Adventure is Where You Find it!

The day was done. I had spent a fair amount of it working in the yard and as far as I was concerned, it was time to relax.

    Sitting down, I picked up the current book I was reading. Turning to where I had left off I read a chapter or two before dinner.  Afterwards I cleaned the dishes in the sink and went back into the living room to read some more. After a few pages, I started thinking of other things. Reading wasn’t in the game plan for this evening. The TV didn’t interest me. Having spent the day cutting grass and trimming hedges, I wasn’t in the mood for anything strenuous.

    With a trip planned for the next morning, I figured I could go and top off the gas tank. While I was at it, I could take the camera along just in case I saw a train. While tying my shoes, the idea slipped from “just in case” to “I should look for the train!” I slung my camera around my neck and as an afterthought, grabbed the film camera bag as I ran out the door.

    An adventure! Chasing a train is always fun and will get me outside for a while. I usually have a good idea of where the train will be, and I also have a pretty good idea of where it will be stopping. The Carload Express train often stops in Etna to pick-up or drop off cars before continuing north towards Mars and Evans City.

    I am never exactly sure when the train might be coming through my community. It is almost always in the evenings. During this time of year, the summertime, the sun is often still up as it goes by. As the year slips into the winter months and darkness starts coming earlier, the opportunities to catch it lessen.

    I’ll sit beside the tracks in Etna and read a book while waiting for the train. Rt.28 is right above the tracks and the sounds of the trucks, motorcycles and cars pretty much drowns out any other sounds. The road noise is a white noise, after a while it disappears.

    On this evening, I sat for 10 or 20 minutes before the greatest photographer’s skill, patience, left me. I started the car and went to look for the train.

    I joined the traffic on Rt.28 and drove towards the city.  Crossing the river into the far end of the Strip District, I pulled onto a street that parallels the tracks. A signal tower sits alongside the rails and I was happy to see, the light on it was green. The train would be coming soon!

    I parked the car and found a good spot for a photo. Using the film camera, I checked the lighting, set my aperture, focused and composed my shot. Then I waited.

    It didn’t take long, within a few minutes I heard the rumble of the engines, a deep noise you might not notice unless you were listening for it. Then the headlights of the front engine came into view.

    The adrenaline started pumping into my system. I waited until the train was in the proper spot and carefully depressed the shutter button. Quickly winding the film and refocusing, I managed to get another picture before the train was past me.

The train was on tracks that were above me. The locomotives and cars behind them could be seen, along with the Bloomfield Bridge which sat off in the distance. 

    I got into the car and went to another spot, a place I had considered on my way over. At this location, the train is starting onto a curved bridge leading to the span that crosses the river. Because of the curve and the bridge ahead, the train goes slowly, enabling me to get into position and to get a fairly sharp picture with the film camera. The setting sun was shining on the train allowing me to use a smaller f-stop and get a little more depth of field. I took two more photos. 

    I drove through Lawrenceville and then re-crossed the river into Etna. I returned to where I was earlier in the evening. It was now past 8 and the sun had slipped below the hills in the west.

    Using the digital camera I was able to increase the ISO to allow a deeper depth of field and a shorter exposure time, not to mention the pictures could be in color! Taking pictures here would be no problem.

    Walking down the line a bit to a spot I hadn’t been to before, I lined up my shot. Then I searched for that all important photographic skill that had left me an hour before, patience. 

    I heard the whistle first and then saw the lights of the engine shining on the rails. The train was slowing, there was no doubt that it would be stopping to exchange some cars this evening. I was positioned just past the siding that they would be using. The engines passed me and came to a stop. After the switchman had disconnected the engines from the rest of the train, it pulled up past the switch and the switchman unlocked and flipped it. Then the engines backed into the siding to collect their cars.

    Watching the train back into the siding, I decided that I had enough of trains for this evening. It was time to head home. This adventure was over. Back at the house I loaded the digital pictures onto my computer. While appraising my pictures I heard the train passing the crossing below my house as it continued north. The rumble of the cars could be heard for a while and then silence returned.

    I was ready for bed now, pretty sure that a good night’s sleep awaited me. There was a road trip scheduled for the next day. We would be visiting bookstores, searching for books rather than trains.

    Remember, adventures are all around us, they are everywhere, all we have to do is recognize them. Who knows where or when the next one will be?  

Rain on the Roof

 A heavy rain was falling during the drive to Church this morning. Thankfully there was an umbrella in the back of the car. It would definitely be needed!

    Inside the Church, I listened to the sounds created by the pounding storm. It was a noise that filled the nave. While it was loud and intense, it was also relaxing, comforting and soothing. I felt safe and secure, even as the thunder rumbled around us.

    The rain blended in nicely with the organ music and the opening hymn and then tapered off as the Mass began. It increased every so often, almost as if to accentuate the importance of the various parts of the Mass.

    I will never forget a Mass I attended at St. Bonaventure Church. A thunderstorm was beating against the walls and roof of the Church. The sky outside was dark, lightning bolts lighting it up, showing the parishioners inside how strong the storm was. At the consecration, as the Priest lifted up the Host, a lightning bolt flashed and immediately afterwards, thunder shook the Church. It felt as if God Himself was showing us the importance of this portion of the Mass! It sent shivers through me as I’m sure it did to others in the congregation.

    At Mass during another thunderstorm, the power went out plunging the Church into darkness. The Mass continued, the Priest's voice no longer amplified but yet still discernible. Lightning illuminating the stained glass behind the altar and rolling thunder added to the beauty of the Mass. We sang without any accompaniment. It became another Mass that has stuck in my memory.

    While not an experience of thunder and lightning, I remember a Mass when a bird kept flying in front of the stained glass. While it wasn’t a dove, I couldn’t help but think of the Holy Spirit as the shadows glided back and forth across the windows above the altar. Another time I was attending an outside Mass being held in a parishioner’s yard. As the Mass was being celebrated, a couple rabbits hopped over and sat nibbling at the grass behind the altar, almost as if they were there for the Mass also. Little things such as these stick in my mind, perhaps they happen for a purpose!

    Sitting in the car after Mass, the rain still pounding on its roof, I sat and just listened. Soon my car was the only one left in the lot. It didn’t bother me; I was in a happy place.

    I always find going Mass comforting, a visit with my Maker, our Creator. There is friendship at Church; there is family along with spiritual fulfillment. Every so often, nature adds to it, making it an even better experience!

The Soundtracks of Our Lives

 

I was driving down the road listening to the radio when a song started playing. I knew what it was as soon as I heard the first four notes, and I was instantly transported. It was Seals and Croft’s “Summer Breeze”. Suddenly I was back in a noisy, dirty machine shop in Sharpsburg. I was working part time in the evenings of my junior year of High School.

    The song reached #6 on the charts and it seemed as if it was being played every 15 or 20 minutes. Every time I hear it now, I can picture in my head the cars speeding past on Rt.28, all that could be seen through the high windows at the back end of the shop. As darkness fell, it was reduced to only the headlights and taillights. The radio was always on in the shop; it helped the time pass. During those early days of my machinist career, I looked out of the windows plenty of times, wishing I was out there, instead of inside a hot smoky machine shop.

    There are plenty of songs like this that do the same thing, bring us to places in our past. Usually, they were heard during an important event or time in our lives. My own memory was caused by hearing this song, in the same place, over and over. This memory isn’t just aural; it’s also visual, I can picture the cars going by outside the windows. The memories; the song, the smells and the visuals all go hand in hand.

    Another song that brings back memories to me, complete with visuals is the song “Radar Love”, by Golden Earring. The first notes will always take me back into the 70’s. It’s a love song about two people that have a special connection and how one of them is racing back to see the other. It involves driving in its lyrics and to me, that’s all it is. I hear the song and I imagine myself in the back seat of my friends Z-28. I am hanging onto the two bucket seats as we race down a steep, twisty road at well over twice the limit. The tires were squealing as we rounded the corners and the engine was roaring as he used it to speed up and slow down, shifting up and down through the gears. My life was in his hands! The higher powers were looking down on us that night, if someone had been coming up the road, I wouldn’t be here to tell about it! That song, playing loudly on the radio during that ride, takes me back every time I hear it!

    Just about any song on the Pink Floyd album, “Dark Side of the Moon” will take me back to my house and bring back thoughts of my friends. It’s a record that I first heard in an English class in my junior year. I only wish I knew who it was that brought it into class to listen to, so I could thank her. I seriously don’t think I have ever listened to any album more than “Dark Side of the Moon”! The songs don’t remind me of any particular day or memory, they tend to put me into a state of mind, they soothe me, the songs bring back the unrushed, relaxed lives we lived in those days. The memories are all good!

    Bread’s song, “Make it with You” will always take me back into my memory banks. So will The Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin”, “Without You” by Harry Neilson or “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum. We all have an internal hits list, each song bringing back memories from our past. It’s next to impossible to pick a favorite.

    Music has been with us from the beginning of our lives. Nursery songs, the Jack in the Box tune, The Wheels on the Bus and The Alphabet Song are just a couple. The list increased as we grew. The songs listed above are just a few of those from my late teens, they don’t include any of the songs stuck in my grey matter from my 20’s, 30’s and on. Where would we be without all these musical accompaniments to or lives?

    Driving down the road, I find myself tapping my foot, my fingers keeping time with the song on the steering wheel, soon to be humming along with the song, if not singing out loud. My own playlist seems endless, some of them powerful enough to bring a tears to my eyes. Thank heaven for them; they put me in a good place. These songs are the soundtracks to our lives!

The Pittsburgh Book Crawl 2026

 The past week was miserable. Not only were the temperatures in the high 80’s and above, on Thursday we were attacked with the smoke from the fires in Canada and Minnesota.

    We had a Code Purple (some said maroon) Air Quality Warning. The air outside smelled like smoke. Some of the older folks said that it reminded them of the Pittsburgh of the early 40’s! The forecast for Saturday called for rain, and believe me, everyone was looking forward to it!

    I heard birds chirping when I awoke. That was something I hadn’t heard in the past week! The air was cooler and instead of seeing just the yellow sky. I actually saw glimpses of blue peeking between the clouds.

    Saturday was the beginning of the week long Pittsburgh Book Crawl. Thirty bookstores were participating scattered over six counties in Western Pennsylvania. This is a great way to visit some of the booksellers in our community and Ann Marie and I were looking forward to it. Our good friend Jim was coming along with us on our journey.

    Passports were given out at the participating stores. At each store you visit, you can get your passport stamped. After getting six stamps you can get a scoop of ice cream and by visiting fifteen stores, it enables you to enter a drawing for other prizes. Armed with our passports and a list of stores to visit we took off!

    Starting in Lawrenceville, we first browsed through The Shelf Love Society. Their specialty is romance books. Opened recently, the store has a nice collection of books for those in search of love in their reading materials. I noticed a couple books I had already read on their shelves. We saw some people leaving clutching their passports and purchases in their hands, with smiles on their faces. Showing them my passport, I laughed and told them I’d be looking for them in the stores I’d be going to later.

    The next stop, Passionate Pages, was six or seven blocks closer to Pittsburgh, both stores are on Butler Street. This shop specializes in romance also. Lots of customers were crowding the store. I love to visit crowded bookshops! This was the norm as our journey continued.

    A mere mile away, on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield, the White Whale Bookstore was also filled with people. I perused the children’s books and picked up a birthday gift that I think will be appreciated. While we were in the neighborhood, I dropped into Paddy Cake Bakery for some chocolate chip cookies; I know from experience how good they are! (I feel as if you can properly judge a bakery by tasting their chocolate chip cookies and their donuts. I have high standards, mostly related to my childhood!)

    The next store on our list, The Book Deli, was celebrating its grand opening! Located on E. Warrington Avenue in Allentown, the store was packed with customers, authors, publishers and artists. While we browsed and talked with the people in the store, I looked out the window and saw twenty-five or thirty more people arrive, en masse. It was as if a bus had just dropped them off. I feel as if I might have already said this but, what a good feeling it was to see this many people in a bookstore! I bought a book of bike stories; sadly, the author wasn’t there to sign it.

    From Allentown we drove over to E. Main Street in Carnegie. Here we visited Woolly Bear Books. Another nice, comfortable book shop, filled with a wide variety of books that I needed! After roaming through their stock, and finding another birthday book, we walked down the street to Dagney’s Eatery where we got a tasty lunch.

    Back on the road again, we next headed over to Bellevue where we stopped in Vintage Max Books. This store is located at the corner of Lincoln and N. Balph Avenues. Just as we arrived, a heavy downpour started. I ran to the shop and once again, found it filled with people, many clutching their Book Crawl Passports. 

    Selling both new and used books, I gravitated towards the used shelves where I found two railroad books, both in great shape! One still had the map with it that was included when it was published. I can remember reading this book shortly after it was published, thanks to my local library. As we left the store, the rain stopped long enough for us to get to the car, and then started up again.

    Our last stop was at our favorite bookshop, City Books, located on Galveston Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Northside. Once again, there were lots of people in the shop. We passed a small group who had just left it as we arrived, smiling and laughing as they headed off to their next book stop. Having been in the store a few days before, I knew what was on the shelves. So, I didn’t search the shelves…much. Ann Marie and I both bought a t-shirt to document our day.

    If you get a chance, look up the Pittsburgh Book Crawl on the net. If the crawl is still continuing, (July 18-26) get a passport and start your own journey. If not, use the map on the site to visit some of the stores. I’m sure you'll be glad you did! They will also!

    We brought some books, a few bookmarks, gifts, a couple t-shirts and a lot of memories home with us. We will be visiting some of the other stores listed in the passports, most probably on Wednesday. There are a couple that we haven’t been to yet, and we are looking forward to seeing what they are like. Being retired means that we have time to visit these new places!

    We always find it exciting to walk into a store, filled with countless lives and stories. There are journeys to different lands, different worlds, love affairs, mysteries and information that can last a lifetime, just sitting on their shelves waiting for us. Who knows what treasures we might find when we step into our next bookshop!

Making Memories with the Big Boy

 It has been a year or two since we first started hearing that the Union Pacific Steam Engine named Big Boy, #4014, would be coming through the Pittsburgh area. Frank and I talked about it a lot discussing where we could go and how to catch it.

    We also reminisced, a lot, about our adventures chasing the Nickel Plate 765 as it came through town. That had been quite a while ago.

    I’ll never forget, back in 2012, as we stood on either side of the RR tracks beside the Emsworth Dam. If my memory serves me right, we were the only ones there. First we heard the whistle, echoing through the river valley. Then we saw it, coming around the bend, rapidly approaching. The whistle sounded again and before we knew it, it had passed us. It didn’t take long to pass but it was long enough to ingrain itself into our memories! We caught it a couple different places during that visit. Wow, what a rush!

    In 2013 we chased the engine again. We first saw it as it was leaving the Conway yards. We pulled over to the side of the road and jumped across the Jersey barriers to get pictures. Luckily the traffic was light! We turned the car around and followed it into the North Side where we watched it back onto the Ohio Connecting Bridge to turn around for its return trip. We followed it a lot that day! There were many more railfans that came out to see it as compared to the year before!

    While it was great hearing the whistle and seeing the smoke, listening to the wheels pounding on the tracks and sharing the views with the other rail fans, the best part was the fun of chasing it. Going out with a friend and seeing what we could catch. Even if our photos came out bad, we still had a great time getting them and lots of memories!

    This year, 13 years later, in anticipation of the Big Boy's visit we took a couple scouting trips to look for possible viewing sites. We searched east of Pittsburgh, looking for a spot that was away from any larger population centers. We finally decided on either a spot a mile or so outside of New Florence or else on a curve near the community of Torrance. The New Florence site was about an hour away from Frank’s house. The Torrance site was closer to our houses but also closer to Blairsville which might lead to larger crowds. We opted for the further site. What’s another 20 minutes of drive time for a good adventure?

    Saturday, the big day had finally arrived. I left for Frank and Kelle’s house just before 9. This is late for Frank and I to leave, we are usually on the road before sunrise. The three of us left their house about an hour later. We had an hour’s drive in front of us and of course, we still had to make a coffee stop!

    I had felt as if I was still in grade school when I tried to figure out what time the train would arrive at our spot. 

    I must have been paying attention because the train arrived within an hour of when I figured. Good thing we left early to allow set up time. We ended up waiting for about 1¾ hours. This gave us time to find our spot, set up and then roam around a bit, and meet some of the others who had come to see it.  There was a couple from Bedford who came here, trying to avoid the crowds. (Good minds think alike!) There was a group of Amish men who had ridden their bikes here and there were lots of kids, parents and grandparents. Where we set up, the closest people were 20-30 yards away.

    While we waited, the sun moved above the trees, stealing our shadows. The weeds near my tripod kept getting trampled further and further back as I tried to stay in the shade and keep cool.

    Finally we heard the whistle, way off in the distance. It was coming! The adrenaline started pumping, even more than it already was. Then we saw the headlight, rounding the curve a half mile away. There was the smoke! It wasn’t going fast and it was on the track right beside us. Just as it passed us, the whistle blew, sending a shock wave through us all. I couldn’t help but yell when I heard that whistle! After a dozen cars passed us, it came to a stop.

    A mass exodus started moving down the tracks towards the engine. A short bit later the whistle sounded again and the wheel sets started to creak. It started moving again and soon disappeared as it continued on its way. We started to pack up our gear.

    The road had a lot more cars on it than when we first arrived. Everyone was trying to leave at the same time. We got out into traffic and then stopped a few miles away to do a geocache. After all, what is an adventure without a find or two? Then we returned to rt. 22 and headed back.

    Nearing Blairsville, on a hunch, we decided to stop at the other site we had considered, just to see if the train had passed by yet. Nearing Torrance, we could see cars lining both sides of the street. Rolling down the windows, we could hear the engine, it was really close. Pulling onto the bridge that crosses the tracks, we were greeted by hundreds of people looking over the edge. The train was directly underneath us! The whistle blew again and we could see the engine coming out from under us. All the people on the bridge turned and ran across to the other side, ignoring my car. So, we just stopped and watched.

    Frank was able to get a couple nice pictures as the crowd rushed around us. We could see hundreds of people lined up on either side of the tracks, almost all holding phones and cameras, getting their own unique pictures.

    We turned around at the end of the bridge and wended our way through the crowds of people returning to their cars. People were laughing, smiling and happy, some walking down the center of the road, oblivious to the car right behind them. I can understand the mood they were in, we were feeling it also! We lucked out for sure, we took a chance and we caught the train for a second time, just as it passed under us! Cool!

    On Sunday morning, Ann Marie and I were on the road just after 7. We were heading to New Brighton in Beaver County. There were already lots of people along the tracks when we arrived. We walked in and found a good site, the one I had scoped out four days before. I set up, and then moved as more people arrived and finally set up on a pile of RR ties. Further down the track there was an even larger crowd. The tracks run alongside the town, easy access for the population.

    Our location was about five miles from the Conway Railroad Yards. The train was due to leave the yards at 9, it arrived at our location at 9:45.   We talked with the people around us and watched another train go by before the steam engine arrived.

    Then, in the distance a light was seen. The crowd surged towards the tracks. Once again, just as it passed us the whistle was blown. It was followed by not only echoes but cheers from all the spectators.

    The same thing happened as the day before, the people all left with smiles on their faces. They were laughing and sharing their experiences, they were happy!

    Once we were able to get out of our parking spot, we started back towards Pittsburgh. We stopped at a small place in Ambridge, the K&N Restaurant for some breakfast. It was just the type of place we like, opened in 1958, reflecting that time period. We ate at the counter, enjoying the bustle and rush of the waitresses. We had a good meal at a great price and best of all, we just lucked into it. Sometimes those are the best places to eat.

    Our next stop was to visit Arlan at City Books. As we walked in her face lit up as she came over, ready to share her own adventure into railfandom. She had watched the Big Boy as it crossed the Ohio River. She had debated on whether or not to close the shop early and thankfully decided to do it. We were like a couple kids sharing our stories. The visit to the book shop just added to the excitement of the day!

    Looking at my pictures later I was thinking about how many people across this country had come out to see this engine. I am also amazed how some people had no idea at all about it. My one neighbor asked me if the restaurant chain was opening up again. I tend to forget that not everyone is excited by the same things as me.

    We, as a country, have to thank The Union Pacific, and Norfolk and Southern Railroads for providing this wonderful show for us. Millions of people have lined the tracks across the nation, all unified together, millions of people that we share these memories with. I’m also thankful that I had Ann Marie, Kelle and Frank to share this event with. Having people you care for along with you, always makes better adventures!

    I was still pumped up Sunday night; nine hours after watching the Big Boy go by. So, I took my camera and went down over the hill and caught another train as it came out of the Lower Glenshaw tunnel. As you can see in the picture, I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t gotten his fill (Phil?) of trains that day!

Sunrise to Sunset

 

The flashes and bangs of the 4th of July had disappeared and thankfully, some of the heat of the past few days. I woke up on Sunday to a world filled with fog. I rapidly got dressed for church and left early, hoping to find some nice pictures. Unfortunately, the fog had mostly dissipated by the time I left home, but I did get to watch the sun as it rose over the Alleghany River.

    The rain of the previous night had dropped the overwhelming temperatures of the past few days into a bearable range. Ann Marie and I decided it was time to take a road trip. We were actually able to roll down the windows and enjoy the breeze on our arms. I am a big believer in “460” air-conditioning; rolling down 4 windows and going 60 MPH!

    We decided to do a couple Adventure Labs located around Apollo. Adventure Labs are much like Geocaches. You use your phone to direct you to various places and once there, answer a question to claim a find. It is like a virtual scavenger hunt. Some may be tough but most are really easy and like caching, they’re fun and take you to some interesting sites.

    We started out in Apollo, located in Armstrong County, sitting along the Kiskiminetas River. The first stop was at a log cabin built around 1816. Then we visited a local cemetery where we found a couple mausoleums.  Then we located a couple of the houses in the town, one that Nellie Bly’s family owned, the house she grew up in! Nellie Bly was a journalist in the late 1800’s. She became famous by traveling around the world in 72 days, following Jules Verne’s story Around the World in Eighty Days. She also wrote an exposé about sanitariums by getting committed to one. Not far from the town are the remains of the Biddle Iron Furnace, one of the first furnaces built in Western Pennsylvania. It was built in 1817. When the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal was built, the furnace used it haul iron to Pittsburgh.

    On our way to the next Adventure Lab, we stopped at Dolly’s Diner for lunch. We sat at the counter and watched the serving staff rushing around, dealing with the Sunday morning crowds. It was a good meal with good service and best of all, it was inside a restored, air-conditioned diner from the 1950’s!

    From Dolly’s we drove beside the river to Leechburg. This town was founded by David Leech who in 1827, came to build a lock and dam for the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal. We visited the “walking bridge” that crosses the river and a couple other sites to claim a few more finds.

    Enjoying the searches, we decided to visit Saltsburg next. Saltsburg is located in Indiana County, about a half hour away from Leechburg. The town got its name because of the abundance of salt in the area. Since this town was also along the Kiskiminetas River and along the route of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, it had a thriving boat building industry. The finds here were quickly located, taking us to a large grain mill built in 1912 and the route of the canal as it passed near town.

    The day was getting warmer; the “460” air conditioning was abandoned for actual AC. We drove through New Kensington and crossed the Alleghany River. In Springdale we stopped at Glen’s Custard where we treated ourselves to large milkshakes. While we were there, we met Rick Sebak, a popular Pittsburgh producer and documentarist, who had stopped by for the same reason as us. We BS’d for a few minutes before we left for home.

    Rain came and dropped the temperatures once again. Let me tell you, sitting beside an open window and listening to the rain falling through the trees is one of my favorite things!

    I wasn’t quite ready to hit the sack yet, so I grabbed the camera and went to search for the evening train as it came through Glenshaw. I caught it as it was passing behind the old Glenshaw Glass plant. 

    Walking back to the car, I was greeted to a beautiful display of sun rays coming through the clouds. The sun had given me a nice picture as it rose and here, it was giving me one as it set. It was another good day, from sunrise to sunset!