Well, why not? After living our lives in the Northeast of the United States we have visited most cities and places of interest at least once but never Pittsburgh. In deciding on a route out west for an October wedding we had four states we have yet to visit. Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Son Chris and family have also recently relocated to the Nashville, TN area so that was a must. A look at the old paper map of the USA quite clearly told us that Pittsburgh would be a nice jumping off point for our journey. We made a special side trip to Philly on the way as we would not see Mom again for a while. The fact that Pittsburgh has the confluence of 3 major rivers for kayaking, the Great Allegheny Passage bike path ends up there for biking and the North Country National Scenic Trail also goes by the area made it the perfect spot.
Our updated touring rig: Truck, kayaks, motorcycle and gravel bikes on the back of the Lance travel trailer.
We managed two nice 20 mile bike rides on the Great Allegheny Passage. Each being an out and back ride so no need for the scooter to transport us back from our destination. In 2013 we decided to train for our upcoming Alaska Highway tandem ride by cycling the C&O canal towpath from Cumberland, MD to Harper’s Ferry, WV. We had such a wonderful time we promised ourselves to not only finish the path from there to Washington, DC but to also go back to Cumberland and cycle north towards Pittsburgh someday. No overnighting on the trail this time but the free camp spots along the trail reminded us of our time a decade ago. We encountered many a fellow cyclists on our two rides. Some doing the entire trail and others just out like us for a few day rides. One elder couple (80s) was back on the trail for the first time in a few months as the lady just finished a month long rehab stint from a crash suffered on the trail itself. Seems she had a run in with a hedgehog and tumbled to the ground. Nice to see her showing the hedgehog who is boss and returning to the trail.
The crushed cinder surface made for a bump free ride both days.There were a number of small waterfalls along the way. Many, like this one, had a red color to the water. The kiosk near here mentioned that the red color emanated from the old mines deep below the surface. One of our rides culminated at Betsy’s Bistro right along the trail proper. Here we had what may have been the best trail lunch ever. I had homemade beef hash with eggs and potatoes and Laurie had a bowl of she crab bisque. It was so good (and only $20 total) we decided to go back and both have the hash again after one of our kayak rides that had a pull out for our boats right next to the bistro.The Bistro was also a nice little gift shop. This sign near the restrooms had us giggling a bit.
As it turned out the Ohio River, the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River are all very large, deep, wide rivers without many turns or rapids to keep us interested so we found a tributary to the Monongahela for our floating pleasure. The Youghiogheny River (pronounced Yuck-a-gainy) is a gem to kayak on. The fact that the GAP (Great Allegheny Passage bike trail) follows its banks for miles helped out also. Our two floats were each about 7 or 8 miles. Our first from the boat launch in West Newton to a take out in Buena Vista involved only one portage across a shallow area of the river. This time we positioned the scooter for a quick ride back to the truck after our float. Our second picked up by putting in at Buena Vista and taking out in the town of Boston, PA right next to the bistro.
The Youghiogheny River at its finest! So peaceful and calm to float down. The current was actually moving at a good 3-4 mph so our 8 mile trips took less than 2 hours each. There were occasional rapids to manipulate our boats through but that is the fun part!Laurie found the bottom of the river a bit muddy as she tried to exit her kayak. Into the drink she went but hey, what is kayaking for if getting a bit wet is not involved.We did not participate in the great tire cleanup but we did notice MANY old tires sitting on the bottom of the river as we floated by. 500 tires pulled out in 2021 in a two mile section of river. This kayaker above had 3 of the almost 700 tires pulled off the bottom in 2022. It has become a yearly cleanup event, with the Bridgestone Tire Company picking up the tab for recycling the tires.
For what we call a trifecta of an outdoor experience we needed to find a nice hike to go along with all the biking and kayaking. The phone app Alltrails to the rescue. Wherever we are in the country, it will find all the local cool hiking spots and even allow you to preview the route with a 3D visual tour with elevation change and everything.
We found a 4 mile loop hike at a local park called Twin Lakes. Not sure the pavers were needed for such a hiking path but the scenery was very nice. The country is under a heat dome at this point but the temps in the Pittsburgh area were not high enough to keep us from outdoor entertainment.We found these “green bean trees” all over the area including the hike we took around Twin Lakes. The actual name of the plant is Catalpa. Thought about trying to eat one but thought better!
We opted not to go to a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game as they were only in town for the first two nights of our weeks long stay. We chose to take a guided walking tour of the city instead and try to do what most locals call a must-do while in Pittsburgh. The newly formed (post pandemic) company advertised as “free walking tours”. Just pay what you think it was worth when done. Seemed fair enough to us so off we went. The 30 minute drive to Point State Park was not too bad except for the traffic caused by an accident and construction as we neared the city itself. The Point as locals call it is the confluence of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers hence, the Pirates Ball park there is called Three Rivers Stadium.
We met our tour guide here in the park at the old Pitt Blockhouse inside what was Fort Pitt years ago. The outline of the original fort was laid out in different color stone so we could see just how big it was and exactly where it was located. Kind of cool. The Blockhouse for the fort was never actually used as intended. It was supposed to house infantry to help defend the fort against Native American raids but was abandoned by the British soon after its completion in 1764. It does hold the distinction of being the oldest remaining building in the country west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Our guide gave us a quick primer in speaking “Pittsburghese”. Folks like to be called “Yinzers” around here. The expression is similar in meaning to “Y’all”. “Jeetyet” means Did you eat? A “Jagoff” is a jerk. A “Crik” is a creek. “Bince” means Being as. “Cupple Tree” means two or three. “Bowchyins” means both of you. We found it amazing that after our brief vocabulary lesson we actually caught folks talking like that throughout our day.
Check out the first of the Three Sisters Bridges spanning the Allegheny River in downtown. This one is called the Roberto Clemente Bridge as it is closed before the game time at the stadium which allows baseball fans to walk to the ballpark over the bridge. Clemente is a hall of famer who played his entire career with the Pirates and, shortly after recording his 3000th hit to end the 1972 season, died in a plane crash. He was leaving his home in Puerto Rico to deliver needed supplies to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake there but his plane never made it. This happens to be one of my first baseball memories as a kid. The other two bridges are called the Andy Worhol bridge (famous painter from Pittsburgh) and the Rachel Carson bridge (another Pittsburgh native who was an avid environmentalist)Many buildings downtown had this plaque somewhere on their “skin”. As the government at the time was reluctant to pay for the dams necessary to prevent flooding of downtown the rainstorm in 1936 caused the entire downtown to be up to 46 feet under water. Most buildings were demolished but a few “important” ones were renovated instead of demolished. Oh yeah…..The government soon came up with the cash to build those flood mitigating dams after the 1936 flooding.
Notice the bottom 10 feet or so of each building above. Our guide pointed the difference in look and color to us and pointed out that when the buildings were originally built, that bottom 10 feet was underground as a basement of sorts. At some point in the 1920s the city decided to excavate about 10 feet of earth in many of its neighborhoods so the roads coming into neighborhoods were not as steep and daunting to the newly minted automobile. That meant that the basements of the building were now going to be first floors. Our group had consensus that the building on the right did a better job of making the new first floor look like it was meant to be that way.
We are not art aficionados but this caught our eyes so to speak. Not only are the eyes a bit creepy but the fountain in the background was pretty cool. It was not running for maintenance sake but it usually runs 24-7-365. Our guide said it was fabulous in the winter as the water is heated to not freeze up. The icicles forming on the outside made for a great show in the winter. Much like the fountain we remember seeing at Letchworth State Park back in Western NY.
Our guide noted that the planning commission in the area requires companies that want to build large buildings downtown have some kind of theme regarding what their company actually produces. The building on the left was the headquarters for Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America) and its entire exterior is made with aluminum. On the right was the headquarters for USS (United States Steel). You guessed it, the outside is made with a special steel that rusts quickly so as to not need coats of paint to preserve it. A bit counter-intuitive but…. As the tall steel beams are outside the structure they had to come up with a method of preventing collapse (ie. World Trade Center) if there were ever a large fire inside. Turns out they pump water through all those beams 24-7 as a means of accomplishing this.
This castle made of glass is the headquarters of PPG (Pittsburgh Plate Glass). Over a million square feet of glass was used to create this interesting look. As it turns out the company now makes more sales in the paint industry than the glass industry.As we learned in Charleston, SC, a burying ground or grave yard is physically attached to a church and a cemetery is not. This cool burying ground is the final resting place for many famous Pittsburghers.As this signage has been there for about 120 years we can say with certainty that “some things are written in stone”. Wouldn’t want to be the church board member who suggested changing the times of the services.This street fair is called “Picklesburgh”. Everything pickle related could be purchased here. We were interested in the pickle pizza and pickle ice cream but the lines were long and it was hot.
The famous Monongahela Incline. It was built in 1870 to ferry workers from the city below to the top of Coal Mountain. This is currently named Mt. Washington but back in the day workers literally banged on the mountain top with their hammers to loosen nuggets of coal. Although it is a tourist attraction for folks like us it is still used as a commuter vehicle to many folks in the neighborhood up top that work downtown. It was not a thrill ride but something worth doing if you are in the area.
The mighty Monongahela River. When steel was the major industry here back in the mid 1900s the water from this river was used for cooling the product. The water temperature all year round was about 90 degrees F. This of course killed all the fish and marine life so it took a while for it to return to its glory after the steel business dried up.The picturesque skyline of Pittsburgh. Did you know that Pittsburgh was originally spelled without the final H? It was dropped from US city names ending in burgh for reasons of uniformity across the country. Yes there is a governmental organization called the “United States Board on Geographical Names”. In 1911 the citizens decided they wanted their H back so they had the PA United States Senator named George T Oliver petition the board for the desired H. Their petition was granted and, with the exception to a few names on buildings etched in stone, the official spelling is now Pittsburgh.When in Pittsburgh….Primonte Bros restaurant made an appearance on the show “Diners, Dives and Drive thrus” back in 2011 so we had to check it out for ourselves. The sandwiches all come with coleslaw and french fries in them. My rueben was half pastrami and half corned beef. I also had to have an icy cold Iron City beer. Not incredibly satisfying but I had plenty of sandwich to help wash it down with.
As we wrapped up our week long visit to the steel city we both agreed that we would indeed return to the area in the future.
2 Replies to “Pittsburgh, PA You Say?”
Surprised to hear it was the Dando’s first trip to Pittsburgh! With ample biking, hiking and kayaking it sounds like it was quite the treat.
Got quite the chuckle at your musing of the first church board member who suggested changing the time of the service.
The Youghiogheny River looks like it’s quite a scenic voyage to kayak through.
I’ve heard the Pirates’ new stadium is one of the best to go visit, perhaps you’ll get the chance to check it out on a return trip.
Major props to the woman in her 80’s returning to the Great Allegheny Passage- no hedgehog will stop her!
Such a joy to follow your travels!
Interesting and great composition in text and visuals as usual.
I never knew Pitt could be so interesting.
Surprised to hear it was the Dando’s first trip to Pittsburgh! With ample biking, hiking and kayaking it sounds like it was quite the treat.
Got quite the chuckle at your musing of the first church board member who suggested changing the time of the service.
The Youghiogheny River looks like it’s quite a scenic voyage to kayak through.
I’ve heard the Pirates’ new stadium is one of the best to go visit, perhaps you’ll get the chance to check it out on a return trip.
Major props to the woman in her 80’s returning to the Great Allegheny Passage- no hedgehog will stop her!
Such a joy to follow your travels!
Interesting and great composition in text and visuals as usual.
I never knew Pitt could be so interesting.