We have an adventurous spirit, but are saddled with indecision. We are dilettantes, touring Tuscaloosa. We are ex-patriots living in Camden, NJ. We swoon with elan, but are moldering from ennui.
Yes, the glorious days of travel are in the past fair reader. Belts are tightening and expectations are low. Tuscan sunshine, Belgian beer, London fog, Hawaiian luaus, Australian barbees, might as well throw in a side trip to Mars, will escape us this summer. But, never fear fair readers, Team VFH can find happiness everywhere and this year we are going camping. It is a cheaper way to travel, and we need to be cheap this summer, but in no way one must consider this a flawed way of traveling. I once hitchhiked and camped my way around France and though my French is severely limited, had a great time. Janet too has camped her way all over Europe and she will regale you with lengthy tales of her camping trips to Colorado and Alaska. I never tire of hearing them. And, in our relative short time together as a team we’ve already camped twice previously, once at Ricketts Glen in Northeast Pennsylvania and once at Cooperstown, NY. At Ricketts Glen we hiked the Falls Trails which features several cascades of various heights and at Cooperstown we visited the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame and the Ommegang Brewery. We had a great time at each.
With this year’s financial difficulties camping swiftly became the only option for us. We talked about Ocracoke Island and Bar Harbor, but Janet insisted on Ohiopyle. Logistics such as distance and cost were the deciding factors. The cache though of vacationing in Pennsylvania is thin though and I was worried that our experiences would be fleeting. But, now that we are in the third day of our trip I have to say that Janet knows what she’s talking about. She plans trips well and the details are never lost with her. We… or should I say she… makes Team VFH a great traveling squad.
Janet had heard of Ohiopyle State Park from a friend. There are plenty of activities here she was told, like biking and hiking and …gasp… white water rafting… Janet has wanted to go on a one or two week trip through the Grand Canyon, but the cost for that is steep. At Ohiopyle one can raft or kayak in class Class III or IV rapids or placid waters along the Youghiogheny River or Yough for short. There is a bike trail that goes from Pittsburgh all the way to D.C. with just a 2% grade. The part we are on is called the Great Allegheny Passage and it hooks up with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath in Cumberland, Maryland. Hiking trails are everywhere, and the Meadow Run Natural water slide is one of the best east of the Mississippi. There is swimming in the river right in the town of Ohiopyle and two famous Frank Lloyd Wright homes are minutes away; Kentuck Knob and the iconic Falling Water. The more we discussed it, the more Ohiopyle seemed a worthy destination for Team VHF.
To save money we took my 1999 Nissan Pathfinder. Comfy and trustworthy and with plenty of room for car camping, it is a good chariot for our escapades.
Readers of this blog may remember “Greg’s Way”. I feel the traveling is as important as the destination. This means we don’t take the Turnpike. So, instead, Janet let me drive the 260+ miles to western Pennsylvania via Route 30, the Lincoln Highway. It added 1 ½ hours to our trip, but it was worth it. We drove through Lancaster and Gettysburg and through some very lovely countryside and we largely had the road to ourselves; leaving at 6 a.m. helps. We stopped in York for a cheap but good breakfast at Lee’s Family Diner. Using Janet’s trusty new gadget, Siri, we were able to find routes to Ohiopyle once route 30 started veering northward. We got on route 31 for a while then several smaller state routes for the final leg.
When we finally arrived in Ohiopyle we were calmer and more rested than had we scurried and caromed down the Turnpike. The town has a rustic charm to it and it caters to people who want to use the river for recreation. There is a park where people wade into the river and climb onto rocks. It is an idyllic scene, although signs caution waders of the treacherous waters ahead and rope with buoys strung across the river serve as a further warning. Right as we entered town we passed a working railroad track that is used to carry freight and another smaller trestle that was once a narrow gauge train bed that ferried lumber and then tourists from Pittsburgh 70+ miles away as Ohiopyle increasingly became a destination. The first building on the left as we entered town was the Falls Market and Department Store. Old and listing it had a souvenir shop, deli, restaurant and ice cream parlor. Outside there was a bbq smoker! Later that evening we bought some very good bbq from another stand a block away. At Falls Market We bought breakfast foods, ice and a couple of milk shakes. It turns out the bars around here don’t open until 4 p.m. We walked around Ohiopyle and along the river. From a platform set up to view the rapids we shuddered as we watched in awe at kayakers who went over a 20 foot falls, laughing and high fiving each other when they met at the bottom. I could never be that brave, or foolish, to attempt such a plunge….but knowing Janet, she will attempt to prod me in that direction.
The town has several bike and other gear rental houses. There’s a zip line course somewhere and a rope bridge. White water rafting and kayaking are very big here in Ohiopyle. Evidently the Youghiogheny River has class III and IV rapids and the lower Yough, which begins in Ohiopyle town, is the busiest section of whitewater rapids east of the Mississippi with all the people plying its waters. Janet has a trip planned for us on the lower Yough the next day.
After pitching our tent in Ohiopyle State Park, about two miles out of town, we decided to find a bar. Janet, in her infinite ability to do research, found a place a few miles out of town along Route 40 in Farmingham. That too opened at 4 pm, but we got there just as it opened. The Stone House Restaurant has a very fine selection of beers on tap served by a friendly and knowledgeable staff. We had a couple of beers, my second was a strong Farmhouse Ale, split a very tasty hamburger and headed back to Ohiopyle to rest up for our long, treacherous day on the river.
http://www.stonehouseinn.com/
Yes, the glorious days of travel are in the past fair reader. Belts are tightening and expectations are low. Tuscan sunshine, Belgian beer, London fog, Hawaiian luaus, Australian barbees, might as well throw in a side trip to Mars, will escape us this summer. But, never fear fair readers, Team VFH can find happiness everywhere and this year we are going camping. It is a cheaper way to travel, and we need to be cheap this summer, but in no way one must consider this a flawed way of traveling. I once hitchhiked and camped my way around France and though my French is severely limited, had a great time. Janet too has camped her way all over Europe and she will regale you with lengthy tales of her camping trips to Colorado and Alaska. I never tire of hearing them. And, in our relative short time together as a team we’ve already camped twice previously, once at Ricketts Glen in Northeast Pennsylvania and once at Cooperstown, NY. At Ricketts Glen we hiked the Falls Trails which features several cascades of various heights and at Cooperstown we visited the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame and the Ommegang Brewery. We had a great time at each.
With this year’s financial difficulties camping swiftly became the only option for us. We talked about Ocracoke Island and Bar Harbor, but Janet insisted on Ohiopyle. Logistics such as distance and cost were the deciding factors. The cache though of vacationing in Pennsylvania is thin though and I was worried that our experiences would be fleeting. But, now that we are in the third day of our trip I have to say that Janet knows what she’s talking about. She plans trips well and the details are never lost with her. We… or should I say she… makes Team VFH a great traveling squad.
Janet had heard of Ohiopyle State Park from a friend. There are plenty of activities here she was told, like biking and hiking and …gasp… white water rafting… Janet has wanted to go on a one or two week trip through the Grand Canyon, but the cost for that is steep. At Ohiopyle one can raft or kayak in class Class III or IV rapids or placid waters along the Youghiogheny River or Yough for short. There is a bike trail that goes from Pittsburgh all the way to D.C. with just a 2% grade. The part we are on is called the Great Allegheny Passage and it hooks up with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath in Cumberland, Maryland. Hiking trails are everywhere, and the Meadow Run Natural water slide is one of the best east of the Mississippi. There is swimming in the river right in the town of Ohiopyle and two famous Frank Lloyd Wright homes are minutes away; Kentuck Knob and the iconic Falling Water. The more we discussed it, the more Ohiopyle seemed a worthy destination for Team VHF.
To save money we took my 1999 Nissan Pathfinder. Comfy and trustworthy and with plenty of room for car camping, it is a good chariot for our escapades.
Readers of this blog may remember “Greg’s Way”. I feel the traveling is as important as the destination. This means we don’t take the Turnpike. So, instead, Janet let me drive the 260+ miles to western Pennsylvania via Route 30, the Lincoln Highway. It added 1 ½ hours to our trip, but it was worth it. We drove through Lancaster and Gettysburg and through some very lovely countryside and we largely had the road to ourselves; leaving at 6 a.m. helps. We stopped in York for a cheap but good breakfast at Lee’s Family Diner. Using Janet’s trusty new gadget, Siri, we were able to find routes to Ohiopyle once route 30 started veering northward. We got on route 31 for a while then several smaller state routes for the final leg.
When we finally arrived in Ohiopyle we were calmer and more rested than had we scurried and caromed down the Turnpike. The town has a rustic charm to it and it caters to people who want to use the river for recreation. There is a park where people wade into the river and climb onto rocks. It is an idyllic scene, although signs caution waders of the treacherous waters ahead and rope with buoys strung across the river serve as a further warning. Right as we entered town we passed a working railroad track that is used to carry freight and another smaller trestle that was once a narrow gauge train bed that ferried lumber and then tourists from Pittsburgh 70+ miles away as Ohiopyle increasingly became a destination. The first building on the left as we entered town was the Falls Market and Department Store. Old and listing it had a souvenir shop, deli, restaurant and ice cream parlor. Outside there was a bbq smoker! Later that evening we bought some very good bbq from another stand a block away. At Falls Market We bought breakfast foods, ice and a couple of milk shakes. It turns out the bars around here don’t open until 4 p.m. We walked around Ohiopyle and along the river. From a platform set up to view the rapids we shuddered as we watched in awe at kayakers who went over a 20 foot falls, laughing and high fiving each other when they met at the bottom. I could never be that brave, or foolish, to attempt such a plunge….but knowing Janet, she will attempt to prod me in that direction.
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| Ohiopyle Falls |
After pitching our tent in Ohiopyle State Park, about two miles out of town, we decided to find a bar. Janet, in her infinite ability to do research, found a place a few miles out of town along Route 40 in Farmingham. That too opened at 4 pm, but we got there just as it opened. The Stone House Restaurant has a very fine selection of beers on tap served by a friendly and knowledgeable staff. We had a couple of beers, my second was a strong Farmhouse Ale, split a very tasty hamburger and headed back to Ohiopyle to rest up for our long, treacherous day on the river.
http://www.stonehouseinn.com/
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