Ohiopyle State Park, Ohiopyle, PA

South-western Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh by an hour or so.

Ohiopyle State Park, 20,500 acres, was formed in [full stop with Jeopardy Buzzer] [I don’t want to write a detailed travelog today…]

May 1 and 2 have been sunny! Two gray days, one snow day and two sunny days were perfect for the explorations we had on our agenda.

Snow day (yes, snow) – we went to Frank Lloyd Wright’s – “Falling Water.”

• On the National Historic Register; in consideration for UNESCO World Heritage Site designation, which it deserves.
• If you go, you will know where I want to live and how much I love the constant sound of water (tinnitis be gone!). Barb – not so much – the water was too noisy.
• Site design would work nowhere else on the planet.
• From every room water is audibly or visually completing the experience of being in the home.

Gray day one- toured “Kentuck Knob” another FLW property. This was a fun tour – not as formal as the “FW” tour.

 

The roof is cantilevered over the porch, Wright built in hexagonal skylights to let water and snow pass through for less weight on the roof and to let wind caught under the roof escape.

The place is up on a “knob” which is the face of a big hill or mountain. The views were long, the sculpture garden thought provoking (a great chunk of the Berlin wall resides at the end of a neon yellow Forsythia aleé).

 

Gray day two – went grocery shopping, took Dasher to the vet after he endured 24 hours of vomiting, cleaned ‘house’.  Little cat is already becoming a champ at taking his meds – he’s a sensitive guy.

Sunny Day one – hiked the Ferncliff Peninsula out of Ohiopyle.

• The peninsula is formed by an Oxbow in the Youghiogeney River (Yawk-io-HEN-y or Yawk in these parts). It wasn’t logged because it’s steep, notably sized Tulip Poplar and Hemlocks.
• Great hike, tons of wildflowers – in fact, that has been a theme, right?
• The Wooly Adegelid has damaged and continues to kill Hemlock trees up here as well as in NC, VA and WVa. Pennsylvania is right out there with their Hemlock injection program for protecting these lovely trees.

Ohiopyle, pop. 57, is all about rafting and the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail (the GAP).

Sunny Day two – rode from Ohiopyle to Confluence on the GAP trail, had lunch at Mitch’s and returned for a nice 22 miles. No cars, not crowded, fairly flat sweet ride.

Steep rocky mountain on one side of the trail, covered with bazillions of white Trillium. Tiny violets peeked from rock crevices and around roots of trees.
‘Yawk’ River rolling along on the other side of the trail.

Since our travels in North Carolina, the near constant background sound has been the call of train whistles and the movement of railcars over tracks. Whether close – with the attendant squeals and basso profoundo rhum-rhum of the engines or distantly just a hum and thin whistle. Sometimes one is barely conscious of the noise and others the noise reverberates in the chest.

Observations from a hard of hearing, hearing-aid head …

The Youghiogheny River has a song. As if symphony string section is playing a sustained note. The bass, violins, violas each hitting that note with their variations of sound. Quickly now, bows flicking quickly over strings, continuous. Very occasionally a bass drum sends a deep pop of sound – the water flying over a big rock, turning onto itself.

The woods – deciduous and just beginning to leaf – have a song. Wind doesn’t sough through the closely packed trunks here. It hums, a reverberant “C” punctuated by the squeaks of trunks that rub together.

One hand clapping. What would you hear, dear one?

We stood on the SPOT that George Washington stood. Is that like sleeping in an Inn where “George Washington Slept Here” is advertised? Barb felt a rush of historic patriotism! The place wasn’t good for George, he got defeated by the British here, poor guy.

Barb is making a beautiful salad and stuffed portobellos to grill. I made grilled chicken breast and yuzu sauce in veggie packets with creamy peanut slaw last night. Tomorrow night – Black bean and quinoa tacos with spicy slaw. We don’t eat to badly.

Gee, in a few days, we’ll be up in the Catskills at a YMCA camp for Fly Fishing 101.