October 28, 2011

North Country Trail

I really liked our campsite location at Red Bridge. We were right by the water and it kinda reminded me of Maine at low tide because the water was really low and all the rocks were exposed. I love the settings on my new camera because just by switching to a different setting I can get a totally different look where the lighting looks completely different. After getting up Sunday morning we fried up some hash for breakfast, broke down camp and headed out by 8am. It wasn’t sunny but at least the rain had stopped. We drove up the road for a bit to where the North Country trail crossed. I’d wanted to do the Nelse Run section because I’d heard it was one of the prettiest sections of the NCT. We didn’t hike very far but it was enough for me to realize that I will never be one to hike an entire National Scenic trail. Hiking the same path for months on end while hauling all my own supplies does not appeal to me.Here's Dad with his cane so I didn't want to drag him too far into the wilderness. Here's the only picture with the two of us:We made our way back to New York and (since I never like to drive the same road twice), decided to drive back through Allegheny State Park. Mom and Dad had taken us camping there when we were young and I didn’t remember it all. It was a gorgeous park and I would love to come back and enjoy one of their numerous camping cabins. We headed back up through Ellicotville and stopped at the Griffis Sculpture park which was an odd collection of random wooden sculptures that I didn't really get the point of.


We didn't spend too long at the creepy sculpture park and hit the road to get home by 2pm. Despite the rain, I really enjoyed this trip. Usually I wait until I get a three day weekend and then do a 1,000 mile road trip but this weekend trip made me realize I could have just as much fun exploring somewhat close to home (although it definitely helps that this was another National Park Site I could check off my list:) I just need to escape every once in a while and I don't always need 1,000 miles to do that.

October 27, 2011

Kinzua Dam and Bent Run Waterfalls

After leaving the Rimrock area, we then keaded over to the Kinzua Dam. Authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1936 and 1938, actual construction on the dam was begun by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1960 and completed in 1965. The main purpose of the dam is flood control on the Allegheny River. The dam at Kinzua has prevented an estimated $1 billion in flood damages since becoming operational.

Right across from the dam is Bent Run waterfall. With all the rain, the falls were heartier than they usually would be this time of year. I had a great time playing around with all the features of my new camera. I love this "old timey" look.As the rain lightened up we headed back to the Longhouse Scenic Byway to take in some more scenery. We drove to the Jakes Rocks overlook which gave us another vantage point of the dam. Since the rain finally let up, we decided to follow the Longhouse Scenic Byway back to Red Bridge recreation area and set up camp. As we pulled into the campground we were greeted by the welcoming committee:

This guy was enjoying a late afternoon snack. We later saw him off in the trees enjoying what he had pillaged from the dumpster. Talking to other campers, we heard that he had destroyed someone’s tonneau cover the night before. There were only about 6 other spots taken so we picked a prime location right by the water and got set up for the night. We enjoyed a nice dinner of soup and cheese and crackers and then relaxed by walking around the campground and looking for the bear.

I had my Under Armour and sleeping bag and bedroll so I was roasty toasty and slept very well. Dad didn’t sleep very well because he was listening for the bear all night but at least he was warm. We did hear an owl and a pack of coyotes throughout the night which was really cool.

October 25, 2011

Bradford, PA and Allegheny National Forest

I was getting sick of the rain so I thought we’d head over to Bradford, PA and head indoors at the Zippo Case Museum. I had no idea that these American institutions were in Bradford, PA! A 15,000 square foot museum and visitors center is located in Bradford, Pennsylvania and contains rare and custom made Zippo lighters, and also sells the entire Zippo line. Zippo is known for being a wind proof lighter that became popular in the United States military, especially during World War II — when Zippo ceased production of lighters for consumer markets and dedicated all manufacturing to the U.S. military. They have since become popular for advertising as many different companies customized them with their logos. Zippo lighters carry a limited lifetime guarantee, promoted using the trademarked phrase "It works or we fix it for free." The museum passes by a workshop where the repairs take place. There were even examples of how lighters had been destroyed.

The museum also contains an enormous collection of Case knives. The other half of the museum covers Case knives which many people collect as a hobby. I never realized that the knife my Grandpa owns and uses is a Case. Dad ended up buying a similar bone knife for his own use. The family tradition continues.

After that is was back to the rain as we headed back into the Forest. We drove the Longhouse Scenic byway and stopped at various points along the way. The Rimrock Overlook was really cool. It overlooked Kinzua Bay and was perched on some sheer cliffs. I discovered a staircase in the steps that wound down to the bottom of the cliffs. It was a neat place to explore and the foliage seemed to be shining even brighter in the rain.

October 24, 2011

Fall Foliage 2011

It’s been over a month since my last road trip and I was itching to get out and enjoy the gorgeous fall foliage so this past weekend Dad and I took off to the wilds of Pennsylvania. While doing an audit of the NPS sites I’ve been to so far (145!) I discovered that the North Country Trail runs through NY and PA so I thought I’d check it out. With the added bonus of fall foliage in full bloom I decided to head down to one of the most scenic parts of the NCT in the Allegheny National Forest. The North Country Trail is still in development (as of 2010, over 2,100 miles have been certified) but when complete it will stretches 4,600 miles from eastern New York to central North Dakota.Dad and I headed out first thing Saturday morning and didn’t even make it past the local corner store before I realized that I had never printed the itinerary. We headed back home and I printed it out so we could actually know where we were going. It was raining but as we headed south the sun came out and gave us a beautiful rainbow. I don’t think I’d ever seen a full rainbow before with a completely perfect arch. The rains came back and continued as we drove the Kinzua Bridge Byway and reached our first stop at the Kinzua Bridge State Park. The park is noted as the home of the Kinzua Bridge spanning Kinzua Creek, original bridge built in 1882 and destroyed in 2003 by a tornado. It was built in less than 100 days by a crew of 40 men. The reason for the short construction time was that scaffolding was not used in the bridge's construction. At the time it was built, the original Kinzua Bridge was the highest, at 301 feet , and longest, at 2,053 feet railway bridge in the world and was billed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World”.

This is what it looked like when built:

Prior to the destruction:

In 2003 an F1 tornado wiped out 11 of the 20 towers so today it looks like this:

The bridge has been partially reconstructed so now you can walk out on it and look down to the valley through a glass floor. With the rain though, you couldn’t really see down. We didn’t spend much time out on the bridge because it was so windy and rainy that people’s umbrellas were breaking and I couldn’t feel my hands. We walked over to another observation deck to get a side view of the bridge. I had never even heard of this place before and it was amazing and terrifying to view the tangled heap of metal left on the floor. The ruins are used to show the forces of nature at work.

Dad and I then drove through Kane, PA and headed into the Allegheny National Forest. As the rains continued to pour we drove through our intended camping spot for the night, Red Bridge. We decided not to set up camp in the rain and decided to continue on and see how the weather shakes out. We drove past an NPS interpretive site of an old powerhouse. This region has a big history of oil production. At the turn of the century this area of PA produced over 90% of the United States’ oil. It doesn’t do nearly that amount today but remains an active operation. The particular powerhouse closed in the 1980s but gave a good overview of how the oil gets out of the ground.