Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site was our second stop today. The portage essentially functioned as a “canal lock” for raising the railroad up various steep grades in crossing the Appalachian Mountains—an important advancement in moving goods westward.
Our first stop today was Johnstown Flood National Memorial, the location of a major dam disaster that killed more than 2200 local residents due to the carelessness of a Guilded Age sportsman club.
Tucked away near the railroad tracks on the edge of the small Pennsylvania town of Lilly lies a memorial to the time local residents kicked the KKK out of town.
An adequately funded National Park Service sure would have made our visits better today. Both visitor centers are now closed for multiple days each week. These places protect and interpret our national heritage—you’d think that national pride alone would fund them to be open every day of the week.
We’re roughly halfway thru the trip, with our general route in red. My county map is rather convoluted, given how this trip overlaps with where I went in May; dark green counties are new ones I’ve passed thru in 2035, light green areas are this year’s “repeats.”
Stopped at a beer bar next to our hotel tonight to plot out the next few days. We’re one full day ahead now, which means we can hopefully tackle two additional national park units (and one affiliated site) and thereby eliminate the need for a future trip. Cautiously optimistic! 🤞
Our next stop was Fort Necessity National Battlefield, where George Washington (then fighting for the British) got his ass handed to him by the French and Indians. The site also serves as the interpretative center for the National Road, the first federal roadway.
Our second destination today was Friendship Hill, the home of Albert Gallatin, often regarded as “America’s Swiss Founding Father.” He was the longest serving Sec of Treasury, during which he reduced the national debt, purchased the Louisiana Territory, and funded the Lewis & Clark exploration.
En route to our morning destination, we passed through Moundsville, WV. “There’s got to be a mound here, let’s go find it,” I said. And a few mins later, we found ourselves in front of Grave Creek Mound, complete with visitor center. We hiked to the top, which peers out over the WV Penitentiary.
Welp, I’m falling further and further behind on trip photos. No surprise, as we’re planning as we go and packing in a lot, and I’d like to write a bit more than a quick blurb about some of our stops.
We visited the Hopewell Culture NHP yesterday, which was one of the two remaining UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the US that Jen hadn’t yet visited. We’ll hit some of the other Hopewell mound sites on a subsequent trip.
The hometown of General Sheridan.
Bank burglars beware.
Just a boy and his dog… BOTH DEAD 😵😂
One of my fav pastimes while traveling is figuring out “how many stickers I’ve been to” at breweries we visit. I played against the brewer’s mom tonight, closely edging her out, 17 to 15. Also fun to see our local place, Wren House, on the wall. They gave me a sticker to deposit somewhere during our trip.
Peace out, Cincy! We’re back to Dayton, stopping in at Branch & Bone Artisan Ales, plotting tomorrow’s agenda.
It was then on to a much more sobering experience: the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Lucky us, it happened to be a free admission day! This is an excellent museum, worthy of its Smithsonian affiliation.
We then caught the Reds-Cardinals game to mark Cincy off Jen’s MLB ballparks quest.
Then it was off to William Howard Taft National Historic Site, park unit 384 of 433 for Jen. I had forgotten about this crazy long sign at the visitor center. And this might be one of my favorite Preidential quotes about their own tenure 😂
First stop today was Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument. Gen Young was an impressive individual; I had forgotten that he was also the first black park superintendent! I had visited this site just months after its designation in 2013, so it was nice to see the subsequent renovation.
