Kinzua Skybridge

One of the key attractions in northern Pennsylvania is the Kinzua Skybridge.  Once a train trestle or viaduct that crossed a deep gorge (over 100 feet deep and 2,000 feet long,) the viaduct allowed trains to carry passengers and products for over 120 years. Eventually the trestle became too fragile to allow trains to cross and then the trestle was partially brought down by a tornado in 2003, while it was under repair.  Rather than rebuild, the state decided to make it into a tourist attraction.  You can walk out to the end on the part of the trestle that remains.  There are beautiful vistas and the shocking remains of the trestle lying on the floor of the gorge.  The visitor center was pretty new – I like how they used steampunk furniture for the gift shop.  Really fit in with the emphasis in the displays on the engineering feats of the bridge. There are numerous hiking trails, including one that goes down to the fallen columns. The bridge was originally made of iron in 1880 but had everything replaced with steel about 40 years later.  The viaduct was in commercial use until 1959 and then was sold to the state. Excursion trains ran for years out to the viaduct and back. Then it was shut down in the early 2000s, when it was found that erosion had eaten through several of the structural beams. It was ranked as the fourth tallest bridge in the U.S. and touted as the 8^th Wonder of the World. 

We spent two nights at a KOA campground a few miles away. I really liked it – grassy sites and nicely wooded.  Everything is so green! Really quiet, I think there were only 3 or 4 campers there.  While we were there, the Perseid meteor showers were supposed to be at their peak.  The first night, the skies were clear so we got up around 4 am to go outside and see the stars. The campground is on the edge of what Pennsylvania calls the Dark Area. One of the state parks is identified as the darkest state park in the country. We weren’t in the perfect spot because there were lights in the campground, but it was darker than anything we have at home. 

We saw some meteors and a lot of the Milky Way, but sleepiness and clouds in the sky took over and I headed back to bed.  The next morning, Russ was talking to the camp manager who told him that he saw a bear over by the dumpsters (about 80 yards from us and where we had to park our truck) in the early hours.  I never even considered that there were bears in the area and there I was, wandering around in the dark.

We are spending a few more days in the wilderness of northern Pennsylvania, then we will head southeast to Philadelphia and congestion.

One of many unknown Pennsylvania bugs.

We traveled mostly on state roads which were usually two lanes with dense woods on both sides. They were uncrowded and, thus, pretty pleasant to travel on.

The more we went into Pennsylvania's wilderness, the steeper and twisty the roads became.

There are a lot of rivers in the area. We saw a fair number of people out fly fishing and boating.

This is a church that has been around for a while. United Methodist churches abound - many more than what we saw in Wisconsin last year.

Occasionally, we would see a field of sunflowers, but the majority of the fields are filled with corn or beans.

The mountains clear in the back, that looks flat across the top is called a ridge.  There is a large area that ranges from the Blue Ridge Mountains up to the Appalachians that is full of ridges and valleys. Because they sweep from southwest up to northeast, east-west travel was almost impossible before modern technology allowed roads to be built.

This is supposed to give a perspective on the size of the bridge.

The trains would encounter high winds and had to travel slowly over the bridge.  Two tracks were put in.  The train would travel on the inside set of tracks. If the wind caused the train to jump the inside track, it would remain confined to the bridge.

This is the gap created when the tornado hit the trestle.

At the end of the standing trestle, a plastic window system was put in so you could see down to the valley floor.

The excursion trains were stopped when it was discovered that many of the bolts that fastened the bridge to its feet were found to be rusted through.

Some of the spans were twisted by the tornado.

On one of our explores through the area, we found this original wooden oil derrick. Derricks like this sprung up all over the area in the 1800s and were used until the oil boom busted. Then they were left to rot into oblivion or be repurposed into tourist attractions. At one time, the county of Verango was producing more oil than any other oil field in the world.

Finally…Arrived in Pennsylvania

After Shipshewana, we pretty much deadheaded to Pennsylvania.  Stopped for one night in Ohio at a KOA campground just off the interstate. Arrived in Venango County for our first Pennsylvania stop. This is in the Northwestern part of the state. I have two family branches on my mom’s side that settled in the area in the late 1700s. We found a fair amount of history and I was able to bring the family tree back a couple more generations on those branches. 

The historical society was housed in a very old Victorian brick home, in a small room off the kitchen. The researcher was fantastic and found several folders and books that had information on my ancestors. We would not have fared so well in our research without her. The two branches that started out in this county ultimately moved to Wisconsin and homesteaded there.

The county seat is Franklin. This town was quite wealthy in the early to middle 1800 time period when oil was discovered. But the oil boom went bust and all the gorgeous homes and neighborhoods were left behind. Many of the Victorians are in disrepair or abandoned.

We spent some time touring the area.  There are lots of gorges and hollows and the hardwood trees are incredibly dense.  I imagine fall is beautiful here. 

Lots of oil history here too.  I knew Pennsylvania was involved in oil at some time…. Pennzoil, Quaker State….but I had no idea that the state was where the whole oil drilling process started. The drilling oil rig was actually invented in Venango County and the first oil derrick was operational in the early 1800s in a town not far from where we were camping. Because a refining process had been created that created kerosene from oil, the resulting large demand for the product allowed for the explosion of the industry. Then when oil was discovered in other states, including Texas, the bottom fell out in Pennsylvania and the area never really recovered.

As soon as we entered Pennsylvania, the weather changed from hot and humid to hot and stormy.  Lots of cloudy days and nights with thunderstorms and lightening.  I always enjoy being in the trailer when it is raining; listening to the rain hitting the roof is very relaxing and cozy for me. But hopefully the rain tapers off soon, the campsite is getting muddy.

This is the building where the genealogical society is housed.  It was the home of a prominent businessman and there were family members occupying the home until 2015!  The place could use some freshening up but I could see myself living there.  Love the detailed moldings and wood floors.

We parked next to this huge racing boat when we stopped for a break at a Travel Center.  It was longer than our entire rig.  It certainly attracted a lot of truckers.

The northern part of Ohio and Pennsylvania is full of rolling mountain ridges with deep gorges.  Lots and lots of trees. The countryside is beautiful with the occasional farm and cleared areas full of corn plants.

Finally we are in Pennsylvania.  We will be touring clockwise, starting in the upper left part of the state.  Most of our family research will take place in the south central and south east part of the state.

Franklin is the county seat for Venango County. This courthouse dates from 1865. The uneven spires are unusual.  All we could figure out is that when having clock towers became popular in the 1880 to 1890 time period, the city wanted one, but they didn't have the money to modify both spires to be equal height, so they just cut one horizontally, added the center section clocktower and had done with it.  The gardens were full of military statues.  A very nicely built courthouse.

Many of the once magnificent Victorian homes are in bad repair.  Some occupied houses had roofs that were badly sagging and I can't even imagine how terrible it must be to live in one of these during the winters.

Cars and Buggies

Russ and I visited South Bend many times when Chris was going to school there.  But not once did we tour the Studebaker National Museum. Too bad, because it is an interesting place. The Studebaker family, famous already for designing the Conestoga wagon, established South Bend as the home base for their growing company and built their mansions and business there. The company began their work in South Bend in the 1850s manufacturing buggies and wagons and launched into those new fangled cars in 1902. Their niche market was cars for the well-to-do. They focused on quality and reliability, attributes the founding Studebaker based his wagon-making business on. We spent a few hours enjoying the historical buggies, wagons and cars that occupy the two floors of the museum. The plant is slowly being disassembled and redeveloped. It looks like a blight on the city right now.

After our short visit to South Bend, we traveled to Shipshewana, an Amish community that we had visited a few times before. Our campground was right on the main street, so we had close access to the business section. I visited a couple of my favorite quilt shops and Russ spent some time in the Yoder hardware store.  Yoders caters to the Amish families and it was cool to see them mingling with the tourists, like us. They go about their business and are kind to ignore the stares they get from the non-Amish. One night we ate dinner at the Blue Gate restaurant, famous in the area for their Amish and Mennonite dishes. It was a Friday night and many local families were dining out.  I was amazed at how the Amish children are so well behaved, without any empty threats by their parents. I saw an Amish father with 8 children having lunch at a pizza place. The kids included one boy about 2 ½, sitting next to his father in a high chair. He ate his pizza without throwing it around and when he was done, he started getting fidgety and stood up in his chair. His dad quietly said something to him and the boy decided to sit down and wait for the others.  No tantrums, no challenging his father’s authority. Contrasting that to other families I see in the restaurants we go to, I am sad that many parents don’t seem to know how to control their children without resorting to yelling or just ignoring them.

We had clear but hot weather in Shipshewana. It was fun to drive through the area in the late afternoon and look at the well-tended farms and the buggies carrying couples out for a nice drive, like us. Every time I visit Shipshewana, I find myself relaxing and taking things slower. The world seems calmer there.

Continuing on to Pennsylvania.

Russ was trying out one of the Studebakers. He said that he had a hard time seeing over the steering wheel.  The rest of us would have to sit on pillows.

An original Conestoga wagon with original wood.

If you saw the movie, Lincoln, you might remember the scene where Abe and Mary were driving to the theater and they talked about what life would be like after the war.  Of course, they were headed to the Ford Theater and life changed for them. This is the actual Landau that Lincoln was driving (not in the movie, but back in the 1860s).

This was a detail from the manufacturing plant.  Several architectural details from the plant were in the museum.

Studebaker launched into the horseless carriage industry with an electric vehicle.

During a time when Model-Ts were selling for around $300, a Studebaker car was over $1,000.  They were made of highest quality and didn't target the working man per say.

A beautiful hood ornament on a 30's model. Very Art Deco.

I loved the beautiful colors on display. And the paint jobs were amazing, such deep, creamy colors!.  Lots of chrome to polish though.

An add-on option - an ouga (sp?) horn!

This model did not sell well, even though it was so streamlined.  Check out the whitewalls.

Love the two tone look - lavender and pink! Do they even do two tone anymore?

The Avante was the last model that Studebaker built. The picture on the wall is a photo of the five brothers that took the small company their father had built and turned it into the Studebaker most of us knew.  For over 120 years, the company provided vehicles for all facets of life - farming, military and city/suburban life.

The cars waiting to be restored were stacked two high.

The kids had access to a play garage, where they donned work shirts, and used tools to check out the engine, change tires and oil.

As we neared Shipshewana, we spotted our first buggy headed to a tire repair place.

Car drivers were duly notified of the presence of the buggies and I thought they were very courteous about slowing down and keeping a distance away from them.

We saw a lot more Amish riding bicycles this time. Looks like these two are headed home from shopping or working.  Many Amish and Mennonites work in the stores and restaurants.  Our campground had an Amish woman driving a golf cart checking on the trailers.  Many of the bishops allow the Amish to use modern equipment if it is required for their work.

Saturday was market day for many of the families.  Lots of different wagons - check out the homebuilt with car seats and rubber wheels instead of a plank for a seat and spoke buggy wheels.

Barn quilts (painted quilt designs) are very popular out in the countryside on "English" farms (non Amish and Mennonite).

Not sure these were for sale although they are new.  The Amish women I saw wore tennis shoes or flip-flops. But I didn't see any with their Sunday best on - maybe these are worn then.  Ouch!

Felt sorry for this guy. It was very hot out in the sun and he didn't have any water or food. He kept shifting his feet like they were hot.

We listened to a dulcimer group play a few country songs.  It was a lot of fun to pick out the sounds from the different instruments.

Fields of corn and beans were so lush.

On one of our country drives, we stopped in nearby Goshen and had lunch at a brewery.  It was housed in a former powerplant.

I had a flight of their lighter ales with my sandwich.  They were ok, a couple were way too fruity and flowery, but Heritage tasted good.