Shine Coffee Company (Liverpool, PA)

 

A bustling place to get coffee located across US 15 from the Susquehanna River in the small village of Liverpool, Pennsylvania. Once a general store (Shuler's Cash Store), today the coffee shop retains many of the great wood and brick features of the building as well as a great ambiance. We sampled the homemade apple cinnamon scone.  

Updates from the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail (April 2024)

 

Eastern Bluebird near Fish Hatchery Road

A breeding pair of red-tailed hawks have returned to their nest near the Mile 8 signpost. 

A peacock on Nealy Road

Spring dandelion 

Sugar Maples

 

The most spectacular fall colors come from sugar maples; the red and yellows, sometimes mixed with the diminishing green leaves, proved the ideal of what fall in the northeast United States is supposed to look like. In Shippensburg, there are two sugar maples, side by side along South Queen Street that I pass every morning on the way to campus. On a sunny autumn morning, coming over the rise of the bridge over the railroad tracks, the sun is at just the right angle to make the two trees stand out, highlighting the changing foliage for a few precious weeks. The trees are so compelling that even in the dead of winter, or the height of summer, I glance over to make sure they are thriving so that I can await the return of the annual display.

Sunset at Twin Kiss

 

Waynesboro, PA 

The Challenges of a Hawk

 

A Cooper's Hawk in Our Backyard

Angie called up to the office, “There’s a hawk in the backyard if you want to see it.” I scurried down the steps, grabbing my camera near the backdoor on the way. Just at the tree line was beautiful cooper’s hawk probably scouting the birds who frequent ours and our neighbors’ birdfeeders. I snapped a few photos through the window, which were not good. I opened the sliding door to the backyard, using my leg to prevent Coco from going out. I indicated to her that she was likely too big to be a target of the hawk, but any interaction with it would not be good. I took a few more pictures, each time I did the hawk instinctively turned its head to determine the source of the sound. It was patient, but as I approached the edge of the porch it sensed I was potentially dangerous and flew away.

About an hour later, when I was walking the neighborhood, the cries of crows caught my attention. In the middle of the field between the houses and the grocery store parking lot, I saw two insistent crows badgering a hawk in a lone small tree. Whether it was the same bird that visited our backyard a little while before was impossible to tell. As the hawk took flight, the two crows took turns nipping at its tailfeathers. The poor hawk: looking for a little subsistence on a cold day and finding only intrusion and interference.

Herline Covered Bridge

 

Located near Manns Choice, in Bedford County, this covered bridge was constructed in 1902 to cross the Juniata River. Located near US Route 30, the 136-foot-long bridge is one of several that dot Pennsylvania.

Tunkhannock PA Post Office

 

“Defenders of the Wyoming Country – 1778” (1941) by Ethel Ashton

109 Bridge St., Tunkhannock, PA

Road

The rural areas of the Cumberland Valley have a latticework of county roads, many seemingly going nowhere. They link small communities that once had more people and businesses. Often the roads offer no specific destination that would command our attention, but they have a sublime and simple beauty that I find engaging.

Bullshead Road (near Newville)

Backyard Explorations (late April)

Jonathan Franzen has said that birds are humans’ constant companion; they are everywhere. Little do we realize they provide a soundtrack to our life. Whether we know it or not, their songs, cries, calls, and activities are constantly with us, especially while outside. When I wake up in the morning, the sound of birds fills the air. At night, the gentle call of owls, which I never see, echo through the otherwise quiet night.

As April wears on, the foliage of the back of our property begins to fill out. During the first year after we first moved into our house, Patricia saw lights in the distance of the beyond the trees and field that adjacent to the train tracks. She looked at the lights and sighed slightly and commented on “the lovely lights of the city.” I gently told her that it was Walmart. We laughed. The lights of the city are one of the private ways we measure the changing of the seasons. Angie looked out the back window and noted that the lights of the city are gradually fading.

Downy Woodpeckers – While walking it is difficult to distinguish between the downy and hairy woodpeckers. Their plumages look remarkably similar; however, the downy are a little smaller, measuring about six inches in length, as opposed to the nine inches of a hairy woodpecker. Harder to see from a distance is that the bill of the downy is shorter and thinner to that of the hairy.

Angie put out the hummingbird feeder to attract scouts that should be arriving in our area soon. We moved the suet feeder, usually stocked with cakes that attract woodpeckers, to the bedroom side of the house. The next day a downy was coming to the sunflower seed feeder to take a single seed and retreat to the tree line. I wanted to explain that the feeder for her and the other woodpeckers had moved about 25 feet away.

I watched a pair of down woodpeckers, a male and a female, seemingly play a game of hide and seek around the truck of a tree in the front yard. As one moved around the trunk, the other kept diametrically opposed, as each gradually got further off the ground. When they reached the branches, first one, then the other, floated back down to the ground to start again. I watched them scale the tree three times before flying off into the backyard.

Nesting robin on Longview Drive

American Robins – They seem to be everywhere during the spring months in Pennsylvania, but they do not go anywhere, American robins are just more noticeable. They are ubiquitous. Every yard seems to have robins searching for food or sparring over territory. Angie likes to say that they are “love drunk.” It may be an apt description. During the spring robins take chances and do foolish things. It is not uncommon to see the bodies of robins who have been hit by cars or met with other disaster. I would say more often than other species that are commonly seen here.

A discarded robin's egg. 

Sometimes I think there are so many that pairs have difficulties finding a place to build a nest. For a couple of years, we had a female trying to build a nest on the topside of the motor housing of our outside ceiling fan on the back porch. Even with wind, the nest was problematic as the motor assembly is rounded. When the wind blows, and the blades of the fan start to turn, what remained of the straw and grass ended up on the porch. On our walks through the neighborhood this spring, Angie spied a robin nesting on a utility box of the side of the house. The nest is strategically located beneath the overhang of the roof, she and her nest are protected north winds as strong showers have meant for a cool, wet and dreary season. I have been checking on her during my daily walks and it appears that the chicks may have hatched by late April since it is the first time that I have not seen her on the nest in more than a week. In the neighborhood, if we look down, hatched light blue eggs can be found everywhere.

Northern Mockingbird

I enjoy watching robins scour yards for food. With their heads cocked at an angle, folklore suggested that the birds were listening for worms. But the head parallel to the ground allows them to see much better.

Northern Mockingbirds – I have come to admire mockingbirds, with their outgoing personality and seeming oblivion to anything else. It is amusing to watch northern mockingbirds struggle with the suet feeders.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadees – The species, which is prevalent in southern Pennsylvania, is indistinguishable from the black-capped chickadee, except in song. The two birds will mate with one another where their areas overlap.

Brown Thrashers – The males of the species have the largest documented song repertoire in North America with over a thousand songs. They are not frequent visitors to our backyard, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of one, on the ground, near our feeder.

Angie gave me a bee nester for my birthday, which I hung it in the apple tree to see what happens. It is designed for native bee species that are primarily for pollinators rather than generating honey. Regardless of whether bees will find and use it, currently it is aesthetically pleasing.

Late one Sunday morning, a pair of wild turkeys apparently wandered through our backyard. We did not see the pair, but our neighbors (Tom and Kay) direct messaged Angie to alert us. Alas, she did not see the message until the evening. But I find myself taking a peek at the backyard on the off chance that they make another appearance.

White-throated Sparrow

20 species observed: American Crow, American Goldfinch, American Robin, Blue Jay, Brown Thrasher, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Common Grackle, Downy Woodpecker, European Starling, House Finch, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tree Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, White-throated Sparrow.

Apple blossoms 

A female cardinal in our apple tree

The Moon and Venus in the evening sky

Snow Geese at Middle Creek

Seeing large numbers of anything is impressive. In a time in which much of the ecosystem is imperiled, observing an extraordinarily large number of snow geese wintering in rural Pennsylvania offers hope for the future of birds and animals. Nature is resilient, yet the lake at the Middle Creek Management Area, along the borders of Lancaster and Lebanon counties, were created when a dam was built in the 1970. The geese, which once used the east coast as navigation, have moved further inland as development has reduced feeding areas. The phenomenon of extraordinary numbers of birds gathering in central Pennsylvania is a reaction to human pursuits. 

Tundra Swans

In February the snow geese and tundra swans, as well as numerous humans, congregate at the wildlife management area near the small village of Stevens. People who have not walked any distance in quite some time, trudge a three-quarter mile path to see more than 100,000 snow geese occupying the reservoir. Slightly dwarfed by the showcase geese, families of tundra swan that nest in Alaska and northern Canada, gather and rest for a few days of rest on other parts of the reservoir lake. Although there are far more geese, the number of swans can reach an impressive 10,000 birds at a time. 

The close proximity to so many birds is humbling. It is almost as if the geese are nearly tame, yet they are not exactly ready to cozy up to people.  Even a small toddler, rambunctious and reckless as he is, gets remarkably close to the geese scouring the grass. The geese are not easily spooked but mosey off if humans (or dogs) venture too close.

What photographs, and even videos, cannot capture is the sound of a multitude of birds simultaneously calling. Even from across the lake, the sound ebbs and flows, like a wave that alerts us to the presence of nature. Watching the intricate motions of collective of geese, much like a murmuration of starlings, is compelling. Are eyes deceive us to pay attention to the whole, while missing the actions of the individual. 

Walking on the Great Allegheny Passage

While my focus continues to be on completing the C&O Towpath, it is intriguing to think about other long walks. The Great Allegheny Passage takes the up where the C&O leaves off in Cumberland, Maryland and completes a 150-mile, non-motorized trail, to Pittsburgh. Walking in the trail in the Pittsburgh area is a step back in time, mixing the beauty of the Monongahela River with the remnants of the city’s industrial history.

Homestead Grays Bridge

Approximately seven miles upriver from downtown Pittsburgh, Homestead was once a vibrant working class and immigrant hub. Today, some of the riverfront has been revitalized into commercial ventures but just a few blocks away the poverty of post-industrial blight remains. Walking from the Waterfront, a shopping and entertainment complex built on the site of steel mills and railroad terminals, the walker is at first confronted with the hurly-burly of shoppers and traffic. The Monongahela is tranquil, but the evidence of a turbulent past is all around. The foundations and rusting structures visible evidence of the steel mills that dotted the riverfront; the moorings of docks, rusting and overgrown, no doubt dangerous, are fenced off from those who walk, jog or bike passed.

Birds thrive along the river and many can be seen along the path, even on a late winter day. Frenetic robins have begun their spring mating rituals a little early this year. Mallards and Canada geese gently swim or mosey away if you approach too closely. Songbirds gleefully tweet but use the undergrowth, shorn of foliage, still provide ample cover from potential predators.

Between mile markers 139 and 140, the Pump House was a part of the U.S. Steel Homestead Steel Works and is now an interpretive center for the 1892 Homestead Strike Memorial. The strike was a defining clash between steelworkers and industrial management, pitting the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA) against the Carnegie Steel Company with its local operator, Henry Clay Frick. Company under Frick sought to break the union in Homestead, introducing non-union clauses into the workers contract, leading to a confrontation when the existing collective bargaining contract expired. On 1 July 1892, Frick locked out workers who moved to keep the plant closed through surveillance and picket lines, attempting to deny the company an opportunity to employ replacement workers. The standoff resulted in a pitched battle between the union and Pinkerton agents on 6 July, when Pinkerton agents attempted to land a boat on the grounds of the plant from the Monongahela. Shots erupted and a ten-minute gunfight ensued. The governor of Pennsylvania sent the state militia to restore order. The strike melted away as workers, primary East European immigrants, crossed the picket line. The incident broke the AA; by 1900 not a singled steel plant in Pennsylvania would remain unionized.

One of the interesting things about Pittsburgh is the proliferation of ethnic clubs in the area. In Homestead, the Hungarian Social Club is visible from the trail, but appears to be closed.

Upriver from the commercial sector, the path turns away from the river slightly to circumnavigate businesses that still have property adjacent to the Monongahela. I walk around struggling steel plants and abandoned outbuildings, on East 8th Avenue. The trail leans back to the river where it squeezes between the Monongahela and lightly used railroad tracks. Walking through this area, seemingly a forgotten section of the concrete and trash, there is a temptation to feel vulnerable. A chain link fence ostensibly denies access to the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge; however, the sizable hole and graffiti on the bridge suggest that it does not do a good job. Constructed in 1900, the bridge has not seen railroad traffic in quite some time.

Rails leading to the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge

Photo Essay: Shippensburg January 2020

A foggy, rainy day on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail

Dykeman Trail: The bridge where Cody fell through as a puppy

Dykeman Trail beneath the railroad tracks

Dykeman Trail

Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike (preliminary)

For me, the abandoned turnpike, a place where one can take a hike that was once the exclusive domain of automobiles, is the stuff of legend. Finding information about the location, and the use of it, is difficult to find because it is not really an official destination. In my explorations, I oscillate between the desire to explore a little-known place and acknowledgment of the transgression of property. Yet, the abandoned turnpike falls into a gray area, where the owners do not want to assume liability but make it clear that they will not press any claims on trespassing. There is no remuneration associated with the site; it is simply held in trust by a non-profit organization. It is not owned by a government agency and, therefore, not advertised as a tourist destination. As a hiking or walking locale, it is odd because the path is primarily asphalt, but it is remote and not easily accessible.

The sign identifying the abandoned turnpike

This former highway is a 13-mile section of the Pennsylvania turnpike that runs from Breezewood, Bedford County, to Waterfall in Fulton County. It has two access points at either end, both of which are not particularly well marked adding to a sense of discovery and adventure. In Breezewood, the trail can be accessed from a small parking area at the intersection of Tannery Road and Lincoln Highway (US30). After a short walk up a small, but steep hill, the overgrown asphalt of the former turnpike is readily apparent. 

The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened on 1 October 1940 and was considered one of the greatest highways in the world. Despite naysayers complaining the expense of the highway would be a boondoggle, the turnpike proved to be successful as the automobile industry developed in the 1940s and 1950s. Increased use led to traffic issues. Even though the tunnels were engineering marvels, typically traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction resulting in long delays. In the mid-1960s, construction began to alleviate the traffic by creating a new route rather than attempting to widen the tunnels. The section of the turnpike between Breezewood and Sideling Hill was closed on 26 November 1968, and traffic was diverted onto the current route of the turnpike. Since its closure, the abandoned turnpike has served many functions, most notably as training ground for construction workers, firefighters and the military, as well as a location for the post-apocalyptic 2009 film, The Road.  The abandoned turnpike was acquired by the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy, to create a bike and hike trail, in 2001.

The unincorporated town of Breezewood is an odd phenomenon. A federal law, that is no longer in force, insisted that federally funded highways could not lead directly to toll road; thus, motorists on Interstate I-70 must exit, transit through a maze of filling stations, hotels and restaurants before entering the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The rationale was to allow drivers the option not to use a toll road; however, today the lack of interchange creates a bizarre and confusing traffic jumble that needs to be navigated. If, as once happened to me, you are unlucky enough to have an accident or partial shutdown of the turnpike, Breezewood is a nightmare. 

The western entrance of Rays Hill Tunnel

After about a mile and a half walk from the Breezewood parking area, the tunnel traverses beneath Rays Hill and connects Bedford and Fulton counties. The tunnel is two thirds of a mile long and one can see the other end of the tunnel when you enter. Rays Hill was the shortest of the tunnels on the original turnpike and began as a railroad tunnel in the 1880s. The railroad was never completed, but it was used as the basis of the current tunnel. Despite its short length, it is still a creepy walk. Sounds echo in the tunnel, oak leaves that had fallen rattle through the tunnels mimicking the sounds of small creatures running through. The light from the far end of the tunnel creates the impression that you are closer to the end than you are.  

When we walked on the trail in late December, there were very few other people. We overtook two men who were accompanying three small children and I commented that it was an odd place to bring children to ride bikes and scooters. As we neared Rays Hill Tunnel, we met an older couple, not in the best of shape for walking, who asked if we knew of a way to drive to the tunnel. They wanted to bring their grandchildren but did not think they would want to walk to the tunnel.

A fellow traveller 

The eastern entrance of Rays Hill Tunnel

We walked through the tunnel, using the flashlight app on my phone about halfway through. Angie described the experience as “creepy.” The lack of light, the enclosure of the tunnel and the echoing of sound created a dissonance for us. We emerged on the other side of the tunnel alone and isolated, while at the same time hearing the sound of the turnpike clearly in the distance. I expected to see more wildlife, but it was primarily restricted to songbirds. After exploring for half a mile or so, we had hoped to see the other tunnel in the distance, we reentered the tunnel for the return trip. The two men and the kids were at the other end of the tunnel; there was a loud, persistent rumbling sound echoing through the tunnel. It was dark and hard to see more than a few feet in front of us with my phone. As the sound grew louder, a young boy riding a conveyance like a big wheel passed us, raising his left hand in a wave as he went by. He was far ahead of everyone else, determined to reach the end of the tunnel. Angie said that the little boy reminded her of the children in The Shining and made her feel odd. We remarked that it was uncommon for the boy allowed to travel so far without the immediate supervision of an adult. Of course, in a remote area like this, what was the harm? When we finally crossed paths with the two men, we commented how the little boy just gave a wave and kept going. The father noted that was his nature, off on his own to explore and roam without fear.

A derelict house in Waterfall

Finding the eastern terminus of the abandoned in the community of Waterfall is not particularly easy. After having lunch in Breezewood, it was an approximate 20-minute drive to the other end of the abandoned turnpike. While part of the allure of exploring the abandoned turnpike is its derelict status, driving the backroads in and around this area makes you realize that it is not only the turnpike that is derelict. Several houses along US30 are abandoned and in the process of decomposition. The deindustrialization, and the subsequent depopulation, of this portion of Pennsylvania is evident and compelling.

When we arrived at the parking area in Waterfall, I had some trepidation about walking this portion of the turnpike. As we drove up, two men and five pre-teens were walking toward their car from the trail. One of the men, wearing a baseball style cap and a beard, was attaching a hatchet to his belt. Great – ax-murders, I thought. I fumbled for my camera, and hid Angie’s wallet, while she asked about how long it would take to get to the tunnel. The man with the hatchet was very nice and explained how long it was and that it was an easy walk. In his defense, once we started walking there was a small pine tree across the lanes where traffic had once been. It appears that he cleared a path for people to walk through. Nonetheless, it is a bit disconcerting to see someone walking toward you with an ex in a remote part of Pennsylvania. Perhaps all those stories we told each other around the campfire as kids affects our views of the world.

The eastern entrance of Sideling Hill Tunnel 

Sideling Hill Tunnel is a 1.2 mile walk from the parking area. Substantially longer than Rays Hill, it was impossible to see the other end of the 1.3-mile tunnel on December afternoon when we visited. The remoteness of Sideling Hill means that the graffiti is far less and there is an unnerving feel to both the walk and the tunnel. Standing at the entrance to the tunnel, feeling the cold air blow out, you stare at the blackness of the tunnel.

Cats in Our Midst - Barn Cats

On my walk on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, I have met a group of barn cats near Ott Road over the last few months. An expectant mother cats was especially friendly during the summer. But on a mid-November Friday afternoon, two different cats carefully watched me as I walked by, while a third lurked in the underbrush several feet further away. The tortoise shell lingered, hiding behind some bushes; a blank-and-white shorthair was a little braver and stood on a large boulder eyeing me keenly. I squatted in a catcher’s stance for a couple of minutes to see if either were brave enough to come to me. A downy woodpecker tapped out a steady rhythm on a nearby tree, while a blue jay cried in alarm overhead. Both cats waited patiently as I remained quiet and watched. The black-and-white felt comfortable enough to lie down and begin to doze. Both were probably expecting something to eat, and I contemplated whether I should bring a small bag of cat food the next time I walk this section of the trail.

Cats in Our Midst - Shop Cats

Miss Kitty

In Shepherdstown, West Virginia, Miss Kitty oversees an eclectic shop called Creative Distractions and Whimsical Necessities. We met her human on the street, shortly after the shop opened, and found out that Miss Kitty loves to pose for visitors; however, refuses to sit still for any photographs by the owner of the shop. Despite knowing that her food comes from her human, I think that Miss Kitty appreciates that the money for that food is based on the customers visiting the shop. 

Dr. Pickles has one of the best lives a feline can have. He is the shop cat for The Book Trader, a used bookstore in Philadelphia. The bookstore, open since 1975, inhabits a building in the Old City section of the city not far from the river. In addition to having access to a shop with narrow aisle constructed of shelves stuffed with books, videos and movies that offer ample hideaways for a nap, it also is good place to meet sedate humans interested in browsing the shelves. I wondered if there was a side job of controlling the mouse population in the building, but Dr. Pickles was not saying. Recently, the bookstore has begun printing cards of the cats available for purchase. I suspect that the endeavor helps to support feline employee’s food supply; so, of course, I purchased one. 

Dr. Pickles showing me where his food is kept (just in case)