Pittsburgh, the "Mon Valley" and Primantis
I had never
visited Pittsburgh before yesterday and found it to be quite an awesome
city. While visiting Les and Fame H. it
was suggested that the six of us (Luke and Rachael too) take the big, red bus
tour of Pittsburgh on July 4th.
Note to Pittsburgh natives: In a
couple of previous entries I erroneously spelled Pittsburgh with no “h”. I was schooled during our bus ride that THEE
Pittsburgh is the ONLY Pittsburgh in the United States that still spells it
with the “h” and I had better get it right! A further glaring faux pax was accomplished by yours truly in yesterday's blog when I spelled Monongahela with an "a" between the n's.
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| Muggy, Rachael, Fame, Les and Luke |
So,
we set out fairly early as the day promised to be hot and sunny. We parked on the south side and boarded the
bus. Our first stop was the Duquesne
Incline and we were treated to amazing vistas of the three rivers, the sports
facilities, downtown Pittsburgh and the bridges.
Did you know that Pittsburgh has more bridges
than any other city in the world. Pitt
beats our Venice by three. Pittsburgh even has three bridges that are related, “the
Three Sisters”.
After
re-boarding the bus, we enjoyed the ride over to “The Strip” where we disembarked
again to grab some lunch at the Primanti Brothers’ restaurant. What a treat!! Legend has it that when this sandwich was
concocted in the 1930’s, it was done for the truckers who delivered produce and
other goods in the middle of the night and had to eat while driving. So, everything, meat, coleslaw, French fries
and egg were wedged between the bread so it could be eaten with one hand!
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| Clairton, PA |
We
concluded our tour about 2 pm and it was timely. It was smokin’ hot in Pittsburgh and time to
head for some A/C. I traveled with Les
along the old routes along the Monongahela River, down the “Mon Valley”, past the sites of the massive steel mills the
city is famous for. Les used to work in
the mills in Clairton (setting for the movie “the Deer Hunter”) and he drove me
through the city and showed me mills that are still in operation today.
It’s interesting and sad to see the decaying
towns and block after block of closed up businesses. These towns were very different years
ago.
Later on we
enjoyed the energy of the crowds gathered in the town of Monongahela for the
fireworks. It was an awesome show and
very enjoyable to be sitting a mere 15 feet from the river’s edge and enjoying the
sites and sounds.
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| New River Gorge Bridge |
Muggy and I
headed south this morning. We are on our
way home. We traveled the winding,
curving hills and valleys of West Virginia for most of the day. We stopped
briefly to photograph the highest U.S. bridge east of the Mississippi River and the
longest steel-arch span in the western hemisphere over the New River
Gorge.
Absolutely incredible! A rugged,
white water river, flowing northward through deep canyons, the New River is
among the oldest rivers on the continent. The park encompasses over 70,000
acres of land along the New River, is rich in cultural and natural history, and
offers an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities.
So, in the
course of six days, Muggy and I have traveled over the third longest suspension
bridge in the world and the longest suspension bridge in the western
hemisphere, the Mackinac Bridge and now the credits for the New River Gorge
Bridge above! Pretty amazing!
We have stopped
for the night in a beautiful state park known as Camp Creek. It you’re ever traveling through West
Virginia on I-77 and are looking for a wonderful place to spend a night or two,
this is the place. Here’s the view from
our doorway tonight and just imagine the sound of the creek babbling:
