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. 

Wondering

 

Sitting beside the stream watching leaves fall from the trees on a comfortable 77 degree day, I stared at the clear sky and wondered. Both windows were open in the car and the slight breeze that came through was refreshing. Leaves skid past leaving the dried sounds of fall behind them. The surrounding trees are a combination of green, yellow and brown. The high grasses alongside the stream are wheat colored, bent over and dying. Scattered between them are the high dark brown remnants of once green and flowering stalks.

    The stream is low and the reflections on it are mirror like. This is where I come to relax and to forget about the turmoil of the world. It is a place that is quiet and soothing. The just barely audible sounds of the steam hide the other noises of society; airplanes, cars and trucks to name just a few. It is a perfect spot to sit, read and contemplate.

    Sitting here I can hear the leaves falling through the trees and occasionally I hear a branch join them on their way to the ground. Insects buzz around but the birds are all silent today. Stalks of Goldenrod bounce back and forth when the breeze increases. It’s a wonderful spot! Occasionally I see others here, fishermen standing in the stream attempting to lure a fish onto their hooks or walkers on the paths beside the stream. Dog and their owners enjoy the area also.

    The reason I am wondering is that when I pulled into the spot this morning I saw that there had been some other visitors since I was there last.  Brown paper bags were scattered around filled with landscaping debris. Some logs had been dropped off also. I counted 23 of these large bags tossed in piles and thrown over the hillside by the stream. Trash, left behind by… I don’t want to print the words that come to my mind.

    I have never understood why people would toss trash along the roads, parks and overlooks. Why would they destroy this beauty?  I’ve seen it so many times and I’m sure you have also. It is nothing new, it is a continuation of destruction, ruining the beauty that most of us have come to love. It is especially bad when it happens to a place you are familiar with, a place you frequent, a place you cherish!

    In the past I have hiked for miles to visit an overlook or a waterfall and found empty cans of beer lying in the woods along with snack wrappers and cigarette butts. They carried them in, why can’t they carry them out? People clean up after their pets and then leave the bags beside the trail, do they think the “rangers” will come along to pick up after them or do they just not care?

    I’ve been to pull offs near streams with nice views of the creek below and found piles of trash dropped off by someone, old TVs, bags of clothes, garbage, and pieces of construction debris. I’ve seen entire trees tossed over the hills on back roads after having been cut down. Didn’t these people’s parents explain to them about littering? How about preserving the wilderness or even more important, respect for others? I can only guess not.

    They needed a cheap place to drop off their trash and here was a deserted spot. No thoughts were given to anyone else, only that they could toss it before someone saw them.

    I find it extremely frustrating. I have seen this before at this very site. Someone always cleans it up, I don’t know who but I’m indebted to them. A large trash can sits close at hand but people still drop their water bottles and candy wrappers on the ground beside it. The carcasses of “out of season” deer slowly dissolve, adding a foul smell to the air until only bones mark their final resting spot, just another of the many things discarded near-by.

    Nothing can be done unless someone sees them doing it. Police can’t prosecute without solid evidence. Is it a sign of the times, “I don’t need to follow the rules”? I just believe it is people with no care for others, people who have never been told about respecting other people’s property. People with no empathy, people that needed to get a stern talking to by their parents!

    We can only hope that eventually they realize what asses they are, and clean up their act, for both us and even more importantly, the wildlife that live here!

Lunch and a Movie

Leaving a little after twelve this past Sunday, Ann Marie and I drove over to the town of Sewickley. A friend had told us about a movie that was playing there, and we had purchased some tickets for it. Our plan was to get some lunch and then stroll around the borough for a bit before the movie started.

    Arriving we saw signs advertising the Library Book Sale. We both had the same thought, another place to visit while we were in town. We found a parking spot close to the theater and started our walk from there. The day was perfect for walking, the sun felt good and lots of others were enjoying the day along with us.

    A few blocks from the car, we stopped at the Mediterra Café. We have been to this establishment before, along with the one located in Lawrenceville and had enjoyed both places. Being a Sunday afternoon, the place was rather crowded but as we ate our lunches the crowd dwindled down, Sunday was the first Steelers game of the season. Once the game started, most of the stores and restaurants in the Pittsburgh area would be empty. The fans will have moved to sports bars and their homes to watch the game. (I find this a great time to do my weekly food shopping; the grocery stores are almost empty! Don’t make the mistake of going before the game, you’ll get stuck in the pregame rush!)

    We sat and talked about books and people watched, both favorite activities of ours. Finishing our coffees and after getting some “to-go” boxes, we returned to the sidewalk. About a block away sits a gazebo where we stopped for a minute or two to look for a geocache hidden near-by. After a short search, it was Ann Marie who found the small container. The library sat about a block away, that would be our next stop.

    We were afraid that it might be closed but luck was with us. This was the third day of their sale, so we were browsing through rather slim pickings. Even so, Ann Marie found a book by an author she liked and I found two for myself.

    The walk continued eventually bringing us back to the car. We put our “to-go” boxes in the car and went across the street to the plaza in front of the Lindsay Theater. There we sat in the sunshine, reading our new books. There were lots of people walking on the sidewalks and biking in the streets.  More than a few dogs were getting their afternoon constitutionals. We shared the patio with another couple. The sunlight felt good on my back.

        The movie we had come to see was called Rebel with a Clause, starring Ellen Jovin who had written a book by the same name. She is a “grammar nerd” and she, along with her husband Brandt Johnson, who filmed the project, visited all fifty states. She sets up a small folding table and then invites people who pass by to ask her grammar questions. The movie is a compilation of the people she met and their questions.

    Now I am far from being an expert on grammar or English. PLEASE, never ask me to diagram a sentence! I tend to speak and write in a way that I feel “sounds” correct. Sadly, my teachers would never accept that reasoning when I explained why I had written something the way I did. Still, the movie sounded like it would be fun to watch and Ann Marie, whose skills at grammar are so much higher than my own, was excited to see it also.

    We watched the movie with 27 other people. (No one came in wearing a Steelers jersey.) I would have to guess that the average age of the audience was probably 60 or 70.

    Wherever Ellen set up her table, she always met a wide variety of people. All ages were represented and along with your "average" people, she was also visited by a few eccentric ones. They added to the humor of the film. All most everyone had a question for her. There were questions about which word is correct, who or whom. Questions included proper use of semicolons, apostrophes and commas. The questions often branched out to other topics such as how words are pronounced in different sections of the country. Ellen is the type of person who is able to turn difficult things into positive experiences, her interactions with the visitors almost always ended with everyone smiling, including the audience. I am pretty sure that everyone enjoyed the movie as much as we did.

    I thought it was interesting that the book I had bought at the library, and that I was reading before the movie was called Lapsing into a Comma. The book was written by Bill Walsh who was the Copy Desk Editor of the Washington Post. It tells about the various mistakes that can occur during writing and printing and how to avoid those, many of which were mentioned in this film!

    Walking out of the movie we were saying how interesting it would be to meet Ellen. Someone mentioned that she had been here at this theater last week. Oh well, you win some and you lose some!

    Returning home, we shared a couple beers and caught up on some late-night TV shows. The day turned into a great afternoon date; lunch and a movie, what a wonderful way to spend a September afternoon.

Like Watching Paint Dry

 It’s quiet in the observatory. Two dim red lights illuminate the room; all the other lights have been extinguished to help preserve my dark-adapted eyes. The telescope rising from the center of the room appears as a large silhouette against the slight light of the sky. The brass pieces on it reflect the red lights.

    Crickets can be heard, they give the observatory a nice atmosphere. After a short while the noise disappears, fading into the background, becoming a sort of “white noise”. It is there but un-noticed. Listening carefully, far away I can hear a faint whine of some type of machinery, hardly noticed, hardly there.

     Looking through the telescope, the planet Saturn and three of its moons can be seen. Unlike the picture above, the rings are close to edge on and so, appear as only light bars coming off of each side of the planets disc. Occasionally a thin dark line can be seen crossing the planet a slight bit higher than the rings, the rings shadow! A slight bit of shading can be seen at either pole giving the planet a small bit of a 3-dimentional look.

    It is the morning of the 19^th of August, and I am here to watch the shadow of Saturn’s moon, Titan, cross the planet. This is an event that can only be seen when the planets rings are near edge on. The next time these occurrences will be visible will be in about 15 years, so I want to try to see them if possible. There will be five times it can be seen within the next couple months, one has already passed.

    Walking outside the observatory, the crickets are much louder, unmuffled by any walls. The trees and hills are all black against the dim band of light that goes around the horizon, allowing only the brightest stars to be seen there. In the east, the Pleiades can easily be seen, a nice grouping of stars. Orion will be coming along soon, a sure sign that winter is approaching. Below the hill a car slowly drives by and high in the sky, the faint sound of a jet engine announces the presence of a plane passing overhead.

    Back inside, the shadow of Titan can now be seen through the telescope. The moon appears to have moved closer to the planet, it sits above the rings on the right side. The shadow is close to the upper edge of the planets disc. It is difficult to see, I struggle at first to determine if it is the shadow or my imagination playing games with me. With no one else here, there is no one to verify it for me. I increase the magnification and put a filter on the eyepiece and suddenly the shadow and details on the planet’s surface sharpen up. I jot notes in my journal along with poor drawings in an attempt to make sure I remember these things.

    I sit and watch. Nothing seems to be moving but I know that's not true. Some might compare this to watching paint dry. The seeing has a tendency to improve at times, the view gets crisper, sharper, it is these periods I watch for. Slowly the shadow moves across the planet. I occasionally look up at the stars and they quietly gaze back down. Millions of other worlds hang above me. Sitting alone under them helps give me perspective, I’m not as important as I’d like to think I am.

    Sitting at this telescope I can’t help but wonder if somewhere up there, is there another life form looking at the stars above their world and wondering if I exist.

    Outside, the crescent moon, Jupiter and Venus have risen. To the right sits Orion, having just climbed over the horizon. I look through the scope for a bit longer and then close things up. Locking the door I hear some coyotes howling, a couple farm dogs bark back at them. I take a final look at the sky and then get in the car and start my engine. A small herd of deer standing by the edge of the road watch me drive past.

    I have one more thing to do before I go home. I want to watch the International Space Station make a pass overhead. Driving to a favorite viewing spot, I get out of the car and orientate myself. In the east, across a deep valley sits the moon, Jupiter and Venus. To the right is Orion, now much higher than when I saw him last. Right on time, as predicted, the ISS appears. I watch it as it soundlessly touches the upper shoulder of Orion and then slides over towards Venus, passing just underneath the bright planet.

    The horizon is getting brighter; sunrise isn’t far away. I have only another mile or two till I’m home again. It’s been another memorable, peaceful and quiet morning, the type of mornings I yearn for!