One for the tree huggers

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brianinpa

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Location
Lebanon, PA
I have heard people complain here in this part of PA (mostly agriculture) whenever little patches of trees are cut down, that this is hurting the environment and that there aren't enough trees in PA. Well, this past weekend, while most everyone was going to the beach to get dirt and sand in cracks and crevices that it doesn't belong, I went to the mountains to make sure that there is in fact still a sufficient amount of trees left standing.

Three days and 150 miles away from home. No wife, no work, and of course... no worries!

First thing was to set up the campsite. For this, I picked Stony Fork Creek Campgrounds (https://stonyforkcamp.com/) For $10 a night for a tent site it couldn't be beat or passed up. No water or electric, but I didn't really want it or need it.

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Friday night was spent around the campfire just enjoying the solitude. Saturday... riding and fishing. Pennsylvania has it's own Grand Canyon: sure it's nothing like the big ditch out West, but I find it more enjoyable because there is shade and cooler temperatures. Both sides have State Parks that offer numerous vista's and overlooks. An abandoned railroad has been converted to a rail-to-trail and if you start at the Northern town of Ansonia, you could just about coast on a bicycle all the way to the Southern town of Blackwell which is 17 miles away. For the really adventurous, during the early Spring white water rafting is also an option. I actually did that when I was 12 years old. Anyway, here are a few shots...

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And the best part of, as far as I am concerned, is there is one place that you can actually drive down into the canyon... if you are up for it...
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That is the best part of the road and it is about 1 -2 miles down hill with an additional 5 miles of gravel road to get to this point. But, once you are down, the fishing is great!

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I only caught one, but that isn't the point. Sometimes its more about actually standing in the stream rather than pulling something out of it.

Saturday night was spent back at the campsite with some 7&7's around the campfire. Sadly the weather guessers were calling for rain Monday, so I changed my plans and decided to leave Sunday morning, but I was still taking the long way home. I wanted to make a stop along the way to the Kinzua Bridge State Park (https://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/kinzuabridge/)

Some great mountain roads to get there.

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And once I was there I wished I would have been there on a less busy day.

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The girl in the center actually had her leg stuck through two ties - just to see if she could do it. :headscratch:

It's amazing what a F1 tornado can do to a steel bridge...
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Dang that thing is high!
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After that, it was time to make a push for home so I would get home at a decent time. In the end, I still got home at 9:30 at night after 12 hours on the road just running around the mountains. Over 650 miles and most of that done pulling the trailer. The bike worked flawlessly, but it does run a bit warmer pulling the trailer. I need to remember that for the future.

So, for the tree huggers, I am happy to report there are more than enough trees left in PA that cutting a few down here or there in farm land isn't going to hurt.

For the riders, if you are looking for roads in PA to ride... 6 and 120 should not be missed.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=176304#p176304:j5gim3z9 said:
dan filipi » Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:07 pm[/url]":j5gim3z9]
Great pictures! Looks like a trip you wish could have been longer.

There are so many parts of the Allegheny National Forest that are beyond description. I was just on the outskirts of it.
 
Looks like you had a great time in a truly beautiful part of the world. :salute:
 
Sounds like a beautiful spot, one of my favorite camping spots just outside of Yosemite was destroyed by fire a few years ago, thousands of pine and cedar trees were destroyed. So I do understand what the tree huggers point of view. These pictures in no way show the true devastation these fires cause, and many time it cost fire fighters lives.

You have a beautiful countryside there and it does need to be protected.

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Very nice get away, need one myself! Pretty country you have around there. Is the steel bridge not going to be replaced? Looks like it has been that way for a bit.
 
2003 is when the bridge was knocked over. It was used as an active railway until 1959 and then at some point a tourist attraction where you could ride a train out to the center of the bridge to enjoy the view. Since 2003 it has become even more of a tourist attraction...
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=176353#p176353:31oquql9 said:
skiri251 » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:11 am[/url]":31oquql9]
Totally different look from forests around here (so Cal).
You got real trees! LOL

Haven't done solo touring for years.

Yeah we have real trees, but out west you have real mountains... ours have been eroded away to mostly mole hills.

:smilie_happy:
 
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