Valley’s access to rivers and trails a delight for travelers
Editor’s note: Ralph Stone has been writing about an imaginary family from Omaha, Neb., touring a futuristic, fictional Mon Valley on a summer vacation.
During the next few days of their dream vacation, the Higgins’ quartet decided to give another River Valley a portion of their time. They learned there was a trail along the Youghiogheny River that is one of the finest walking and biking trails in the nation.
An avid biking family, they brought their own bikes and were eager to explore the beauty of nature on the trail. They entered the trail following a picnic lunch at the beautiful Westmoreland County park known as Cedar Creek.
Following their family picnic and an extensive exploration of the park’s amenities, they ventured down to the banks of the Yough where they were pleasantly surprised over the prospects that trail offered.
For their first journey they decided to head north to McKeesport. While in “Tube City,” they spent a good portion of their day involved in many activities that were offered at Renzie Park. Following several hours at the park, the Higgins’ family once again hit the trail and headed back to their starting point at Cedar Creek.
The following day, the family opted to head south on the trail to an area known as Ohiopyle. They had heard about this area from a family who told them that this part of the river was rich in rapids, and that a guided raft tour would most certainly be exciting for a fun-loving, adventurous family.
After climbing out of their raft, they were all laughing as they heartily agreed!
They enjoyed their time at Ohiopyle so much, that they decided to stay another day and were able to get a great room at one of the several area motels.
Bright and early the next morning, they once again biked to Confluence and enjoyed a hearty breakfast at a delightfully quaint restaurant called the River’s Edge. In their travels they observed the trail was patchworked with an abundance of small campgrounds.
They decided that upon their next trip to this lush area of Pennsylvania they might stay at one of them near the Cedar Creek/ West Newton area.
They were quite pleased with their current stay at the Twilight campground, but as is often quoted, “Variety is the spice of life.”
That too, “Is Etched in Stone.”
Columnist Ralph E. Stone is a Monessen High School Class of 1951 graduate, has degrees from both California and Indiana Universities of Pennsylvania. A retired educator for 32 years, he served as a classroom teacher, a guidance counselor and a social school worker. In addition to his two published books he has written a stop smoking program titled GASP, “God Answers Smokers Prayers” and “Bible Border Notes,” which takes at least one verse from the scriptures of the 1,188 chapters of the Bible and relates them to the circumstances of today’s world. He resides in North Charleroi with his wife Marilynne. He is available for speaking engagements for church groups and social organizations by phoning him at 724-483-2132.
