Keystone Confidential

Keystone Confidential: "Keystone Confidential
By Cindy Loose
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 4, 2005; Page C02
On dark winter days when I dream of spring, I often think of Spruce Creek, Pa. Of weeping willow trees, their branches trailing into water that rushes so rapidly over the limestone creek bed that it makes the sound of a waterfall.
The views in this place you've probably never heard of, just 3 1/2 hours from Washington, are about the finest I've ever seen. If, for example, you hike, bike or drive the dirt road through Rothrack State Forest, you will at several points turn a corner and see the valley laid below, with a patchwork of fields that stretch to the multiple ridges of the Allegheny Mountains. Two picturesque waterways, the Little Juniata River and Spruce Creek, converge at the village of Spruce Creek, which is about 20 winding miles from State College, home of Penn State University.


Within the town of Spruce Creek, Pa., the view from Rothrock State Forest's Colerain is well worth the hike or drive. The area is known, but not widely, for world-class fly-fishing and Amish enclaves. (Photos By Gary M. Baranec For The Washington Post)

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I first came here as a child. As an adult, I've had a recurring dream that I own a little summer cottage along the creek. Finally, last weekend, I returned to find that the area is as bucolic as ever, but with a few changes. First, the Amish have settled a number of the farms in the adjoining valley. Secondly, a half-dozen or so bed-and-break"