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| Wheeling, WV |
The last day of my trip was primarily driving home but I made
a few stops along the way. My first stop was to walk the riverfront in
Wheeling, WV. There were some interpretive exhibits that told the story of how
Wheeling came to be. I also drove through Oglebay Park which was huge and had
all sorts of amenities like a gold course and ski hill. I drove to the visitor's
center for the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area in Homestead, PA but it wasn’t
open so I drove over to the Rachel Carson homestead. It wasn’t open either but
it had picnic tables so I heated up a can of soup and had lunch there.
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| Rachel Carson home |
My last
stop of the day was Oil Creek State Park. I hiked the Blood Farm Interpretive
Trail which told the story of the farm that produced a lot of oil. The park is such a peaceful
place that its hard to envision it as an oil boom town. The Petroleum Centre
Walking Tour was fascinating to me. Numerous interpretive signs tell the story
of a company town had no government, law enforcement, sanitation or public works.
Apparently gold miners would come here after busting out West and be scared of
how lawless this place was. I imagine it takes quite a lot to scare a 'forty niner'! I wasn’t too familiar with Pennsylvania’s oil
history and found this park to be a great place to learn.
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| Blood Farm trail |
I had a whirlwind of a trip but thanks to my impeccable planning
and sense of timing I never felt overwhelmed. This is the first trip where
I planned meals and bought a cooler so I ate like a queen everyday. I still have ~175 NPS sites left to see but I am down to only 8 states left. I am toying with setting the goal of reaching all 50 states by the age of 30 but with Hawaii and Alaska still on the list, I need to assess just how realistic that is. When did that ever stop me before ;)?
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