We have read many books and articles about the lush hilly
New England states of the North Eastern USA. Also the French speaking Quebec province of
Canada seemed very interesting and different to us. So we decided to arrange a trip to
visit this area. Michael our son who lives in Pittsburgh agreed to come along for a
prolonged week. So we planned a trip in his Mazda 626 starting with some relaxing days in
his new apartment in Pittsburgh. We were so lucky that Air Canada had a very favorable
flight from Copenhagen to Pittsburgh via Toronto. 4200 DKr for a return ticket, all taxes
included. We found a nice Kennel for our lovely Golden Retriever, Bianca. All the hard
spring work in our garden in Denmark was done so everything looked nice and clean. And our
neighbor even promised to cut the grass while we went away.
The whole trip was planned for 3 weeks. So early in the morning of May 17 we left for the
Copenhagen Airport. Air Canada was on time and we arrived as scheduled in Toronto in
typical Canadian rain. Before passing the customs we had to clean our shoes on a special
mat because of the Mouth and Foot disease in Europe. A warning: Toronto Airport is
complicated for transit with a lot of challenges. You must change terminal (using
buses), pick up your luggage at least twice and finally check in via US customs. Even
though we had 3 hours waiting time it was not too long. Air Canada had a wonderful
service, they even served a nice meal on the short trip to Pittsburgh. Michael picked us
up in the Pittsburgh airport at the terminal, and afterwards we got our luggage without
problems. This first evening we had a lot to talk about as we had not seen Michael for
almost half a year. So it was midnight before we went to sleep and about 30 hours after we
had had our last
| sleep
in Kulhuse. Since our last visit to Michael two years ago he had moved to a cheaper two
room apartment in an old detached house. He has rented the ground floor apartment which is
quite spacious. Friday the next day we went to the big shopping mall at Monroeville. It is
always popular to go shopping when we arrive in the US. Clothes are so cheap and very good
quality. In the US we have no problems to find the right sizes in trousers which can be
quite a job when we stay in Spain. Because the US dollar had raised sky high (about 9
DKr for a dollar) this time food appeared to be very expensive. But clothes you
still get for a bargain. Despite heavy complaints from Michael we still found gasoline
prices ridiculous low. About 1.60 $ for a gallon. Three times less than Danish prices.
During this visit we had plenty of time in Pittsburgh. So on Saturday Michael promised to
join us on a trip southeast to the Laurel Hills area. Next morning after a nice breakfast
we drove east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike until just before Somerset. Here we turned
south on a very picturesque highway in the hilly forests. We went for |
Happy to meet again. Anna and Michael
|
 Enjoying a pipe on the back entrance stairs
|
| a 3 miles walk at Bear Run Nature Reserve along a well
marked trail in a dense forest with lots |
Jens and Anna among Laurel bushes.
Bear Run Nature Reserve
|
of Laurel bushes.
Unfortunately we were too early for the flowering of these bushes. You probably have to
come in late May or June. On the the photo to the left you get quite a good impression of
the dense vegetation including many Laurel bushes. The hike was quite easy with few steep
inclines. At the entrance we picked up a map with all the paths marked in different
colors. Many signposts were established along the nice paths. From Spain we are used to
awful maps and quite confusing or missing indication of the trails so we were comfortable
on this hike. For further information on |
the Bear Run area you can go
to Michael's Homepage where he has
got quite a nice description of a trip on his photopage. In the
park was numerous creeks with many waterfalls. The paths |
Anna at a picturesque waterfall.
Bear Run Nature Reserve
|
One of many wooden bridges.
Bear Run Nature Reserve
|
were normally dry and we had
no problems passing the creeks as nice wooden bridges were built across these. Anna is
standing on one of these bridges to the left and to the far left we even found a nice
waterfall |
| constructed in concrete and
natural stones. |
Jens and Michael is having a
break on another bridge. Again you see all the dark green leaves of the Laurel bushes.
Just south of Bear Run is the famous Fallingwater house designed by the architect Frank
Lloyd Wright.
From Bear Run we drove further south close to the border of Maryland where we found a
beautiful recreational spot at Ohiopyle State Park. Here an old railway track crossed the
Youghogheny River on a wonderful old wooden bridge. The former rail stop had been
converted into a Visitor Center with kind information of the area and possible trips and
activities. This place is a cross point for many hikes along the Youghiogheny River trail
and into the highland forests. In the 1880s this was a busy place with many hotels,
dance pavilion and boardwalks along the river. Now much of this has been removed but its
still the starting point for white river rafting and canoeing the |
A moment of relaxation on another wooden bridge.
Bear Run Nature Reserve
|
Anna and Jens for a lunch break at the Youghogheny River.
Ohiopyle State Park
|
Youghiogheny
River. We first sat down by the river and had some sandwiches and a coke. It was relaxing
to listen to the sounds of bubbling from the river stream which actually ended up in quite
a nice waterfall just behind the tree on the left side on the picture. Afterwards we hiked
the short (1.7 miles) |
|
Anna and Michael standing at the
top of the waterfall.
Ohiopyle State Park |
 |
Ferncliff
Peninsula trail where we had some wonderful views to the waterfall and the river from the
top of the cliffs. This was a roundtrip hike and when we got back to the car we were tired
and drove on until Pittsburgh. At the south mall we decided to drop in for a meal at the
Dennis Restaurant. This was a nice end to a busy but happy day. |
Indian Pow Wow.
Pittsburgh
|
The next day
(Sunday) Michael had to concentrate on computer work. So in the morning we went to a
festival in the Shady Side area where we listened to country music. In the afternoon
we went for an Indian Pow Wow outside the Carnegie Museum of Art. As we have seen many Pow
Wows on previous trips we took the opportunity of the entrance ticket also valid for the
museum. They have an impressive collection; even the great European painters like Picasso,
Rubens, Goya, Monet were abundantly represented among many for us unknown American
artists. The museum is modern with nice exhibition rooms and its really worth a visit.
The following days Michael was busy at the university so we borrowed his car and had some
good opportunities to visit |
|
Japanese Courtyard Garden
