The New River Bridge and Falling Water House

Sat 5/19/12 I am awakened just before dawn by a musical chorus of birds in trees above BEYOND. I listened for a few minutes and then dozed off again until the light was up. I peeked over the edge of my bunk and my father was still asleep. Very unusual for me to awaken first. I could just see the top of his hunter orange stock cap peeking out from the top of the blanket. When I turned over and rocked the van he woke up. It was chilly so I had him turn on the furnace. I hadn’t used it lately and was happy to feel the warm air surge out of the vent. Soon we were dressed and warm and back from the bathroom. I made tea and my father took his weekly special medication were he can’t eat or drink and thing but water for 30 minutes. He also has to stay up right so we sat and listened to The People’s Pharmacy on the radio. It was an interesting program. Soon we were on the road again. Back on I-77 headed north. We took the short cut north on 19 to I-79 with be at the helm. We had to stop for gas and the station also had good ice cream so I bought us a couple of Magnum bars. The ones with the vanilla ice cream, gooey caramel and a chocolate coating…yum! At 9:45 am we were back on the road with ice cream in hand! We were flying along and then we dropped down on to an amazing bridge over a deep gorge and the New River. There was a visitor’s center and park so we pulled over and spend a while there. They had a nice exhibit and the history of the area. Lots of logging and coal mining and now white water rafting and kayaking. They also talked about the amazing bridge we just drove over. It spans 3030 ft across the gorge and the roadway is supported by a single ach that is 1700 feet across and almost 900 ft above the river. It’s truly spectacular. We walked down the boardwalk to get a better view and some pictures. As we walked back up the stairs my father needed a rest so we sat on a bench and I wrote a post card. When we got back in the car he ate some energy gu and we got underway. He fell right to sleep for an hour. He woke up hungry so we stopped at the nearest place. Pizza Hut. We had salads and Hawaiian Pizza. We took half the pizza with us and drove on into our campsite near Morgantown, WV. We have been in two really clean places so far and this doesn’t measure up. We ended up in an overflow site which was fine but right near the road and a long way from the restroom, except for a pretty nasty outhouse. My father was not up for a hike so we researched Fallingwater, which is Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous house. We are very close and decided to drive over in the morning. I had a faint internet signal but was able to make a reservation for 11:30 am. We also researched the bike route from the C&O Canal trail to our hotel in Arlington. Seems like a fairly straightforward ride, and less than 2 miles. We will be staying at the Inn at Rosslyn. I made us a salad and reheated the beans and rice and pizza for dinner. There read and crashed. But it was fairly quiet and we slept well. Sunday 5/20/12 We woke up about 7:30 and I made tea while Pop did his medicine then we got on the road for Falling Water. We are very excited to be going to see the most famous of frank Lloyd Wright’s houses. Falling Water was built right over a 20 ft waterfall. We set our GPS and off we went. It took us over hill and dale through some really beautiful landscape. We stopped to photograph one beautiful old farmhouse and to buy blueberry yogurt for breakfast. We rolled through Ohiopyle PA which will be one of the stops on our bike trip. It looks like a very fun little town. It was also exciting to finally cross part of the trail! It looks very cool. Four miles further down the road we pulled into the driveway for Falling Water. Finally we are here. It’s about 10 am and our tour is 11:30 so we break out the food and have brunch and tune in a classical music station. Violins, cereal, blueberry yogurt, peanut butter and Nutella! Yumm! At 11 we walk up to the visitor’s center and check-in then stroll on down to the house. We walk down a mossy walkway surrounded by mountain laurel and around a corner and there it is! Falling Water. It is just as amazing in real life as in the famous photos. The house just hovers of the waterfall and leans into the hillside above the stream. Just lovely. We are allowed to take photos only outside the house so I walk around and take lots of shots. Then we join our group of 15 and our guide leads us in. It is wonderful that the owners left the house furnished when they gave it to the Penn Conservancy. It is wonderful to see all the art and the furnishings. There are paintings by Picasso and Diego Rivera amongst others and at least one Tiffany lamp in every room. The house is full of windows so your gaze is directed outside in every room. It really does push you to enjoy the surroundings. Frank Lloyd Wright also built in most of the furniture. All the couches and desks and fireplaces are all permanently place and there are places were the natural stones from the site are incorporated into the house. It truly is an amazing structure. I encourage everyone with a love of architecture, art and design to make a point of visiting. After out tour we poked our heads into the gift shop, then walked back to BEYOND. We loaded up and headed for Boston, PA (look for McKeesport, PA on the map) where we are starting our bicycle adventure. We drove over some very steep and twisty roads. Past old country churches and blooming flowers. Until we arrived at the Yough Shore Inn on the Youghagheny River. We unloaded and met our host. Lynn has decorated each room with a theme. Everything from Jungle to Las Vegas. We are in the oriental room. It’s a fun place. We quickly unload and get into our bike clothes. We get our bikes out and go for a warm up ride toward Pittsburgh. It should be about 25 miles to that end of the the trail. It’s a lovely afternoon and we quickly find the trail turn right and off we go. It’s a dirt and gravel trail and there are lots of other bicyclists and walkers going in both directions. The river is on out left and there are lots of blooming flowers. I can smell honeysuckle and wild roses. We pass a few small waterfalls on our left as we cruise along. We set a good pace and soon we rock mile markers are steadily flying by. We ride about 15 miles and I am wondering why the surround area seems less inhabited. We are supposed to be headed for Pittsburg. After an hour and about 11 miles my father decides to take a break. I ride on and soon I reach the town of South Boston and realize that my fears were correct. We have ridden in the wrong direction! Damn! The Bass- Akward Boys strike again! I ride about 2 miles back to were Pop is resting and we head back down the trail. We just have to laugh about it. Well at least we will know which way to go in the morning! On or ride back we see a female wild turkey walking along beside the trail. We get off our bikes and watch but she has absolutely no fear of us. I have never been this close to a wild turkey. She is quite beautiful! After a while we ride on back to Boston and our Inn. We shower off the dust and I make us pasta witch clam sauce. We eat dinner and watch the Pelican Brief on tv. Now this will be the last installment of my log until we finish the bike trip. I will not be hauling my computer with me. If I find a computer along the way I will post a few thoughts. I will be back in early June. Wish us luck!