GAP/C&O-Day 10 & 11
We came down to a beautifully set breakfast table at the Smith House Inn. The big porch doors and windows were open, allowing the fresh, cool morning air into the house through the screens. We enjoyed every bite as we visited with the other guests from Austin, TX. Our ride today takes us from Confluence to Connellsville, where we left our truck 9 days ago.
We finished our breakfast, hopped on the bikes and were off on a cool foggy morning. We crossed 2 bridges as we left Confluence and were once again enjoying the beauty of the trail.
It was a short ride to Ohiopyle, and we had time to walk around, checking out the little shops and the old church.
We grabbed an early lunch at a farm to table restaurant called the Ohiopyle House Cafe.
Ohiopyle State Park is situated right in the center of the beautiful Laurel Highlands, a mountainous region encompassing 3000 square miles in southwest Pennsylvania. I imagine it is extremely busy on the weekends with the hiking trails, bike path, whitewater rafting and waterfall tours. We were glad we caught it on a Monday.
Once we finished lunch, we biked over to Wilderness Voyageurs. They run an outfitters store and offer a number of guided trips and services including a shuttle service. We’d arranged for them to shuttle us the 3 miles over to Fallingwater to take a tour of the famous house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Once we saw the very hilly road with no shoulder for biking, we knew we’d made a wise decision. I would not recommend riding it by bike. It was only 3 miles, but it would have been a very difficult and dangerous ride by bike.
We had purchased our tickets for the home tour online a couple of days ago, when we saw that we would be able to make the timing work. Reservations are recommended because the house is a very popular attraction, and tickets typically sell out. Only last week the home was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so I was delighted we were able to work it in to our schedule.
The folks at Wilderness Voyaguers transported us to Fallingwater with plenty of time to spare, and told us to call them when we wanted to be picked up. They dropped us right at the front of the visitor center.
When we checked in for the tour, we were offered an earlier tour, probably due to a cancellation, and we gladly accepted it. The tour was very interesting and included every room in the house as well as the guest house and carport. No pictures were allowed in the home, but we were allowed to take photos outside of the home after the tour.
We finished the tour, stopped by the cafe in the visitor center to get a cold soda to drink as we waited for our shuttle and even got a free cookie provided in celebration of becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The shuttle picked us up within a few short minutes of placing the call. We got back on our bikes, which we’d left at Wilderness Voyageurs while we were on the tour. We continued on with our exploration of the Great Allegheny Passage.
We had 17 more miles to cover before we arrived back at our truck, parked at the Connellsville B&B. We’d been away from the truck for 9 days, the longest time we’ve been on a bike trail self-supported. We were able to take everything we needed on our bikes, and there were a few items I took that I didn’t use at all, so next time, I may be able to pack even lighter.
We arrived back at the Connellsville B&B and saw our truck was safe and sound right where we’d left it. The owner greeted us, asked us about our week and took us up to our room. We were in a different room this time and it had beautiful views of the little main street through town.
We got cleaned up and walked down to a family owned Italian restaurant just a couple of blocks from the B&B. Reservations are recommended at Ruvo’s, because it is a very small place, though they did have outdoor seating. Food is served family style, and includes salad and bread. We both ordered one of the specials. One was sausage tortellini and one was gnocchi. The special of the night is a one-serving dish, though it was more than I could eat!
Day 11 was our day to explore more of the trail toward Pittsburgh. We hadn’t started the combined C&O/GAP trail all the way in DC, and we didn’t plan to go all the way to Pittsburgh, but we wanted to see more of the trail in that direction. So after a good breakfast at the Connellsville B&B, we started out toward Pittsburgh.
The trail continues to be in excellent condition and the scenery beautiful. We rode all the way to West Newton (where our B&B is for the night) and stopped and ate lunch at Trailside Cafe. We sat on the deck overlooking the bike trail. I had a delicious salad and Jimmy had a club sandwich. Delicious!
After lunch, we continued on toward Pittsburgh to explore more of the trail in that direction. We passed our B&B as we pedaled through town on the trail. It is directly across from the old train depot, repurposed as a trail visitor center with clean restrooms, water, maps, t-shirts and a friendly staff. We stopped and looked around a bit, and bought t-shirts. We were asked to sign the guest register, as we’ve been asked at every similar stop. These little visitor centers depend on people signing their guest books because it helps them with their funding. So SIGN the guest books when you stop. It helps insure that little places like this will still remain open.
This area had a number of coal mines, all gone now. As we followed the trail along the bank of the Youghiogheny River, or the Yough (prononced Yock -rhymes with sock) as the locals call it, we spotted several relics left from the coal mine era. There were also a good number of signs explaining the relics and giving a history of the area. Also this chunk of coal placed on a sign placard.
The town of Connellsville was at the center of the “Coke Region”. Until the end of World War I, the area around the town was unrivaled in the production of coke, and was known as the coke capitol of the world.
Coke is a hard porous coal residue with a high heating value. It is made by “cooking” coal in sealed ovens. The ovens are beehive shaped and line the banks along both sides of the river. Back in the “coke” heydey, the fires from 35,000 ovens lit up the night sky surrounding Connellsville. I’m sure that was a site to see back in the day.
When the coke was ready, it was loaded onto railcars bound for Pittsburgh and used in the making of steel.
In one particular section of trail, I was able to spot the beehive ovens every few feet lining on old road or railroad on a hillside along the trail. It was hard to get a photo because of the foliage. The ovens would probably be much easier to spot in the winter, but I did take a short little hike off the trail to get a picture of one.
I read all the historical markers about the coal mines along the trail. We passed through 3 or 4 “patch towns”. Patch towns were small villages consisting of “company houses”. The Pittsburgh Coal Company provided housing for their employees working in the mines and at the coke ovens. Most were built between 1900-1920. There were only a few floorplans. They consisted of duplexes, larger homes for managers, and bunk houses for employees with no family. Though most have been updated to some degree, the lay-out of the company town is still the same, and though many of them are single family homes now, you can still see the footprint of the duplex with 2 front doors, etc. All of the homes in these little patch towns have the same footprint and it is interesting to see how homeowners have modified them to make them uniquely theirs.
There was a terrible mining accident in this region in 1907. A gas and coal dust explosion killed 239 miners at Darr Mine, and was one of the worst coal mine tragedies in the US. A historical marker is placed near the trail telling the story of the Darr mine disaster.
One other remnant of the coal mining era can be seen along the trail, Red Waterfall. Red Waterfall flows from water that comes from far underground. The unusual thing about the waterfall though is its color. A rock seal that formed over the massive Pittsburgh coal seam thousands of years ago contained “pyrite”, made of iron and sulfur. Coal mining exposed pyrite to oxygen and ground water. This in turn produced sulfuric acid and a number of red, yellow, and orange compounds. The rich orange/red color came from iron, and is known as Acid Mine Drainage. This was the largest orange/red water we saw, but noticed it in a smaller waterfall and in a creek that runs along the trail. All were remnants of the coal mining that occurred here over 100 years ago.
We traveled on and stopped for an ice cream cone at Yough Twister. We got a blackberry vanilla yogurt swirl. It was a cute tiny place with a huge menu. I was sorry we weren’t there at meal time!
There are several spots along the trail where homeowners that border the trail have added extra touches to make trail users feel welcome. We saw a number of shady benches with flowers tended in pots, an inviting bench under an old shady apple tree, and a cooler of bottled water for any thirsty traveler. These little places always make me smile!
Shortly after passing Buena Vista, we turned around and headed back toward our B&B, having ridden to within 27 miles of Pittsburgh. We passed many more beautiful sites, and I took a few more pictures even though we had doubled back. I couldn’t resist!
We are staying in West Newton at Bright Morning Bed & Breakfast. We’d passed it earlier in the day on our way out to see more of the trail, and were ready to get back to it and check in.
The B&B is made up of 4 homes bought over a period of years by the owner. The first house she bought was one that an elderly lady had left to the local Methodist Church. The church sold it and she bought it. She started out with one guest room and the demand was so high, she added other homes to her collection. All of the homes have been lovingly restored. Breakfast would be serve in another of the homes 2 doors down from the one we were in. Our room was on the top floor of the green house with a beautiful view of the bike trail and the old train depot.
We returned to the Trailside Cafe for dinner, and once again sat on the deck overlooking the bike trail. It was a beautiful ending to the day. We are both sad to see this trip end. But have already begun dreaming about our next bike trip! Tomorrow, we pedal back to our truck in Connellsville, spend one last night, and head home.