Road Scrabble

 Here is a game that Ann Marie and I often play when we are on the road. It is much like the “License Plate Game”, where you attempt to accumulate as many different state plates as possible, this game uses the basics of the board game, Scrabble.

    It is extremely easy to play and you can make up your own rules if you want to. No dictionary is needed. Here is the way we play it.

Using the three letters on most Pennsylvania license plates, we have to come up with a word using those letters in the same order as they are on the license plate. (any state will work as long as there are 3 letters on the plate) Some license plates just can’t be done.

    The letters don’t have to be in contact with each other, just in the same order. License plates with an “s” at the end are very easy because by adding an “s” to something, you’re pluralizing it. “R’s” at the end of the sequence are easy also by adding “er” to a word. The same as the rules in Scrabble, we don’t use proper nouns. Occasionally we will keep score using the numbers on the Scrabble tiles.

The numerical values of the tiles are;

Q & Z’s are 10 points

J & X’s are 8 points

K’s are 5 points

F, H, V, W & Y’s are 4 points.

D & G’s are 2 points

And all the rest of the letters are 1 point.

(If you are a regular Scrabble player, you already knew that.)

    We normally don’t bother with scoring, we just shout out a word as the car goes by, then another and another, until the car is gone or another one comes into sight. I often find myself doing it when I’m alone in the car. I’d like to think it helps keep our minds sharp. (and my mind can definitely use some sharpening!)

    Watching the license plates going by makes us notice vanity plates more often. They sometimes need a bit of brain power to figure out also!

    Here are a couple examples…

Happy, Hippy or Harpy are all good.

How about Lighthouse?

Shock or Showcase.

Oh, there’s a winner!

   

    And so the game goes on, until one of you gets tired and quits or you just forget about it and enjoy the sights you’re passing. You might want to try it on your Labor Day trips…

 

A Short Stroll on the Trail

 The morning was beautiful, the sky was blue, the moon could be seen in-between the trees in my front yard, and the temperatures were in the low 70’s. It was a perfect day for a walk on the Rachel Carson Trail!

    Ann Marie and I have hiked this trail many times, we completed the entire trail back in April of 2013.  Even further back, a hike on the trail was one of our first outings together! There are lots of sections which are great for short walks.

    This trail was named The Rachel Carson Trail since it passes near where the famous writer and environmentalist used to live. Back in 1975 the trail was 33 miles long, today it is 46.1 miles long, stretching from North Park to Harrison Hills County Park near the town of Freeport. Like so many trails in the country, it is a work in progress. Due to road work, new homes and safety concerns, the trail often changes its route.

    I have 3 different trail guides, one from 1975, one from 1997 and one from 2004. I guess (?) I should get the newest guide to complete my collection. A guide really isn’t needed; the trail is very well marked!

    The section I was walking this morning was changed a few years ago to eliminate some of the road walking and to take the trail back into the greenery.  Ann Marie and I hadn’t been on this section, so I thought it would be a great place to take a stroll.

    I had just finished reading “A Walk in the Park”, by Kevin Fedarko. This book tells about his “walk” through the Grand Canyon, an idea that turned out to be much harder than he originally thought. After reading books about long hikes and extreme camping, they just make me want to go out into the wilderness. Now, the RCT may not be wilderness, but it is out in the woods.

    The section I was going on was all of about a mile and a half. That would be a good distance for me to haul my lazy butt without killing me. After all, it is just a short walk…

  

    The trail from where I started took me up a slight slope to the edge of a hill overlooking the turnpike and rt.910. The highways soon disappeared but the noise from them stayed with me almost the entire walk. I came across a farmer’s field with wild grass growing beside it. The sunlight was illuminating the buds at the ends of the stalks. I got a bit wet from the dew as walked through them. I was hoping they weren’t hiding any ticks.

    I came across an old cement structure; I believe it is an old sedimentation tank from back in the days when a Nike site was located near-by. Some cement steps led up to nothing, whatever was there is now long gone. Just the tank and some other cement structures, all the rest has disappeared.

    A bit further on, the trail drifted away from the edge of the hillside and the noise of the traffic lessened. It was nice walking along the level, twisting path. Then I came to the downhill section.

    The RCT is known for not taking an easy way whenever a straight line will work. The path led right down a rather steep hill, the trail was basically a sloped wall of rocks. I went down carefully, not wanting to slip. It wasn’t as bad as I imagined and I was down alongside a stream before I knew it.

    The air was a bit cooler near the stream. There were lots of wildflowers growing in batches on either side of the trail. A few mud holes were intermingled with the dirt path but nothing to cause any problems, the tracks of deer in them showed that they had recently been on the trail also. I crossed a dried up section of the stream and soon was at the road and the end of this brief walk. I only saw one person while I was on the trail, a runner who made me feel old as he sped past me. I remember the days when I used to do that…for now though, I’m happy to just take my time and enjoy the flowers, the birds and the fresh air!

Motels, Book Barns, Family and a Furnace

 Our schedule this weekend would be taking Ann Marie and me across the state. We had a birthday party to attend and we wouldn’t want to miss it. My grandson Mateo was turning 5 and you know, this only happens once in a lifetime! Five years, wow, like they say, “Time flies!”

    We got off to a late start due to a doctor’s appointment. It wasn’t until around 10 before we left. Hurricane Debby was working its way up the eastern coast and predictions said we would be driving into rain. For a change of pace, we took the turnpike instead of route 22. We haven’t taken this route in ages. Our travels are so often about what we happen across and the turnpike, while quick, limits these opportunities.

    Exiting at Fort Littleton we did a couple geocaches to break up the drive. We were in-between rain showers which worked out perfectly for us. The first cache brought us to an old abandoned motel. The grass was uncut and full of weeds and poison ivy had spread across the walkways. A few of the doors were open and inside, the beds were still made, ready for the next guest. Gideon Bibles were inside the drawers alongside nests that mice had made from the curtains and bedspreads. I can’t remember the last time I saw a bible in a motel.

    The cache was hidden behind the motel. Peeking in windows I was watching for the raccoon that a previous finder had run across. I didn’t see any wildlife while we were here but I’m sure the motel has seen plenty of it when it was in business.

    Back on the turnpike we continued going east until we crossed the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg. Here we headed towards Lancaster and our next stop. We passed through a few more rain showers as we drove. Following our hand drawn map, we made it to our destination without any wrong turns. It pays to have a good navigator pointing out the turns!

    Moyer’s Book Barn has been operating in Strasburg for over 40 years. Inside a red painted barn with ivy crawling up the sides lays a labyrinth of shelves on two floors and an attached (1/2 price) garage. The shelves are well organized and Judith, the owner has a good idea of where everything is located. It was a perfect spot to while away some time on a rainy Friday. With a couple finds under our arms we hurried out to the car, shielding our books from the rain.

    A little over 35 miles away in West Chester, we came to another book barn. A bit higher and sturdier, this store, The Baldwin’s Book Barn is made out of stone. Built 202 years ago, in 1822 it was originally a milking barn. The Moyers moved their store into it in 1946. Inside there are 5 floors filled with around 300,000 used and rare books. Laid out like a maze, I found myself discovering new rooms and different staircases leading up to higher floors. Some of the shelving consists of wooden fruit cases, many with their colorful labels still attached. Thick stone walls and massive wooden beams make wonderful backdrops for the book collection. Chairs are scattered around to allow perusal of your potential purchases.

    Carol, the owner has the entire store cataloged in her head, instantly knowing if they have anything you’d want and where it would be. Maps are available at the front desk to help newcomers find their way around. There is a small section with maps and a sign indicating that others may be hidden elsewhere, just ask. The barn was a fascinating place to explore; we didn’t have enough time to do a deep dive into all they have. The barn is open every day of the year except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. If you’re ever in the area, it is well worth setting an hour (or three) aside to visit it.

    One of Ann Marie and my favorite book barns was located near the town of Carlisle. I had found it completely by accident. Stopping to take a picture of some signs I parked in a gravel parking lot beside a barn. Returning to the car I saw that it was a bookstore. Going inside I was astounded. The barn had polished floors and beams, bookcases were spread across the open topped room. Glass cases held pictures and special books, old magazines and pamphlets were in display racks along a wall and a nice wooden staircase led up to a balcony where more books were stored. From the balcony you could look out into the barn and see the layout of all the shelves.  Underneath the balcony was the checkout counter, their Pennsylvania books and a bunch of thin drawer cabinets with old maps and prints. On top of the shelves there was a collection of world globes, one of which sits in my living room now along with some of their framed maps.  Sadly the store has closed but it isn’t forgotten!

    From West Chester we went to our motel, a much nicer one than the one we visited earlier, where we cleaned up a bit before going to visit the birthday boy and his family. The next day was spent at soccer practice and partying with family and friends. Sunday morning, we stopped back again to say good-bye and have another taste of birthday cake before we left.

    We decided to revisit the Hopewell Iron Furnace on our way back. The last time we were there it was a rainy day and we tried our best to stay under cover as much as possible. This time the weather was on our side, the skies were blue and the temperatures were comfortable.  We were able to leisurely stroll around and visit some of the sites we missed on our last trip.

    This furnace was originally built in 1771 by Mark Bird. The furnace went out of blast finally in 1883. The grounds and buildings were rebuilt by the CCC in the 1930’s. We visited the ruins of a furnace, the failed attempt at early hot blast technology and saw a colliers hut, we visited the restored furnace and casting house, walked onto the loading bridge and watched and listened to the creaking of the big water wheel and bellows which helped heat the furnace. A blacksmith shop was being used by a couple men who were forging a piece of iron.

    A few gardens were spread across the yards near the workers houses, all of which were open for us to look through. After walking around in the sun, we returned to the car and ate our lunch, slices of fresh watermelon. Then we hit the road again. We drove through Boyertown, the town my father grew up in.  We stopped to visit the grave of my dad and his father and sister while we were there. Leaving Boyertown, we were passed by some fire engines racing towards a barn fire. By the time we caught up with them the fire was out but engines from other fire companies kept arriving. It was very exciting. Nothing like loud sirens and speeding fire engines to get your heart pumping!

    We returned by way of rt. 22, our old familiar route. We passed landmarks and sites we have visited before, each one another step closer to home. The old steamboat sitting in the field, the large short-wave radio antennas, the statue of Liberty sitting in the middle of the Susquehanna River and the Red Robin Drive-in, where we had dinner. The waiter remembered us from our last visit. After eating we continued on…

    We passed barns painted with tobacco and religious ads, the start of the 1000 Step Trail, the wooden doorway set in the cliffs at Lincoln cavern and then the winding road traversing the valley between the mountains and the fields of corn.  Climbing the hills outside of Altoona I watched for trains on the mountain across from us. There are so many great things to see in this state!

    As we neared the end of the trip, the sky above was getting darker and giving us a show. The bottom of the clouds turned pink and as the sun neared the horizon, purples, blues and orange filled the sky. The pinks turned red as the sun slipped behind the mountains. It was dark when I finally arrived back home, I was tired but still I stood outside for a few minutes looking at the moon and stars, hoping to see one of the Persied meteorites. Leaving my bags in the car for morning, I went inside and collapsed on my own, familiar bed, happy and content. "This is so much better than any motel!"

Watching Stars Disappear

 The skies above are filled with constant motion. Besides the clouds and the sun crossing slowly across the sky during our days, we also have the motion of the moon. Further out, the planets move around in our night and morning skies and change their positions to each other. Even further out, though much less noticeable, the stars slowly change their nightly position (due to the earth’s orbit) and their positions as compared to each other, visible only through telescopes and by comparing their positions to older pictures.

    In our own solar system, with even a small telescope we can see the moons of planets moving over the course of a night. We can also see the motion of our own moon by watching it pass in front of the stars behind it. Using telescopes and even binoculars we can watch as stars are covered by the moon. This is called an occultation, when one object moves in front of another, blocking it from view. I find it fascinating to watch this happen! 

    The solar eclipse we saw in April was actually an occultation; the moon slowly covered the sun from our view!

    A friend in my astronomy club recently sent out an e-mail, reminding us that there was going to be an occultation of the bright star Spica on Saturday night. (7/13/24)

    Since the club had two star parties scheduled for that weekend, I felt as if the event couldn’t help but be clouded out, that is how so many of our star parties usually end up. It is a Pittsburgh thing and also an astronomy thing.

    The jokes about rain and clouds and the recent purchases of telescopes and astronomical events are both old and completely uncountable.  I can’t recall how many times I’ve heard people apologizing for buying new equipment and for the resulting clouds they brought with it. I didn’t want to get my hopes up…

( For another blog about astronomy, occultations and clouds, click below)

Notes from a Reading Addict: Waiting for the Clouds to Part (bookman56.blogspot.com)

    I started making my list. I don’t want to forget anything important, the last thing I want to do is set everything up and find out I’ve forgotten one of the most important things required! This is what was on the list; my camera (charged!) and its assorted gear, the telescope, its tripod, counterweights, binoculars, a notebook and pen, flashlights (red and white), an accurate timepiece and of course, the obligatory cup of coffee. I knew where I was going to go, I had called the owners and left a message with their answering service saying when and where I’d be.

    I set up the telescope in the front yard as a test run. I pre-set the camera and checked my field of view. The entire diameter of the moon would be able to be captured. It took about 10 minutes to set everything up. I had put a 1.25” adapter on the camera and mounted it where the diagonal goes.

    The time for the occultation was approximately 11:20PM, so I made sure the car was packed by 9. Then I sat inside and did some reading, caught up on a few e-mails and also kept an eye on the sky. Around 10:15, I left the house and hit the road.

    My observing spot was in a cemetery situated above the town of Sharpsburg. The area itself is dark and hardly ever visited and it is high enough that I would have no problems with seeing Spica and the moon through trees, buildings or power lines. The roads around it were empty, there were no cars going by. I pulled in and started setting up. I was early and as far as occultation watching goes, that is always good thing. The telescope has time to acclimate and there is time to do some test shots and make sure that the focus is proper and locked. The camera is using the telescope as its lens so it has no automatic focus like the camera lens have. It all depended on my aged eyes to get as crisp a shot as possible.

    After taking 5 or 6 shots and making slight adjustments after each one, I tightened the focuser and then stood and watched through binoculars as the bright star neared the moons darkened side. Looking through binoculars I could see Spica but I couldn’t see the nearing edge of the moon; it blended in with the dark sky behind it. I couldn’t see the edge using the preview screen on the camera either. I could only guess how close the star was. I was watching the time carefully but the occultation might happen earlier than predicted.

    Spica is the 15^th brightest star in our night sky. It is located in the constellation Virgo and it lies about 260 light years away from us. Even though it is bright, I still needed binoculars to see it near the blindingly bright moon.

    The timer on the shutter was set for 10 seconds to help eliminate vibrations. I also had placed a small bean bag on the camera to help steady it. As the time neared, I decreased the time between shots. I looked at one shot and the star was clearly visible and then the next shot showed that the star had disappeared! 

To see Spica, you may have to enlarge the picture.

    The last shot with Spica visible was taken at 11:20:53PM, the next shot, after it had disappeared was taken at 11:21:11PM, 18 seconds later. The camera's time stamp was accurate to within a second.

    One thing I think I’ll change for the next occultation is that I’ll watch it through the telescope instead of trying to photograph it. I find that it is much more interesting watching the star disappear in real time. Seeing the star, planet or moon disappear is always exciting to me.

    Everything worked out as planned. I saw one of the wonders that our world presents us. I saw something happen in the sky that very few of the world’s population even knew was happening.

    There are so many treasures hidden right in front of our eyes and all we have to do is look for them! They aren’t all astronomical; waterfalls, flowers, the hills and valleys of our planet, sunrises, sunsets and rainbows. There are also the sounds and smells of our world.  Wind rushing across the fields, through wind chimes and the soothing sounds of water rushing over the rocks. The smells of flowers, freshly baked bread and the rain having just fallen on a hot summer day.  We are so lucky to have these opportunities presented to us. They are out there and they have the power to move us, both emotionally and intellectually. Take advantage of them, they are there for us to experience!

    I was back at home a little after midnight, happy and ready to jump into bed. I had spent a quiet hour under a beautiful night sky. I had watched movement in space; I had watched a star disappear. What a wonderful way to spend an evening!

Altoona and Back

 A friend, Byron Smail recently released a new book that he wrote (Blair County Iron) and was going to give a talk about it. Ann Marie and I were going to go and also spend a little time roaming around the area. His talk was taking place at the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, being a railroad fanatic; I wasn’t going to miss that! We had been to another of Byron’s talks when he had printed his first book and we enjoyed his talk immensely. We were looking forward to both the talk and the trip!

    As is always the case, when we are going somewhere, I look for a few things to do on our trip, a couple little things which might make the ride a bit more enjoyable.

    Of course, there were a couple geocaches on our route. Since we were going to hear a talk about iron furnaces, I also added 3 furnaces that we hadn’t visited yet to our itinerary. We also would stop at a couple quilt shops and a new to us, restaurant. Then, there were the sites we would just run across, we never know what we will find!

    Our start was a little after sunrise, hoping to avoid some of the heat of the day. We ended up in Gallitzin around 9. There was a cache that we hadn’t found a few weeks ago and we were going to try to find it again. Unfortunately, after 15-20 minutes of searching around, we couldn’t locate it. We weren’t too concerned, it is only a game, chances are, we will be back.

    About a mile or two away, just below the railroad tracks coming out of Altoona, there used to be a furnace. The town of Bennington sat here, now all that remains are a couple foundations and a cemetery. My hopes were to find the stack from the furnace. I had only a rough idea of its location; it was below the tracks and above a large slag pile. A couple friends had been there but we hadn’t…yet.

    We drove along a dirt road, searching for where a path/road might have once been, leading down to the site.  We passed a long line of coke ovens; we counted over 40 of them. Hundreds used to be here. The fronts are all broken. I’ve heard that the owners would take the doors and fronts off of them after they were no longer used to avoid taxation.

    We got out of the car and walked back and forth searching for a possible route down to the furnace. At one spot, the slope was extremely steep and almost all of the edges were covered in thick, high Bind weed. Driving back I found what I believed was the trail, I stopped the car and went down over the hill. Fighting through high weeds and jagger bushes I went down a couple hundred yards. AMB stayed in the car and not wanting to continue on by myself and possibly get hurt, I returned to the car. I marked the spot with my GPS, I WILL be back to explore further!

We meandered around the Hollidaysburg area, checking out a couple quilt shops, a roadside veggie stand and then stopped for lunch at a Pennsylvania Dutch style restaurant. A little further down the road we came into the town of Woodbury. The Elizabeth Iron Furnace used to sit here. Peter Shoenberger had a furnace built here in 1827. It operated through 1843 and then it was dismantled and moved. We looked at the field where it once stood but didn’t bother going over to explore. There are no ruins there.

The furnace was moved to Bloomfield Township where it became the Bloomfield Furnace. After operating for a few years, it was once again dismantled and moved to Rodman where it became the Middle Martha Furnace.

    I stopped in a small business and asked if they knew anything about the furnace. Bryan, the owner didn’t know anything about it but he did give me some directions to a near-by limestone kiln. We drove over and stopped to take some pictures.

    Limestone kilns were used to burn limestone to produce lime which was spread on fields to help improve crop yields. They were operated much the same as iron furnaces. Limestone and charcoal, or a similar heat source was loaded from the top and the finished product sunk to the bottom where it was taken out. These kilns can be found all over the state.

    After looking around the kiln and photographing it, we drove to the outskirts of Bellwood, a bit north of Altoona. There we searched for a set of ruins, another Elizabeth Furnace. The first one we looked for was in Bedford County, this one was in Blair. Once again, I only had an idea of where they might be located. I tried coming in from one side of Sandy Run Creek but saw nothing, the land was too flat. The furnace had to be on the opposite side of the stream, up against the hillside.

    We drove across a near-by bridge and tried again. Ann Marie decided to hang out in the car while I searched. My “search” took me through thick weeds and across hundreds of fallen trees. I walked through mud bogs and had mosquitoes feeding off me. I tried my best to avoid the poison ivy. I had shorts on, not the best clothing for bushwhacking and my legs were bleeding from scratches. I followed the stream and didn’t see anything and eventually backtracked. I found a small deer trail and followed it in closer to the hillside and then... all of a sudden, it appeared in front of me. Like a vision it became apparent to me, I could discern between the trees and leaves and the rock ruins behind them.

    The furnace had partially collapsed though one corner was still standing sharp and straight. I didn’t see any openings; they had been covered when the sides collapsed. Older pictures show that there were 3 openings. I climbed up the hillside to the top where I could see the chimney. Looking in, I could see the bricks which lined it and some trash that other “explorers” had tossed inside. Parts of a wall connected the top to the hillside. Numerous animal holes were visible between the stones. After taking a few more pictures, I took the easy way out by sneaking through the yard of a house above it and returned to the car and Ann Marie. She told me that 2 people had stopped to inquire if she needed any help. Nice people in this area!

    We then returned to Hollidaysburg where we checked into a “low priced” motel. We showered and got dressed for the lecture.

    Held in a lecture room in the Railroaders Memorial Museum, Byron kept us enthralled for about an hour and a half. He told about the various iron furnaces situated around Blair County and showed us pictures, both old and present day. He explained some things about how the iron ore was mined and also about some of the limestone quarries in the county. A little bit about the Portage Railroad and the canals was presented also. A little over 50 people were in attendance.

    Leaving the building after the talk we were presented with a wide rainbow that stretched across the sky. The sun was just setting and that added even more color to the view. Driving back to Hollidaysburg, we watched the sky turn orange. The mountains above Altoona showed all the various hills and valleys, all dark, underneath a spectacular reddish orange sky. There was no place to pull over and take a picture, but there is no doubt, it will always be in our memories.

    The next morning, I was up at dawn and went out to find a couple geocaches before I returned with coffee. We returned to Altoona for breakfast at a great diner called Tom and Joes. Opened originally in 1933 it reflects the way diners used to be. The tables and chairs are vintage styled, a counter is available and the food was both flavorful and plenty. Best breakfast I’ve had in a long time!

    We walked down to the RR tracks and watched the east-bound Amtrak train pull into the station. We found another geocache and then headed up towards the Horseshoe Curve. We did another cache there and then went under the tracks, past the coke ovens located in the ghost town of Glen White and then to Gallitzin where we attempted again to find the cache we couldn’t find the day before. NO LUCK! I’d like to think it is gone, how could we have missed it, THREE TIMES?

    We did one more cache in the town and then got onto rt.22 and headed west towards home. We had only been here for two days but we kept saying that it felt as if we’d been on the road for a week. We managed to squeeze a lot into this short little trip; I’d have to say it was another complete success!