Visit with John & Connie in Sugar Grove, PA 

- 9 July, 2021 - Kinzua Bridge State Park

We arrived at John & Connie's house yesterday with no problems.  Drove a little over 400 miles mostly north from West Virginia.  Easy drive - very convoluted twists & turns to actually get to John & Connie's house, but no issues, just followed the directions!  Got situated in their driveway easily & started the visit in a little drizzle with a lite supper of pot roast & lots of wine & chatter!  They have tons of stuff planned for our one week visit!!!!

Woke after a nice relaxing night & fairly leisure morning preparation for our first excursion of our visit.  John & Connie were already in their car & waiting for us at 11am & we hopped in the car in the light drizzle to drive mostly east to the Allegheny Reservoir & Dam.   Just stopped for a quick view, back in the car & John continued the drive.

Our main stop for the day was a visit to the Kinzua Bridge State Park & Museum.  We stopped in the Visitor's Center for a potty break & to let me get oriented on where we were exactly.   

We left the Visitor's Center for an easy stroll to the reinvented skywalk constructed after the viaduct was partially destroyed by tornado in 2003. 

The skywalk was constructed from the remains of the train viaduct that had it's origins in 1881 as a convenient means to transport coal, timber, & oil to & from the McKean County.  At the time of it's construction, it was the highest train viaduct in the world.  It was originally 301' high, 2053' long, & weighed 3,105,000 lbs.  It was used up until 1959 when it was deemed unsafe for freight traffic.  It was opened as a State Park & 1970 and tourist excursions used it for a time until it was deemed unsafe for that also.  After a tornado destroyed half of the bridge, it was rebuilt as a skybridge.  The views are lovely & it's a nice place to visit.

We enjoyed a lovely wander through the museum.  It's huge glass walls provide views even when the drizzle makes it too uncomfortable to wander outside.  There are lots of exhibits about local birds & wildlife & historical items of interest.   A model train makes the rounds along the ceiling complete with whistle & steam!!  Great first day of visit & now it's time to head home for happy hour!!!