July 2015 – Pennsylvania Ramble

Pennsylvania Ramble

In July 2015, I took a road trip through Pennsylvania just to get out and stretch my legs and take in some of the sights.


Road Tripping: The Coffee Pot – Bedford, Pa

There was a time when visiting the Bedford Coffee Pot was one of those things that just nagged and nagged me. Way over on the western half of Pennsylvania, it seemed lightyears away. In truth it is a mere 330 miles that for whatever reason may as well have been a million ...

Well, Hello, Mr. Bedroom Eyes – Uniontown, Pa. Mufflerman

At first glance, you might think that the Uniontown, Pennsylvania muffler man is your run of the mill handsome Bunyan. But, upon closer inspection? Oh, no, he is not. Check out the come hither eyelashes! ::hubba::hubba:: In a funny way, he looks more come at me, bro than some of ...

Road Tripping: World’s Largest Teapot – Chester, WV

Tucked within the "stick" of West Virginia, that wee sliver of land between Pennsylvania and Ohio is the town of Chester. Why is this important? Well, pally - Chester is the home of the World's Largest Teapot. Now, I know what you're thinking. You can't believe you didn't know this very ...

Road Tripping: A Fabulous Pennsylvania Roadside Animal Menagerie

Sometimes I will pull up a favorite in my GPS and follow it on a whim. That isn't to say that occasionally before I arrive at whatever place I'm going to that I don't think to myself, "what the hell are you doing?" Shortly before ending up at Tim's Secret ...

Roadside Snaps: Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns and Signs

The "favorites" list in my GPS is sprinkled with all sorts of places and things that I might stop at as I'm passing through an area. I often pull up the screen and just let it stay in view. When something in the list is a short distance away, I'll ...

Roadside Stop: Madonna of the Trail, Beallsville, Pa.

During my Pennsylvania rambling road trip to nowhere, I ping-ponged around the state visiting things that I'd long wanted to see but had never made time to. One of those stops was to visit my first Madonna of the Trail on US40 in Beallsville, Pa. Just look at this lady ...

Bucket List Stop: The PennDot Road Sign Sculpture Garden

The PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden is an outdoor art installation located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In July of 2015, while I was riding through Pennsylvania, I was able to stop for a visit. It was one of my "must stop" places for several years. After pulling in the lot, I ...

Musings on Riding Farm Roads. And Bigfoot.

When I get out into the rolling farmland I am often overcome by a sense of peacefulness. Deep green arms flag as I ride by. "Heyyyy there, Miss Fuzzy," waves the corn. "Hi, corn. Lookin' good. Lookin' good." And so it goes, rambling along going nowhere fast. Roads like this ...

Road Tripping: Roadside Goodies from Western New York

After deciding to hang a left at the decision point, I set off to see the Whispering Giant in Dunkirk, New York. Since I was just 'round the way, I also decided to see a muffler man or two and some other roadside gems. When I got up that morning ...

Whispering Giants Grand Tour: Ong-Gwe-Ohn-Weh in Dunkirk, NY

After visiting the Kinzua Viaduct, I pulled up the list of favorites in my GPS. One of the closest was the Whispering Giant in Dunkirk, NY. At less than 100 miles away, stopping for a visit seemed like a no-brainer. Ong-Gwe-Ohn-Weh was restored by Peter Toth in 2014. He cuts ...

Road Tripping: The Self-Torture of More, More, More

How many times have you been here in your life? Left or right? The blue pill or the red pill? Whatever choice you make puts a different chain of events in to motion. Right = Hotel Left = More, more, more When I'd reached this sign it was dinner time ...

Road Tripping in Pennsylvania – Zippo Lighter Museum

An unexpected stop at the Zippo Lighter Museum made my afternoon. After visiting the Kinzua Viaduct, I still had hours of daylight left and no particular place to go. Pulling up the list of "favorites" on my GPS showed that there was a Whispering Giant less than 100 miles away ...

Road Tripping Though Pennsylvania – Random Snapshots

While I'm riding along, I often pull over and snap photos of things that would be best described as random. Though I think they're cool I sometimes struggle with a way to weave them into a post because they don't really have a narrative. Often the images are just something ...

Road Tripping in Pennsylvania – Visiting the Kinzua Viaduct

Pulling off route 144, I wheeled into the parking lot for what was signed as a scenic view. I had to jockey to find a parking space. Can you believe the crowd? After parking I marched up the grassy knoll and had a look around. Rolling green as far as ...

Road Tripping Through Pennsylvania: Sights on Route 144

Making a left off of Route 6 in Galeton, I followed PA 144 south to what the map says is the town of Clarence. That stretch yielded about 75 miles of backroad rambling on good tarmac. At the risk of sounding like a broken record... I saw little to no traffic ...

Road Tripping in Pennsylvania – Winding Road Next 10 Miles

After I finished up my breakfast at the Wellsboro Diner, I set off west towards Galeton on Route 6. From there I would pick up 144 south and follow that towards Moshannon. Hanging a right on 879 north towards Karthaus and the Quehanna Highway, I was looking for Wykoff Run Rd ...

SPOT Tracker Reporting Gaps

After picking up a few postcards and finishing up breakfast in Wellsboro, I set off west on 362 and 6 to pick up route 144 south in Galeton. I followed that all the way to down towards Moshannon where I picked up 879 to Karthaus. But for someone like Kenny ...

Road Tripping in Pennsylvania – Wandering to Breakfast in Wellsboro

After my thwarted attempt at visiting with the Williamsport Whispering Giant, I didn't have much else on my radar for the day other than riding. No planned stopped, no interesting barns, scenic overlooks - just riding and whatever popped up along the way. On my way out of town, I ...

Whispering Giants Grand Tour: Williamsport, Pa. Giant is Missing

The Williamsport, Pa. Whispering Giant was right up the block from the hotel I stayed at in town. My plan for the day was to swing by, take a picture of it and then head off towards Lock Haven to start a ride loop. When I pulled up the spot ...

Sometimes Being In A Hurry Actually Slows You Down

When I woke up on Wednesday morning the ferocious rain from the night before was little more than a memory. The deluge ran its course and left a gray mist in its wake. After re-packing my bag, gearing up and preparing to leave my hotel room I looked in the usual ...

Uncle Sam Muffler Man – Happy Fourth of July

While I was cruising around the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, I stopped to visit the Rockwood, PA Muffler Man at the Scottyland RV Resort. Kenny and I passed there once before a few winters ago but the resort was closed so we had no muffler man joy. Persistence finally paid ...

Instagram: My Path

This has been my path over the last two days. Not exactly sure what I'm doing today but I'm probably not going west. That's as much of a plan as any, right? ...

Don’t You Hate it When…

You're alone in a hotel room and catch a glimpse of your riding gear hanging in the closet and you think it's a person standing there and almost poop yourself? Asking for a friend ...

PA Ramble Roadtrip: Heading to Williamsport

On Tuesday after work, I set off for Pennsylvania in hopes of beating the nasty weather that was on the way. Plus with the approaching long weekend, I wanted to maximize my available riding time. Why not set off from somewhere closer to the start of the loop that I ...

I Think This Calls For a Ramble

This is my third point-n-shoot camera in as many months. ::sigh:: This one is clipped, locked and loaded in my jacket. I think this calls for a little ramble around on the ole motorcycle, don't you? After work today I'm going to shove off to do a whole lotta nothin' ...