Crusing Pennsylvania, Part 2

If you didn't notice, or read, Part 1 of Cruising Pennsylvania, here is a link.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2025/09/cruising-pennsylvania-part-1.html 

When we left our intrepid travelers, we had purchased some really cheap gas in New York State, while just missing out on a free joint. We crossed into PA not long after the gas purchase, then arrived in Bradford, PA just as dusk was darkening to night. 

Another nice hotel.

In case you were wondering, I booked the trip myself, events and hotels. For those of you who are experienced travelers, that may not sound like a bid deal, but for me it was a first. As I built our itinerary, I attempted to balance which sites we determined were priorities, while keeping an eye towards travel times between sites. I knew we had one long travel day from Gettysburg to Aliquippa, and was fine with the ride home at the end of the vacation taking 3 plus hours, but wanted all the in between car routes to be in the 100 mile or 2 hours or less range.

To accomplish this, I first roughed out the places we wanted to definitely visit, then assigned days to each spot. 

Saturday in York for the rail trail bike ride

Sunday in Gettysburg for the museum and military park

Monday on the road to Aliquippa with a stop in Pittsburgh

Tuesday to Cleveland for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

Wednesday in Erie, Pa to explore the Presque Isle State Park

Thursday at the Kinzua Bridge State Park

Friday for the covered wagon tour of the Grand Canyon of Pa.

At that point, I filled in the extras we might have time to see, for instance, the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, which, due to the turnpike tunnel fiasco detailed in Part 1, we had to cancel. We also had a stop at Rimrock Overlook as a possibility, as well as a half day at Ricketts Glen State Park, perhaps on the way home.

As it turned out, we were only able to do one of those three alternatives, as you will see in the paragraphs below.

Related to the length of drives, of course, was where to stay. Since we had accounts with two hotel chains, I went on their websites and began the search for hotels in the area of the destinations we had already determined to visit.

I know some of you probably use Vrbo and maybe like to use Airbnb. Not sure if we are just not comfortable with staying at someone's home, or if I am hesitant to stray from the traditional path of staying at hotels. Perhaps as we begin to travel more, I will expand our search parameters in terms of housing.

That being said, I did attempt to book hotels which advertised hot breakfasts included. Of course, the reality of what a hot breakfast means from one hotel to another, can vary, but all in all, I had a goal of attempting to book rooms in the $100 range if they included a hot breakfast, or $75 range if we would need to seek out a diner for our first meal of the day.

Having a real breakfast was important to us because we knew that our lunches might be light, and in deference to Nora's diabetes diagnosis, which, kudos to her, she has under admirable control, but which still effects when, what and how often she eats. We had a box of snacks with us for the trip, and I don't mean a single box of granola bars or Kind bars, but a box with multiple boxes of various snack bars. We made use of that stash multiple times a day, yet returned with enough to carry us into the next week. In fact, we still have a few, almost two weeks since our first day out.

I was successful in this goal, booking a rather cheap hotel in York for less than $150, total, for the first two nights, then, after a free overnight stay at JW's, three nights in the Choice Hotel family, which totaled right around $310, all of which included a version of hot breakfast.

Before returning to the actual events of the trip, at one of the morning meals, Fox and Friends was on the TV. I decided to pay loose attention, as I can't recall ever watching the show in the past, and felt it important to take the time to see how they presented the news.

As it turned out, Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was on the show. To be fair, we were only in the breakfast area for 30-40 minutes, couldn't hear everything being said, and I didn't listen all that closely to boot. But what I did hear, and what I read of the words crawling at the bottom of the screen during Dolan's time on the couch, almost made me lose my lunch, or breakfast, in this case.

A few times my mother and I have discussed reasons why I am a lapsed Catholic. Should she ask again, I will ask her to watch the interview during which a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, during a discussion of the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk, called him a modern day Saint Paul, and spoke with reverence about Kirk's work with Turning Point.

Now, while I have come not to expect much from the Catholic Church and was disappointed, overall, with Pope Frances despite my admiration for his efforts, see a link a few paragraphs below, it truly boggles me how a fairly high ranking member of the Catholic Church could praise a man like Charlie Kirk considering all the divisive and outright hateful things he has said about the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the undocumented people in America today, not to mention his seemingly complete dismissal of the slaughter being perpetrated by the Israeli government against the women and children of Palestine.

This especially galls me considering both Pope Frances and the newly selected Pope Leo have been less than enthusiastic about the treatment of the undocumented in America and the Palestinians. Has neither Dolan or Kirk read any of either popes communications and opinions on those subjects?

Appalling! 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-tribute-to-pope-francis.html  

To me, Kirk represented, in many of his opinions and dialogues and debates, the exact opposite of what I was taught during eight years of Parochial School. When I compare Kirk's most popular takes on society, I find a huge gap between his stance and that of Jesus as depicted in the Sermon on the Mount.

Perhaps Cardinal Dolan who will be replaced soon as he has reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, was angling for some kind of a future guest role on Fox as a "religious" expert. So sad.

Back to the trip.

On Thursday we drove from the hotel in Bradford to Kinzua Bridge State Park, with a stop at the Rimrock Overlook. While it was a slight backtrack, travel time wise, it was worth the time.

We were lucky enough to be the only people at the Overlook. It was gorgeous! We walked a bit around the rim, took a bunch of pictures, and even descended a story or two down a stairwell gouged into the rocks which led down through the woods below to a beach. We didn't venture that far down, knowing we didn't have time to get to the bottom, but it was a very peaceful and pleasant walk around the top.

The ride to Kinzua was only about 30 minutes. From the parking lot, you can glimpse the bridge which extends from the visitor center out over the gorge then stops. We walked through the displays and information areas of the building first, then walked out to the bridge, and out to its end.

Magnificent!

About 20 years ago, a tornado roared down the gorge and ripped away about half of the bridge. The twisted metal still lay on the ground, a few hundred feet below. After reinforcing what was left, it was decided to allow tourists to walk to the end, gaze out over the railings and down to the floor. Again, a bunch of pictures followed. 

Even better, there is a path that you can easily walk to the bottom. It was pretty cool to look back up at the people taking pictures over the rails, and the bridge which just hung there in space, as we traversed the trail. At the bottom, you can get up close and personal with the bridge supports that are cut off where the cement should meet the steel, and the pieces of steel and metal lounging about just as they landed on the fateful day a few decades ago.

I had read that the bridge was being reinforced and that it would be closed off and on beginning earlier this year, but fortunately they felt comfortable allowing it to be accessible during the late summer and early fall for a few months to take advantage of the foliage as it shed its summer colors for the season.

I say this to warn you to check the schedule if you would like to visit so you aren't disappointed.

After walking down to the bottom and up again, we made a purchase at the visitor center, then walked across the driveway to a food truck that seemed to be stationed there on a permanent basis. We had a nice lunch, well more like early supper, under a tree at a picnic table. This enabled us to drive to our next, and last destination without being hungry.

Once we arrived in Mansfield, we checked in to our room, dropped off our bags, then walked down to the desk and asked for a recommendation for dinner. The clerk gave us two options although she commented that there would be more choices if we drove to the next town, about ten miles away. We decided not to do anymore driving and opted for a local tavern, which caused us a bit of consternation when we walked in, there being no one to direct us to a table, or even to be bothered to greet us, or so it seemed, but then I realized that they had an outdoor eating area. 

We had eaten almost all our dinners outside, again, thanks to the wonderful weather we were fortunate to have, and once settled at a table, a waitress came right over and everything was fine. After dining, back to the hotel where we relaxed, placed the next day's clothes at the ready, and recounted some of the amazing things we had already seen, knowing the next day would be the last day of the trip.

Friday dawned cool, but still clear. Another perfect day seemed at hand. We drove to the covered wagon tour establishment, arriving a bit early. As it turned out, it was not a big tour, the wagon being only about half filled, which gave us lots of room to spread out and even move around as the tour guide pointed out various sites. It was a real horse drawn wagon pulled by two very large Belgian horses, brothers, Reuben and Jessie, as we were told by the guide.

We moved at a leisurely pace into the Grand Canyon of PA clip clopping along a well traveled path with walkers, bikers, e-bikers, joggers, beside the Pine Creek, which is pronounced crick, as per the tour guide who made a point that we were not to say creek in his presence. During the tour, we saw an osprey and a bald eagle, both cruising the above the crick in search of food.

After the tour, we drove to a point at the top of the canyon, a spot the guide had pointed out when we were directly below it. Again, incredible views from above. We hiked a few miles, occasionally stopping to take in the vistas, then returned to our car for the ride home. 

We considered a stop at Ricketts Glen State Park, but had been told that the summer's lack of rain made for less of an enjoyable walk around the park if seeing the waterfalls was desired. 

We decided to wait until the spring, and are planning an overnight trip.

Pennsylvania is an amazing state with a grand history related to the birth of our nation, as well as a myriad of adventures awaiting any traveler interested in outdoor activities or scenic overlooks, or a deep dive into history.

Yet, like so many people looking for fun and to explore, I hadn't visited any of the places we sojourned to during our trip, other than Gettysburg decades ago, despite having lived in the state my whole life. And there are still so many more to see!

I guess the lesson being, you never know when your next great adventure will be, perhaps even only a few miles away, if you don't look around and search.