below: In the late 1920s, the Letter Box was added. It is a small cottage intended both as an archive for Governor Pinchot's papers and an office for his political staff when he was in residence, thus isolating the office functions from the main house. Now it is used as an exhibit and public program area, and also serves as a theater where the two RV Gypsies viewed films about Grey Towers and grounds. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
Below: In the early 1930s, William Lawrence Bottomley created an unique addition known as the Finger Bowl, an outdoor dining area consisting of a raised pool surrounded by a flat ledge. Chairs were pulled up to the ledge and food was served from bowls floating on the water. It was sheltered by a wisteria-covered arbor supported by 12 stone piers. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Below: Looking up through
the top of |
Below: Beautiful flowers near |
![]() |
![]() |
Below: Lee
Duquette looked out at Karen Duquette |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Below: Cornelia Pinchot's Long Garden (with a very narrow pool of water) was designed to draw the eye to the "Bait Box" and create a "natural hallway" to the room. |
|
![]() |
|
Below: Lee Duquette spotted some caterpillars in the pool, so Karen Duquette took photographs. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Below: The Bait Box was a playhouse for the couple's son, Gifford Bryce Pinchot. Elliptical openings in the stone walls around the courtyard provided views over the surrounding landscape. It is a stone and frame structure that in later years served as a tea room for Cormelia Pinchot. Named for the family's love of fishing, the Bait Box provided a quiet respite from the activities of the main residence. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Below: The stone wall on the east side of the small courtyard features an oval aperture overlooking the grounds. Karen Duquette is seen below, looking into the Bait Box patio entrance. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Below: The back of the house and a close-up of the bust of Pinchot that is embedded in the middle of the second floor. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Below: The two RV Gypsies walked from the back of the house, past a tall eagle column and flowers, and down some stairs. |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Below: A caterpillar on the stairs |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Below: Karen Duquette had fun playing in the fall leaves at "The Tunnel of Trees." |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Below: The Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa or Benthamidia kousa) is a small deciduous tree 26 - 39 feet tall, native to Korea, much of China, Japan, Taiwan, Sikkim, Bhutan and the Ryukyu Islands. It is also reportedly naturalized in Hawaii, Connecticut and New York. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental.The Kousa Dogwood is sometimes also called Chinese Dogwood, Korean Dogwood, or Japanese Dogwood. The fruit is a globose pink to red compound berry, and is an edible, sweet and delicious addition to the tree's ornamental value. The fruit is sometimes used for making wine. It is resistant to the dogwood anthracnose disease. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Below; The two RV Gypsies took a short walk on the Pinchot Timeline Trail that led to the Laurel Hill Cemetery. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Menu for the two RV Gypsies in Pennsylvania October 2 - 8, 2014 You may visit these 11 sections in any order you choose. |
|
Raymondskill Falls |
|
Grey Towers National Historic Site (this page) |
|
Jervis Gordon Grist Mill |
|
Amazing tree sculpture in Milford |
|
fall foliage |
|
Hawk Mountain in Kempton |
|
Coal Miner Statue in Minersville |
|
Gettysburg National Military Park |
|
River Beach Campsites in Milford |
|
Echo Valley Campground in Tremont |
|
Artillery Ridge Camping Resort in Gettysburg |
|
![]() |
|
|