Walkin in the Woods

Last Tuesday held the promise of rain and the breezes were chilly. They gave me an idea of what would be soon coming. The furnace has already been turned on and I was wearing my winter flannels.

    Not one to let the possibility of rain keep me at home, I went out to take a walk. Naturally, there were a couple geocaches involved.

    In a small nature park near the Hampton Township Library, I found the first cache. It was a simple walk along a flat though bumpy path. Not a hundred yards from the car, I startled a flock of at least 15 turkeys. They hustled up the hillside and into the woods above. It’s always nice to seeing wildlife!

    There are times when geocaches hidden in the woods can be extremely difficult to find. This was not the case with this cache; it was about as easy as it comes! I had to climb a small hillside. The arrow on the GPS was pointing right at a large log. As I neared it I could see the cache lying beside it. I guess an animal had dragged it from its hiding spot inside the log. I signed it and then re-hid the cache, putting some sticks and bark on top of it to prevent it being exposed again.

    There was a second cache a few miles away. I was thinking about it as I returned to the car. I had tried to find this particular cache at least 4 times in the past 2-3 years, possibly even more. I knew this cache was going to be MUCH tougher to find than the last. The owner had even given me a couple hints, but it has remained unfound.

    After working my way to where it is hidden, I spent about a half hour walking around. The cache is hidden in an evergreen tree, about 6-9 feet high. I circled trees head bent back searching for anything that looked out of place. It is in the woods, so there are lots of small trees there. I had no clue as to what it looked like or what size it was. The listing on it for difficulty is 5 out of 5; it certainly lives up to its rating!

    Finally, I gave up. I know it’s there; I just couldn’t find it. I’ll be back again and then I WILL FIND IT!

    Only a few drops of rain had fallen, and the woods looked nice and inviting so I decided to walk a bit further. Not far away, in the Crouse Run Nature Reserve, across the stream was where a roadhouse called Bongiovanni's Gardens used to stand. The Rachel Carson Trail isn't far away from its ruins. Supposedly, Rachel Carson used to study the plants in this valley.  Most of the high weeds around what remains of the tavern were beaten down and I could see the ruins from the path I was on. Moving through the weeds I spooked a buck. It jumped up and turned around to glare at me. Getting closer, he decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble and he turned and leapt away, but not before I was able to snap a picture of him!

    Bongiovanni’s Gardens was located on the Butler Short Line and many of their customers used the electrified trolley to get to the roadhouse. The street cars allowed people from the city to come out to a country setting for picnics and outings at the tavern. Many popular artists such as Frank Sinatra and Sophie Tucker performed there. It was said to have the largest dance floor in the area. It apparently opened around the start of prohibition. The building was destroyed by a fire sometime in the latter half of the 1900’s.

    Not much remains today except some portions of sidewalk and a couple sets of steps. The cement foundation remains along with the pillars which used to hold up the floor.

    A near-by wall which helps hold up the hillside has become an easel for aspiring local artists. Surprisingly, there isn’t much trash in the ruins.

    While I was walking through the ruins, I once again scared the buck. He took off as soon as he heard me.

    After taking a few more pictures I returned across the stream to my car and headed home for lunch. My geocaching average was 50%, one found and one still lost, but it was a great day to take a walk in the woods. The best thing was, I didn’t bring any ticks home with me!

A final note, I'm sorry about the links spread out through this post. I made the mistake of clicking on an "Automatically add links in post" button. I didn't pick them and I don't want them! I can't find a way to remove them, They didn't bother to put a "Remove links" button. I HATE AI telling what I need!

Pappy's Train Chase

 Pappy was standing at the checkout counter at the library when he heard the whistle. He had been at his book club meeting and had picked up a couple books to take home with him.

    While he waited, a mother took her son out to watch the train go by. Pappy was imagining that the train would be gone by the time he got outside. Finally the librarian gave him his books and he was able to leave. The boy and his mother were coming back in and both of them had big smiles on their faces. When Pappy got outside, all he could see was the very end of the train disappearing as it rode away.

    In his car, Pappy followed the train. Being careful as he drove, he watched the railroad tracks, watching for the train. The road was right beside the tracks, but he couldn’t see the train.

    Coming to a stop sign, he waited for a couple cars in front of him to go. When it was his turn, he heard the whistle again! He couldn’t see the train, but he knew it wasn’t far away.

    He finally caught up with it. It wasn’t moving very quickly. It was a short train with two engines in the front, a boxcar, seven hoppers and a third engine at the end.

    He came to a spot where he could pull over and got out of the car and watched as the train went by. The engines were painted purple with yellow stripes. Even though the train was going slowly, it was LOUD!  From where he was standing, he was able to look down at the train. The river could be seen behind the train. He got back in his car and drove a bit further down the road.

    He stopped at another spot and watched it passed by. The engineer waved when he saw Pappy.

    The road was a long one and he easily passed the train again. Coming to a crossing, Pappy pulled over to wait for the train.  This time, since he was at a crossing, he heard the trains whistle. The engines were loud, but the whistle was even LOUDER!

    The engineer waved again and smiled as the train rumbled past. The engineer was probably happy since Pappy was standing well away from the railroad tracks. It can be dangerous standing too close to the rails!

    Pappy watched the train get smaller as it continued down the tracks. He got back in his car and headed for home. As he drove, he thought about his morning and smiled. He had spent some time with his friends talking about books, he had brought a couple books home with him and, he had chased a train.

    He hoped that he had gotten a couple good pictures but even if he hadn’t, he had enjoyed watching the train go by. Maybe he’d send the pictures to his grandsons, Mateo and Nico!

    Pappy was happy, what a great way to start his day!

A Visit to the Bridge

 

Ann Marie and I hadn’t visited West Virginia in a while and so, when talking one day, we decided to take a drive.

        Leaving on Thursday we left early, as is almost always the case for us. We timed our departure so that we would arrive at Curbside on the Run shortly after they opened. We have started many of our trips from this coffee shop, why not this one also? Anytime you stop by, the workers are all smiling. With cups of delicious, freshly made coffee and a couple snacks we turned the car towards the south.

    The trip started out dark but slowly we started seeing more than just the silhouettes of the trees. Details started showing and then houses and streets appeared. We didn't see the sun until we were a bit past Carnegie.

    We leapfrogged on and off the highway, getting off to find some geocaches and to enjoy the two-lane road for a while before we returned to the higher speed road. One of the caches was hidden on the line separating the states. 

    A bit further south we encountered our favorite cache of the day. It was attached to a rubber hand hidden in a guard rail. Highway workers were standing near-by discussing their job when we found it, we should have showed them, maybe they could’ve used another hand… Another cache brought us to an old style diner. Opening in 1998 its time is almost over unless they can find someone to buy it and keep it in business. It provided us with a very good breakfast!

    Coming into the town of Weston we made our next stop at the Trans-Atlantic Lunatic Asylum. This huge hospital was being built when the Civil War started. The buildings were constructed to allow the patients plenty of sunshine and fresh air. When first erected it was intended to hold around 250 patients but by the 1950’s they had an excess of 2400. The conditions for the people weren’t very good towards the end. The facility closed down in 1994. Now owned by private owners, tours are held daily along with special events. Halloween is a big time for this site!

    We were taken on a tour by Nick a friendly young man who was very familiar with the history of the place. We were the only ones on the tour which made it an even better experience. Walking through these halls and rooms and hearing about what all happened in them really makes you think! 

     (I think that AMB may have been considering leaving me there, luckily they weren’t excepting any patients that day!)

    Rt.19 parallels rt.79 for a good distance into West Virginia. When the pair separated, we followed 19 towards Summerville and Fayetteville. We made a quick stop to walk out to the observation deck looking out at the New River Gorge Bridge before we got to our motel. All the people we met on this trip were so nice and congenial. We met James and Alexis on the overlook. Both were photographers and James had a film camera hanging around his neck. It is always fun meeting people with similar interests!

    That night we split a barbecued chicken in a near-by restaurant. We sat, BS’d and played hangman while we waited for dinner and laughed a lot. It was the end of a great day!

    The next morning, we got up for another early start. I woke up first and went out to take some night pictures. Venus and Orion were looking over my shoulder as I set up the tripod.  Later, after a quick breakfast we hit the road again. 

    Our first stop was the ghost town of Thurmond. Supposedly there are 4 or 5 people that live here but we didn’t see anyone while we were there. We had the town to ourselves! Not far from the town we had to stop because a train was crossing the road.  Once we had crossed the single lane bridge into the town, one that shares a railroad track, another passed by. Sunlight was hitting the mountains above us giving us a glimpse of the day to come.

    The main street of the town sits 15-20 feet from the railroad tracks. None of the buildings were open so we could only walk around them and look inside through the windows. The town was a coal and railroad town. Once the busiest stop on the rail line, it declined after the depression and even more so in the 50’s as steam engines were replaced by diesel.

    The sun was working its way down closer to the town. The trees and cliffs on the mountain tops were bright and colorful and the breeze from the river smelled good. Standing on the bridge we could see a fisherman way upstream by the sunlight reflecting off his rod and line. We found it hard to imagine that no one else was here.

    Returning back the twisting road we next visited Fayetteville where we got some lunch. This town was busy with lots of visitors who had come to see the near-by parks, the bridge, and to go rafting, camping and rock climbing. It was fun watching all the different people.

    We then drove to Babcock State Park where we saw the Glade Creek Grist Mill. It was only 7 miles away from Thurmond as the crow flies, but 23 miles by road. It was definitely worth the drive! When we arrived, we could hear children playing in the stream, they were climbing on the rocks with their parents and everywhere we looked, people were smiling and having fun. This is what more families should be doing, taking the kids out to explore nature! Go out in the woods and play in the streams, getting wet and dirty. The dirt will come out in the wash, but the memories will last a lifetime!

    Surprisingly, the mill isn't as old as it looks, it was built in 1976. It is a replica of Coopers Mill which was located near-by. Set in this picturesque site the mill actually produces flour which can be purchased at the near-by park store.

    We then returned to the New River Gorge Bridge. After enjoying an ice cream cone at the rim, we drove down under the bridge to see it from below. It is quite an impressive sight! It is the longest steel span bridge in the Western Hemisphere, and it is the third highest bridge in the United States. Once a year, on the third Saturday of October, Bridge Day is celebrated. On that day the bridge is closed to traffic and people can walk across it along with rappelling and parachuting from it. The bridge is so high that two Statue of Liberty’s could be stacked on top of the Washington Monument and there would still be space on top! It is 876 feet above the river.

    Calling it a day, we returned to our home base, the motel. Later, we ate an excellent Mexican dinner and then while driving back in the dark, we missed our exit. We ended up on a limited access highway and when we finally came to an exit, we saw a sign directing us to the town where the motel was. This turned out to be quite an exciting ride. There were no lights on the road and it was twisty. There were places where we made 180° turns, ending up driving in the opposite direction. The road went up hills that didn’t allow us to see what was over the peak; the brakes were used a lot on this drive. We only saw trees; a set of railroad tracks and an occasional house, the darkness hid everything from us. It was both fun and a bit scary! This road would have made an excellent rollercoaster! Some might call it getting lost but to us, it was just another adventure! We slept well that night.

    Saturday was the day we headed back towards Pittsburgh. Before we left the area, we stopped in the small town of Whipple where we saw a building that once was the Company Store. The building was built so that the owner could observe everything that went on in it from his perch in the center of the building. Built in 1890 it remained in operation until 1954 when the Whipple Mine closed. It became a “trading post” after a private owner bought it and later became a dinner theater and later a museum dedicated to Appalachian Cultural Heritage. Sadly, it has been closed for quite a while.

    We stopped at The Mystery Hole for a quick photo. It’s a fun site where for a small fee; you can experience a mysterious spot where the laws of gravity have gone askew. Of course, you can also purchase just about any type of WV souvenir you could imagine while you are there.

    Just a couple miles down the road is Hawks Nest State Park. We stopped here to take a final look at the beautiful New River Gorge before we returned to the highway and the long drive home. This site and some of the others brought back memories of the trip I took with my daughter Chelsey in 2008.  We stopped in Washington for a hamburger which provided the fuel for the final portion of the trip. I was unloading my car before 5.

    Over the three days, we drove a little under 800 miles. We found 19 caches, had beautiful weather and ate great meals.  We met lots of friendly, happy people and saw some truly spectacular scenery but still, it was great to get back home again. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; there is something gratifying about curling up in your familiar bed after a good adventure!

A Short Glimpse into Railroads Past

While searching on my computer for some pictures I had taken many years ago in West Virginia, I came across a file containing a small batch of black and white railroad pictures. They were all taken on film, before I discovered the joys and wonders of digital cameras. The pictures were all taken in the Pittsburgh area, mostly in the late 80’s. 

    Trains have always been a part of my life. I think my first memories of trains, after the picture books I had and the train set-up under the Christmas tree, was listening to them pass below the house when we first moved into Shaler. There were two sets of tracks there along with a couple crossings and the trains seemed to go past every 15 minutes or so. As a young boy, my friends and I would walk down to the tracks and watch the trains go by, hoping that the engineer would wave to us and counting the cars. I’d listen to the whistles at night and imagine where the trains were. The love of trains is still with me all these years later.

    This is just to take a short stroll through some of the railroading in the past. A mere 35 years ago the lines often had more than one set of tracks, steam engines still ran excursions through Pittsburgh, and the trains ran more frequently, back in the “good old days!”

    I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did!

Early morning in McKeesport. (1988)

The Pat Train, taken on the morning of its last run. (April 1989)

A Conrail train going through Alleghany Commons Park on the North Side. (1990)

Changing tracks in Sharpsburg. (1988) 

Pittsburgh Railroad Station (1989)

    Back in those days we had a variety of steam excursions come into and through the city. Due to insurance and maintenance costs, they rarely come through anymore. There is nothing like hearing a steam whistle echoing through the valleys as the train thunders past. 

The Nickel Plate 765 crossing the Alleghany River to the Northside

Nickel Plate 765 in Emsworth (1989)

Taken in the Southside

Southside (1993)

Taken from the West End

    Then there were the cabooses. I can remember watching for them as a kid sitting in the back of the car. Slowly they got fewer and fewer until they were almost all gone. I still see one every once in a while, but sadly most of them have been recycled... scrapped. In the town of Sharpsburg there was a scrap yard that did the evil deed; most of them there were Conrail cars.

Taken from the Highland Park Bridge (1988)

Taken from the Aspinwall side of the bridge (1988)

They were lined up all the way down to Millvale at times, like this one. It is a fitting end to this short batch of pictures, the end of the line.