Pennsylvania – Parks & Lex

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site

May 28, 2016January 5, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

Well, it appears I’m not doing a very good job of keeping up with my theme this year. It’s a good thing I termed it “12 Parks/12 Months” because not only did I miss March, but I’m quite late on this post from April! In March, we had reservations at Furnace Creek in Death Valley to check out the superbloom, but battling baby’s first cold made us rethink the long drive. I did at least get a passport cancellation in March (more on that later), but we’ll have to catch up on national park visits later this year.

In April, we were back in the Johnstown area of Pennsylvania. On our last visit, we visited the Flight 93 and Johnstown Flood Memorials. This time, we hit up the one remaining NPS site in the area, the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Gallatzin, PA, about 25-30 min northeast of Johnstown. Much less depressing than the other sites, the Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS is fun tribute to historical infrastructure and engineering.

The “Main Line” of the Public Works system was a series of canals and rail segments that connected Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and was intended to compete with the Erie Canal. The rail sections and inclines provided means by which to cross the Allegheny Mountains. In the Visitor’s Center, they have displays showing how sectional canal boats would be loaded onto railcar platforms then towed by horses or steam engines for the overland sections. Ten inclines used cables and pulleys powered by engine rooms to pull cargo and passenger cars up and down the mountain.

The portage, opened in 1834, served both as a means to transport goods and people, although it fell out of vogue within about 20 years. From the Visitor’s Center, you can walk down a boardwalk to Engine House #6 to look at reproductions of the Engine Room and cables. The current Engine House is built slightly larger to preserve the original foundation still visible inside the building. There are models of the braking system for runaway cars as well as some interesting firsthand accounts to read.

From the Engine House, you have the option to walk down to see the Skew Arch Bridge, so named because the arch of the bridge had to be built at an angle to accommodate a non-right-angled intersection of the rail and road. In the other direction was the Cotton House, a popular tavern and residence serving passengers awaiting the continuation of their travels. From there, it’s a short walk up a service road back to the parking lot. We headed on our way after that little loop, but greatly enjoyed our stop. As a bonus, the volunteer in the Visitor’s Center gave us a bit of the local history, including who Prince Gallatizin is and where to find the summer home (now a friary) of Charles M. Schwab.

National Aviary in Pittsburgh

November 30, 2014parksandlex@gmail.com

Double feature! To lighten the mood a little from my last post, here’s some fun pictures of birds from Pittsburgh’s National Aviary

Tragedies of Western Pennsylvania

November 30, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

Not to put a damper on the holiday mood, but as I hadn’t posted here in a while, figured I’d share some of my recent visits to a pair of Memorials managed by the National Park Service. To avoid traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend, the hubby and I took our “holiday” trip to see the Pittsburgh family earlier this month. One side of the family is from the small city of Johnstown, PA, a city most famous for its great flood of 1889 about 1-2 hours east of Pittsburgh, and on the way into Johnstown, you pass the site where Flight 93 crashed into a field during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The prospect of getting new cancellations in my National Parks Passport book is a (geeky) source of excitement for me when I’m visiting new places, but I admit it felt a little weird when my quest for stamps took a more somber twist on this trip. On the other hand, it certainly didn’t seem right to drive within 10 miles of the isolated field where the passengers of Flight 93 gave their lives to subvert another 9/11 attack and not visit the memorial to pay our respects. So, to the memorial we went. They are still constructing future sections of the Flight 93 memorial park, including a museum, but the current site has signs near the parking area to tell the story of the flight and a memorial walk leading up to a wall containing the names of all of the passengers and crew. As a University of California Rugby fan, I recognized the name of local hero Mark Bingham, former Cal Rugby player and one of the passengers who lead the charge against the terrorists. Needless to say, the memorial was very moving – it’s amazing how fresh those events can still feel.

The Johnstown Flood National Memorial, being a bit more historical in nature, didn’t pack quite the emotional punch, but the site sits just above the infamous dam that failed after heavy rains in 1889, flooding the town below and killing more than 2000 people. Johnstown was a bigger town then than it is now, and the exhibits at the visitors center explain how flood aid poured in from all over the world, in part inspired by connections to the diverse population in the steel and railroad town at that time. The disaster also marked the first large-scale relief effort by the American Red Cross, with Clara Barton herself helping to coordinate the response. It was interesting to hear about the series of events that lead to the decay and eventual failure of the dam, first installed as part of a public works project, then owned and allowed to fall into disrepair by the railroad company and eventually inherited and “kept up” by a fishing and hunting club whose members included steel and banking magnates. In addition to seeing the exhibits at the visitor’s center, you can walk up to either side of the former dam and see some of the old club houses in the nearby town of St. Michael (much of which sits in what was then the lake). In Johnstown proper, there is a Johnstown Flood Museum not associated with the NPS, but we didn’t have time to stop in.

A common theme from the two memorials we visited was the stories relating the heroism of everyday people, like the legend of Hettie Ogle, a Johnstown telegraph operator who remained with her staff at a post upstream of the town relaying warnings until the flood took them. Since our visit occurred just before Veteran’s Day, it seemed appropriate to also spend a day honoring the service and sacrifice of those who worked to the bitter end to try to save the inhabitants of Johnstown and the passengers and crew of Flight 93.

The Steel City and the New River Gorge

May 2, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

Parks & Lex is in the great city of Pittsburgh this weekend for a conference. This is my second time flying into my husband’s hometown, and I find it fitting that you are greeted at the airport baggage claim by statues of Franco Harris (Pittsburgh Steeler and recipient of the Immaculate Reception), George Washington (our nation’s first President), and T-Rex (our nation’s biggest, baddest ex-resident). This pretty much sums up this city to me – they are quite proud of their history, their sports teams, and their science & technology. While not in the national park system, I highly recommend checking out the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History and the Phipps Conservatory in the Oakland area (NPS tie-in, many of the dino bones and reconstructions in the museum came from the sites now associated with Dinosaur National Monument in CO). The Warhol Museum is also worth a visit, even if you do end up enjoying the rotating guest exhibit more than the experimental 60s video art… (we saw a great exhibit on comic book artist Alex Ross).

Carnegie Dinos — The Carnegie Museum of Natural History

The reason I bring up the airport is that previous trips to Pittsburgh when we were living in North Carolina always meant long drives up Route 19 through West Virginia and always meant a stop at the New River Gorge. The New River Gorge National River spans 53 miles of the New River, and admittedly all I’ve seen of it is its iconic bridge along Rt. 19. The Canyon Rim Visitors’ Center, on the North side of the bridge, has information and exhibits on both the bridge and the river area. A boardwalk and stairs lead to views of the gorge and bridge and are a good way to stretch your legs.

New River Gorge

New River Gorge Bridge

Fayetteville, WV on the South side of the bridge, is purportedly the “Coolest Little Town”, and who am I to argue? The town services the recreation associated with the river, such as climbing and rafting, and has a lot of little restaurants that make good lunch spots. I was always a fan of the vegetarian soups (not to mention the coffee) at the Cathedral Cafe when we passed through during the winter holidays. Once a year, in the fall, the bridge closes down for a day of repelling, base-jumping, and other activities known as “Bridge Day”.

Back in Pittsburgh, I hope to someday check out some of the NPS sites in Western PA. Pittsburgh is on the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail and part of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area. Further out are Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Friendship Hill and Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Sites, and the Flight 93 and Johnstown Flood National Memorials. For now, off to find me a Primanti Brothers sandwich!