We were happy to exit the Pittsburgh area, even though it might have been nice to spend some time exploring the revitalized city. The traffic was just awful and it reminded me why I don't like to be in cities in a vehicle. I like visiting cities when I don't have to drive in them but this was not to be.
To enter Pittsburg from the west, you go through some interesting, long tunnels. Since Pennsylvania has a long mining history, this must be why they use tunnels rather than go around the city.? I found this:
Once a flat sea floor, millions of years of erosion have carved the surface of Allegheny County into a maze of ridges and valleys. Pittsburgh sits where the Monongahela River from the south, and the Allegheny River from the north, join to form the Ohio. Many named and unnamed tributaries steadily cut through layers of sedimentary rock: limestone, sandstone, shale, coal.
Today as one stands atop one of the many hilltops above 1,200 feet, it is not difficult to imagine that they were all part of a single, vast plateau, sloping ever so gently down toward the northwest.
Pittsburgh and its suburbs are known for steep hillsides covered with buildings, streets which have steps for sidewalks, and sidewalks which are named streets. From the highest point in Allegheny County, 1,401 feet at River Hill in Forward Township, to the 710 foot normal pool level of the Ohio River at the Point in Pittsburgh, and down to the 682 foot elevation on the banks of the Ohio as it exits the County in the west, the elevation varies by a bit more than 700 feet. Other locations may have greater relief, but they are not as heavily urbanized; other cities may be more densely built, but they will tend to be on gentler terrain.
With topography such as this, it is not surprising that there are so many bridges. One count reports over 2,000 bridges of 8 feet span or greater. Most types of bridges are represented in this area with the exception of cable-stayed, pontoon, or movable deck designs.
Bridge engineers hold their conventions here. The Gateway Clipper Fleet offers guided riverboat tours featuring the bridges. It's virtually impossible to travel any notable distance without crossing a bridge.
Long ago, indian trails crossed the area, often following the tops of the ridges to avoid any stream crossings. But with the European conquest and settlement, and nearly simultaneous start of road-building, it was not long before stream fording was replaced by the first simple bridges in the area. In fact, commenting on the British General Braddock's march to the Point in 1755, Colonel George Washington remarked: "instead of pushing on with vigor...they were halting to level every mole-hill and to erect bridges over every brook, by which means we were four days in getting twelve miles."
Mount Washington, formerly Coal Hill, rises over 400 feet above the Monongahela River opposite downtown Pittsburgh. This and other ridges and hills were once tunneled into for coal. Now they are tunneled through for transportation.
When we crossed the Ohio River, we were amazed at the size of this river. California doesn't have rivers of this magnitude.
We acquired Route 30 and traveled through very scenic countryside along the marked Lincoln Highway. The one thing that Pennsylvania does poorly in comparison to other states is allowing travelers to read historical marker signs. There are plenty of them along the road but there is no way to pull off the road to read them. In Nebraska, they have signs saying "Historical Marker 1/2 mile Ahead" and then have a pull out for you to stop and read the marker. I think I will write to the Department of Transportation (or Tourism) to mention this. However, I doubt anything will change.
The road Across the Allegheny Mountains
The Coffee Pot Tourist Stop
Second Generation Full Service Station - In service since around 1933
Vintage Looking Denny's Diner
FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL
As we were traveling the remote areas of Route 30, we saw a sign for this national memorial to the passengers of Flight 93 who fought with the terrorists of 9/11 rather than allow them to fly the plane to Washington, D.C. and into the capitol building.
The memorial preserves the field where the flight crashed.
Click link: http://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm
GETTYSBURGH BATTLEFIELD
Since this is the sesquicentennial years of this bloodiest battle of the Civil War, and since Earline had never visited this area, it was high on our travel list as a place to visit. I had been here years ago but much has changed and my memory had faded.
My first impression was how massive the battlefield was. It covers many miles and involved thousands of troops from each side. Thousands of soldiers were left dead on the battlefield and medical care was almost non-existent. There were about 100 doctors total with 40 being from the South and 60 in the North. Most of the injuries were from rifled bullets that could penetrate a 10 inch pine board at 1000 yards. These bullets produced a lot of bone fragments if they did not kill outright. Knowledge of microorganisms was non-existent and there were no antibiotics, IV fluids or transfusions. Sepsis killed many and thus amputation was a major surgical technique to get infected tissue off.
Anesthesia was available via ether or chloroform, but not much else was done. Sutures were horsehairs softened in boiling water. The surgeons kept records on the patient care and adjusted techniques are they discovered what worked or didn't work.
The visitor center is the first place to go when you arrive and there is a great movie and diorama painting that is circular and 40 feet high painted by a team of Frenchmen and recently restored. This gives you a good idea of the scope of battle and what happened over three days. You can then do a self-driving auto tour and using a free app from iTunes, you can visit the locations of various battles, see the memorials and hear dramatizations and diary entries along the route. Also available from the bookstore is a CD of the battlefield that you can use as well. We chose the iPhone app that has GPS localization and marked sites that worked well.
We left Gettysburgh and headed to my old bandmate's house in Honey Brook, PA., the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch country. They were gone for the weekend but he and his wife were kind to let us use their house. We had a quick dinner, a couple of dinner drinks and crashed.
Travel distance about 333 miles.
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