Another day, another trip – this time a girls’ only trip to Pittsburgh. We started out with little to no snow on the ground, but hit white-out conditions in the famous lake-effect corridor near Pembroke. We thought we were doomed, but the weather quickly turned and the rest of the trip was clear and sunny. A rest stop in Meadville yielded an amazing sight along the highway in front of the Highway Department there.
This picture does not do justice to the incredibleness of this project called “Read Between the Signs,” a collaboration between the Pennsylvania DOT and Allegheny College. Discarded road signs are sculpted into various images and forms depicting the Allegheny Mountains, the French Creek watershed, roads, PennDOT workers, and surrounding farms and forests. More pictures and videos here.
Continuing onward towards Pittsburgh, we arrived at the “Steel City” or “City of Bridges” in the late afternoon.
It has been over 40 years since I’ve been there and I remembered the city as being dirty and ugly, truly a “Steel City.” Was I surprised! This city, situated at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers which join to form the Ohio River, has reinvented itself. Its economy now is based on education, technology, healthcare, and financial services and, in 2010, it was listed as the most liveable city in the United States by Forbes and Yahoo.
FRICK PARK
One of my sisters lives in Pittsburgh and after the long trip, we all got some exercise in nearby Frick Park. Extensive trails wander up and down and around the steep valleys and wooded slopes.
The light at this time of day was magical.
Interesting geological formations,
considerable biodiversity,
and extensive ecological restoration work by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
make this largest of all municipal parks in Pittsburgh a wonderful place to visit even on a late cold, snowless evening in January!
More on our trip tomorrow!
