Twos

 

Originally there was supposed to be three of us going on this trip but a queasy stomach dropped the total to two. Heading to the farm market in Ligonier, the day looked great. A nice orange sunrise greeted me as I swung my feet out of bed and as I left the house, the sky was blue.

    With two cups of freshly brewed coffee in the cars cup holders, Ann Marie and I turned onto rt. 22 and proceeded towards the east, into the sun. Coming into the hills of the Laurel Highlands, the sky turned a bit hazy. What normally was a great view of the mountains ahead was muted; the hills seen weren’t as numerous as usual. It really didn’t matter, the windows were down and the breeze flowing through the car smelled good and fresh.

    We turned south onto rt.982 and stopped for, of all things, a geocache. (didn’t see that coming, did you?) A nice easy find, hidden hanging behind a sign. The next one was about a mile or two further down the road. If found, it would be my 2222^nd find! It wasn’t to be. We looked all over the place without any luck. I wasn’t worried, I had a few more programmed into the GPS.

    We stopped next on rt. 30, at a pull off on the section where the road is divided by the Loyalhanna Creek. Sitting behind a large rock was my 2nd find of the day, my 2222^nd find since May of 2007. The only thing special about it was the number, not much else. (Of course, they are ALL exciting, some more than others!)

    Next stop was the Farmers Market. Held every Saturday in the summer it draws thousands of people into Ligonier. They have a huge police department to handle all the cars and the crowds. They also need police to direct traffic a few miles away at Idlewild Park.

    Coming into the entrance of the market area, we found another cache. We pulled it out of its hiding spot and signed the log and replaced it while we were 7 or 8 feet away from a policeman. None of the crowd noticed what we were doing…

    We went up and down the aisles looking at all the goods that were being offered for sale. We got a couple things to nibble on as we looked but other than a bunch of radishes and a hunk of cheese, we didn’t make any purchases. (I passed on the $5.50 donuts!) We saw some friends while we were there. You never know who you’ll see when you’re out exploring! After we left I got to pet some beautiful dogs in the parking lot and then we turned the car towards the north.

    We re-visited some coke ovens that were just a few miles off of our route. These ovens aren’t the “standard” beehive shaped coke ovens so often seen. These were loaf shaped, a vault style with openings on either side. There are easily a hundred or more ovens on the side of this road, the majority were hidden by the weeds. You get a much better view in the wintertime. 

    These ovens were used to make coke out of coal; coke is a much cleaner burning fuel, it is also an important part of making iron. The coal would be put in ovens and after being ignited, the doors were closed and it was left for a couple days. What remained in the chamber was coke. Coke ovens are scattered all over the Pennsylvania hills, often in long lines, one after another.  If you find one, chances are there will be more near-by! When they were being used, the areas around them were noisy, hot and smoky, nothing like the areas where they stand now. Today, they sit quietly in the woods with birds chirping and plants growing on top of them, looking like ruins of a past civilization. Quite a difference! Hardly any of them retain their doors. I had heard that taxes were charged on usable ovens and by removing the doors, they became un-taxable. 

    After taking a few pictures, we followed some dirt roads which crossed hilltops with views that seemed to go on forever. We eventually ended up in Seward and then finally back on rt.22.

    Returning back home, we were back before 2 with time left for chores. Another fun trip out into the Pennsylvania countryside, it was a great way to start the day!