5/21 - Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

Today I continued west on US 6.

• Got breakfast at Bishop's Family Restaurant outside of Towanda

• Sheetz Stop Number 4: Picked up lunch at Sheetz in Mansfield to eat while I was hiking
• Went to the eastern rim of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Knew that I had to temper my expectations for it and rightful so. The views were ok, but seemed like it was just a valley between two mountain ridges.

• Hiked to the bottom of the "canyon." Saw some pretty cool waterfalls and ate lunch

• Walked through Wellsboro and had ice cream
• Drove to the western rim of the canyon, which had much better views which displayed the geometry of the canyon well.

• Had NY Strip Steak (my favorite cut) at the Hotel Crittenden Restaurant.

• Explored the ruins of the Austin Dam, which failed in 1911.

• Staying at the Westgate Inn in Coudersport.

Today's Route

Tomorrow I'm going to continue exploring the region known as the Pennsylvania Wilds. I'll probably be staying at a cabin in the Allegheny National Forest, so probably no blog post tomorrow. 

Tons of Waterfalls - Poconos and making my way west - 5/20

Today I left Scranton in the morning and first made my way southeast towards the Poconos and then picked up US 6, which I will follow west over the next few days.

• Attempted to get a good view of the Delaware Water Gap, the spot were the Delaware River cuts through a large mountain ridge. Unfortunately, the roadside overlooks have trees than have become overgrown and the trail up the mountain is closed due to endangered birds nesting.

• Went to Bushkill Falls, which has one of the most powerfull waterfalls in the state, at over a 100ft, but also costs $15 to enter. Hike for about an hour around the park

• Drove up the road a bit to Dingmans Falls, which is probably my favorite waterfall of the trip with a large vertical drop transitioning to a smooth diagonal drop.

• Went further up the road to Raymondskill Falls, which is the highest in the state at 150ft.

• Picked up US 6 in Milford PA. Ate lunch at The Dock on Lake Wallenpaupack, where I got a prime rib cheesesteak.

• Stopped at the Archbald Pothole, which is a natural 42ft wide pothole. Park wasn't well maintained.

• Sheetz Stop #3 - Gas and a smoothie on my brief return to the outskirts of Scranton.
• Viewed the Tunkhannock Viaduct, which was the largest concrete bridge in the world for over half the 20th century.

• Stopped at Wyalusing Rocks, which overlooks the Susquehanna.

• Ate dinner at Oliver's Pub in Towanda, getting Chicken Tuscan Pasta

• Spending the night at the Bradford Inn in Towanda. It is a house that has been into a hotel. Sort of like a bed and breakfast, but without the breakfast. Room is really nice.

Route for the day:

Tomorrow I'll be continuing my journey west on US 6.

Scranton: The Land of Michael Scott - 5/19

Today I am in Scranton, the home town of "The Office". Despite never being filmed here(it was actually filmed in California), a number of my stops today were referenced in the show.

• Went on the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour (mentioned in season 1). Spent an hour in a semi-decommissioned coal mine. (No mining, but the mine it self is still legally considered active because of the tours).

• Ate lunch at Alfredo's Pizza Cafe (mentioned in season 4). Had a local specialty, thick pan pizza. Too much cheese and not enough sauce. Tasted more like grilled cheese than pizza.

• Went to the Steamtown National Historic Site, which covers the history of locomotion in the Scranton area at an old train roundhouse. Went on a train ride, which probably was worth the $5, but not the hour it took.

• Went into the Steamtown Mall (mentioned numerous times on the show) where they have the welcome to Scranton sign that is featured prominently on the intro.

• Visited the ruins of the Scranton Iron Furnaces .

• Walked around the Nay Aug Gorge

• Ate stuffed flounder at Cooper's Seafood (mentioned numerous times on the show). Also had a gift shop for the show.

• Went back to the Four Points Hotel for the night.

Route for the day

On Monday I'll be heading out east towards the Poconos before starting my journey west on US 6.

Plains, Trains, and Automobiles + A Bunch of Waterfalls: 5/18

For the first day of my trip, I made my way up to Scranton with a bunch of stops in between.

• Stopped at the PA Welcome Center on I-83 to get some info. Walked away with about 3 dozen pamphlets.
• Made my first of probably many stops at the greatest gas station/convenience store ever: Sheetz. Got a Walker Breakfast Ranger for breakfast north of Harrisburg.

The Chuck Norris of breakfast food.

• Drove up to Lock Haven and went to the Piper Aviation Museum. Saw about a dozen planes from the 1940s-1980s.

Planes

• Went to Williamsport. First stopped at the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum, which supposedly has one of only two restored Pullman cars in the US.

Trains

• Went across the street to the Taber Historical Museum. Amongst other things, they have an incredibly large collection of model trains.

More Trains

• Sheetz Stop 2: Gas in Williamsport
• Went to Eagle's Mere Air and Auto Museum. The aviation part was interesting, focusing on 1910's and 20s planes. The real star, though, was the the auto portion, with dozens of classic cars, heavily focusing on Chevy's.

Automobiles (Mostly Chevy's)

• Got a cheeseburger and fries at Country Friends Cafe in Muncy Valley.
• Went to Ricketts Glen State Park. Has nearly 3 dozen waterfalls over 15'. One is nearly 100'. Highly recommended.

The picture really doesn't do it justice. The waterfall is really high.

• Arrived in Scranton, staying at the Four Points. Watched NASCAR race.

Route for the day

On Sunday, I'll do stuff around Scranton for the day.

Pennsylvania: The Keystone State

So as I mentioned in my previous post at the end of last year, I was planning on taking trips to two different states this year. I wound up selecting the two from the randomly select list of of five  I figured I would: Pennsylvania and Oregon. The first of these trips starts this weekend. For the next two weeks, I'll be traveling across the Keystone State, focusing on areas of the state I haven't been.

Everybody has a map of Pennsylvania on their left hand

My plan is to first head up Scranton and explore the northeast portion of the state for a few days. I'll then make my was west towards Erie over the course of a few days via the northern route of US 6. There is surprisingly a lot to do in PA Wilds, so I think US 6 is going to wind up being the highlight of the trip. After a day or two in Erie, I'll make my way south to Pittsburgh for Memorial Day weekend. This looks to be another highlight of the trip, probably spending four or five days in that vicinity visiting various museums and historical sites before making my way back east. I finish up the trip with the NASCAR race in Pocono on June 2 before coming home.

Because much of the state is so close to home, my plan is to not visit anything south of the Turnpike and east of Breezewood, as those areas are close enough that I could do a day trip to them. This means no Lancaster or Philly. I might visit them later in the summer or fall for some tasty cheesesteaks. While I already have a good idea of what I'll be doing on the trip, I am open to any suggestions.

Sorry Philly Phanatic, not visiting you this time