From the Front Deck

Posted by: JDinWPA, 3. kesäkuuta 2009 klo 01:21 (GMT)

Two weekends ago, hubby had to travel to northern Virginia to pick up a piece of equipment for work. (One of the marvelous ‘perks’ of being salaried!) We decided to take advantage of the fact and turned his have-to trip into a weekend excursion for the two of us.

The road to Virginia passes through the Laurel Highlands, a section of the Allegheny Mountains, which is chock-full of interesting places. There’s Seven Springs, Laurel caverns, Fort Necessity, Ohiopyle state park, and Fallingwater. We decided to target Fallingwater and Ohiopyle. We only had Saturday for touring, as Sunday would be spent making the rest of the trek to Virginia and then driving the whole way home.

Fallingwater

Fallingwater was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1934. It is nestled along Bear Run Creek, the main house perched above a small waterfall, while the small upper house climbs up the hillside.

The grounds to this place are simply gorgeous ~ dappled light, filtering through the trees, highlighting thousand of rhododendrons. (We were about two weeks to early for the shrubs to be blooming, which was a tad upsetting.) It is so gorgeous that I felt none of the photos I clicked came close to expressing the sense of tranquility the woods held, so I dumped all of those shots. Somethings have to be experienced.

There is a short hike from the parking lots to the visitor center and then on to the house itself. Once again, a beautiful walk. Along the way, the remnants of an old orchard decorate the valley. Here is a very old, very interesting apple tree.

Soon we were at the entrance to the house.

Since we hadn’t paid the extra ten dollars a piece for the tour, we were restricted to the outside of the house, which was just fine. The house is built into a hillside with rocky outcroppings, which is pretty cool in itself. Here is the back of the lower part of the house.

And crossbeams made to look like they’ve been imbedded into the rock.

The stairs that connect the two parts of the house are fabulous and dropped more than one hint that WE could incorporate a copy of them into our own landscape. (Though I believe I was largely ignored.)

My favorite part of the house was the patio that bordered the southern side of the upper house.

It had its own small swimming pool, fed from a spring further up the hill. Or maybe it was an ornamental pond but there were steps built into it. Either way, once it was cleaned, it would make a great place to lounge in on a hot summer’s day and just watch the world go by. The corner of the pool is just visible in this photo.

Here’s another view from the upper patio.

And we couldn’t leave without getting a few shots of the traditional view of the house ~ with the waterfall cascading under it!

OhioPyle State Park

Around fifteen miles south of Fallingwater is Ohiopyle State Park. Like Fallingwater, I had never been before. Now I can’t wait to return. It’s beyond fabulous.

Our first stop was at Cucumber Falls (I never did find out why a beautiful waterfall was named after a spiny, green vegetable.). The walk down into the gorge is fairly easy even though the steppingstones are uneven and even missing. And there’s even a nice rail to hold onto the whole way down to stop tourists from pitching headfirst down into the ravine.

When we reached the bottom, a family was holding a picnic on a large, flat rock in the middle of the creek. How cool is that?? Me too!! Anyways, here are a few photos from below the falls.

And, of course, pics of the falls. (BTW, the second shoot is my favorite from the entire day.)

After slowly climbing our way back to the top of the hill, we backed tracked to the ‘natural waterslide’ area, another very interesting and cool place. The bedrock in this area has worn down rather smoothly, the water from the creek is shallower, there’s algae that blooms along the rock and it’s all on a tilt that dumps into great trout fishing pools. The day we were there, the water was running a bit fast and a lot cold. Still one hardy soul ~ a young male ~ went down the ‘slide.’ I’m betting he had some bruises the next day. I’d definitely like to try it, sometime in July or August.

Area above the slide. Note the people who just walk on up the stream.

The slide itself.

The great trout pools at the bottom of the slide. One lucky fisherman caught a nice one while we were there.

Next we took in the Ohiopyle falls; not as nice as the Cucumber Falls but noteworthy as they sit in the middle of some very nice whitewater. Or so I am told. Not like I’ve ever gone whitewater rafting myself ~ perhaps one day.

Above the Ohiopyle falls.

The Ohiopyle Falls.

Onward and upward! Although it’s looking like it will storm any moment, we decide to head up to Sugar Loaf, one of the higher peaks around at just under 2900 feet. (Note: If you decide to visit the area, bring gum. Riding around means either going up the mountain or down the mountain and your ears will be constantly popping.)

Stopping at Baughman Rock provide an excellent photo opportunity. Actullay it provide something even stranger. From this vista, not a single manmade building was insight and the only manmade sounds came from the occasional car on the road behind us. It’s not something I’ve often experienced.

The view from Baughman Rock.

During the remainder of the ride to Sugar Loaf, it began to rain in earnest. Since the road to the lookout there was on a washed-out road, the rain was now falling hard and there were a few rumbles of thunder, we decided to call it a day and head to the motel.

A few thoughts in retrospect:

I preferred Ohiopyle to Fallingwater. Sure, Fallingwater was beautiful but Ohiopyle was beautiful and fun.

There are a lot of bike trails up in those mountains. The last one I saw was posted on the bottom of a sign that warned trucks about the downhill grade for the next thirteen miles. Hmmmm. Personally, when I return, I’m planning on a mode of transportation that doesn’t rely on my own power!

June 1, 2009

Updated: 3. kesäkuuta 2009 klo 01:23 (GMT)

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Last Saturday Morning/ Barbecued Asparagus

Posted by: JDinWPA, 4. toukokuuta 2009 klo 20:20 (GMT)

We had been planning on going to one of the gorges along Slippery Rock creek, hubby to fish and me to explore, but with all the rain during the past two weeks, the creek was running too high to be safe. So, in a quest for blog material, I just wandered the yard Saturday morning, recording the sights.With almost two and a half inches of precipitation during the past two weeks, it is green, green and greener here. Spring is currently a force to be reckoned with ~ b...

Updated: 4. toukokuuta 2009 klo 20:29 (GMT)

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Enchanted Mill Creek, Venango County

Posted by: JDinWPA, 31. maaliskuuta 2009 klo 02:58 (GMT)

Ever since hubby ‘inherited’ a vast quantity of fishing gear from my late mother’s late husband, he has become a man obsessed. Granted, there are stories of his fishing obsession from his childhood, but that desire has never manifested itself during our marriage and we have been married a long, long time. But what good is fishing equipment without a place or two or ten to drop your line in. Hubby has some very fond memories of Mill Creek, just off the Alleg...

Updated: 31. maaliskuuta 2009 klo 14:52 (GMT)

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Spring, Birds and Garden Seeds

Posted by: JDinWPA, 11. maaliskuuta 2009 klo 01:47 (GMT)

SpringThe first tendrils of spring have started to gently grasp western PA in its grip and there is only one thing to say ~ Whoo Hoo!! It’s about time! For the past week each day has been either wall-to-wall sunshine or very warm or sometimes both. The brown grass now has an undercurrent of green, the formerly semi-green grass is now definitively green and the grass over the septic field is verdant and growing. Weeds are sprouting, the first spikes of the day...

Updated: 11. maaliskuuta 2009 klo 01:53 (GMT)

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Happy Spring Dance!!!! February Thaw and River Ice

Posted by: JDinWPA, 16. helmikuuta 2009 klo 01:31 (GMT)

Today the first robin sighting of the new year occurred. Happy, joy and giddiness! A good number of them showed up this morning, in the company of a few grackles and a larger number of red-winged blackbirds. Odd traveling companions for sure, but still a grand sight for frost-bitten eyes! More signs of spring – today I also watched a chipmunk scurry across the neighbor’s back yard. I haven’t seen one of those little guys since November. AND yesterday I s...