Chasing cooler temperatures and fall leaves.........

Kinzua Skybridge at Kinzua Bridge State Park

We left Anna Maria Island on Friday morning.  Our next adventure actually had us splitting up for a short period of time.  I dropped Beth off in St. Pete where she enjoyed a little solitude (something we rarely get) and then a visit from one of her friends from back when we lived in Port Charlotte.  They had a great time walking along the waterfront, visiting the Dali Museum and catching up.
I went on to Gainesville for my annual "boys weekend".  This is when I get together with some of my lifelong friends from Mulberry who also attended the University of Florida, as well as several other guys who we roomed with at some point during our academic pursuits.  Somehow we all managed to graduate and become semi-productive members of society.  These friendships are something I value tremendously and the weekend of rehashing old stories that become more exaggerated every year is great.  Topping it all off, the good guys won on Saturday!
Reunited, we flew to Pittsburgh on Sunday morning.  We left behind temperatures that were still in the high 80's/low 90's.  Stepping out of the airport we were greeted by refreshing temperatures in the high 50's!  Cooler temperatures were easy to find!
Although Ben lives only an hour from Pittsburgh we won't see him until Wednesday afternoon.  We're spending the first three nights at the Bear Mountain Lodge in Wellsboro, PA.  Of course, we turned the four hour drive into an all day affair, arriving at the four room lodge just before sunset.
Bear Mountain Lodge
The drive through the rolling foothills and the Allegheny National Forest was spectacular.  Although the leaves haven't reached their peak yet, the various shades of reds and yellows mixing with green was quite a site that became more pronounced as we drove northeast through farmland, forests and small communities.  Watch your speed through the small communities!  Thankfully I got off with just a verbal warning!

Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River

As if the drive wasn't enough, the stop at Kinzua Bridge State Park was really interesting.  In 1881 construction began on a bridge across the Kinzua Creek, a small creek that lies in a deep gorge between two mountains.  The bridge was over 300 feet high and 2,000 feet long.  As trains got bigger, heavier and longer it became necessary to rebuild the bridge in the early 1900's.  Freight trains continued to use the bridge until the 70's when the use shifted to just excursion tourist trains.
In 2002 the bridge was declared unsafe and closed to all rail traffic until repairs could be made.  On July 21, 2003 while repairs were underway a significant portion of the bridge was destroyed by a tornado.  Instead of rebuilding, it was closed until someone came up with the idea of using the undamaged section as a pedestrian skybridge.  Now visitors flock to the state park to walk out over the gorge as well as enjoy a walk or bike ride along the adjoining Knox Kane Railroad trail.
We didn't have time for a hike but we did enjoy walking out on the skybridge and taking in the views of the gorge from 300 feet above it.

Part of the skybridge

The remains of the destroyed section of the bridge in the gorge 300 feet below

The leaves in the Kinzua Valley are starting to change

It was a great journey and the destination is amazing, but that's for the next blog!