Pennsylvania - Day 23

Hilton Garden Hotel, Harrisburg

Monday, 23 April 2018

I waited till almost 10:00 this morning to leave, hoping the Monday morning traffic would die down, which it had, and also hoping any lingering ice on the highway would have dissipated, which it did.

I can’t remember if I mentioned before that going in to Pittsburgh from the SW (I was on I-376, a semi-ring road), you first go down a steep hill 1½ miles long, with signs telling trucks to limit speed to 25 mph, with a runaway truck ramp partway down, and zero chance to exit once they tell you about it.  Fortunately, it was completely dry plus traffic was nearly at a standstill in several places, so I didn’t have to worry about hurtling down this hill as I’d done when I went to town last week.  At the bottom of the hill is the Fort Pitt Tunnel (.6 mi long) and at the end of that is the Fort Pitt Bridge, which goes over the Monongahela River.  And then instantly you’re in Pittsburgh – no easing into it.  What an introduction.

I was able to stay on I-376 all the way through town, which made things less harrowing by not needing to change lanes or watch out for road signs.  On the left, I was pleased to see the Cathedral of Learning sticking up high enough for me to be able to see it from the highway, like an old friend.  On the right, I saw a large Russian Orthodox church.  According to the 2010 census, only 1% of the state’s population is orthodox so I’m surprised they’ve got such large churches in at least Erie, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  Leaving town we had another tunnel, the Squirrel Hill Tunnel (.8 mile).

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, these tunnels are all well-lighted and completely tiled, no shoulders but the lanes are just about wide enough.  But I find them very hard to drive through because, at those lengths, they become hypnotic, making driving in them scary for me.  Closer to Harrisburg I again went through Allegheny Mountain Tunnel (1.2 mi), Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel (1.0 mi), Kittatinny Tunnel (1.0 mi) and Blue Mountain Tunnel (.8 mi).

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned all the cattails I’ve seen around the state.  I suppose where they’re growing is where there’s water, but that’s not what grows near water in Texas, so I’m not used to seeing them.

I decided to take the turnpike back to Harrisburg, hoping to avoid steep hills, and there weren’t any.  What there were instead were multiple s-curves and extremely strong crosswinds, and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I wasn’t trying to drive in those conditions with possible black ice on the road.

Once again along this road I noticed all the family farms.  At one point I counted 3 I could see at one time on the upcoming hillsides, and 2 more as we came over the next hill, and 3 more as we came over the next next hill.  Gracie was having trouble with carsickness so I opened the vents and a window for her.  After a bit I noticed a really strong smell of manure.   It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that if I closed the window and vents I might not smell it as strong, which worked.

A lot of the farms were dairy farms, and one had “DRINK MILK” painted on the side of the barn.  (Milk is PA’s most important farm product.)  Several of them were sheep farms, and at one I saw some lambs with one mama having twins – cute little guys - skittering after her. I really wish I had been able to take a photo of even one of these farms, and maybe sometime this next week I can.  But in the meantime, if you’ve seen the Harrison Ford movie “Witness” you can see what they look like.

Part way across I passed a sign that said we were entering the Chesapeake Bay Watershed System.  Who’d have thought it’d start so far away.

I saw a clever billboard advertising services at the next town.  It showed 3 dogs sitting in the front seat of a truck.  The dog in the passenger seat was dreaming about a bone, the dog in the middle was dreaming about a bed, and the bulldog hunched over the steering wheel was dreaming about a fire hydrant.

All along the way I saw wooded hills – but I’m not sure I really noticed them the first time I went by because most of the trees are still bare.  About 3/5 of PA is still forested.  The farther east I came, the more I started to see spring green on a few of the trees.  Here in Harrisburg the cherry trees are blooming.  Spring is coming late, but it’s coming.

I had to get turned down by 3 other hotels before I found this one, but here the woman said yes quickly and with a smile.  I wouldn’t have expected a Hilton to say yes.  You just never know what you’re going to get when you ask a question.