Trip 6: Day 9 (PA Grand Canyon, Coudersport, Warren)

I'm going to start doing daily video posts on this YouTube channel. Hopefully I'll get better at it as I go along.

Started out today rolling west of Wellsboro on US 6 toward the Pine Creek Gorge, aka PA Grand Canyon. US 6 is not the most direct route from Wellsboro; that's State Route 660. However, I wanted to stay on US 6, so I followed it to Colton Point State Park, stopping at the Pine Creek Trail trailhead just south of US 6 near Ansonia. This is where I had planned on sleeping last night, originally, until the idea of freezing temperatures and no sleeping bag got me into the rathole of a motel where I slept. In all fairness, the motel wasn't that bad; at least it was clean. But, at $74 for a night, I need more than clean. I mean, that's close to double what I paid for the last night in Scranton. But now I'm in oil boom land, where lonely fracking guys with too much money working for companies with way too much money dictate the cost of surviving.

Pine Creek Trail trailhead

Pine Creek Trail is route "G"

I got a look at the place where I had planned on sleeping, and it was, all things considered, pretty nice. There were two large parking lots next to the rail-to-trail, it was well enough off of the highway, and right next to a pit toilet that appeared to be open. Compared to places where I've slept in my car in the past, this was ideal. But it would have been cold.

Approaching the Pine Creek Gorge area west of Wellsboro, the landscape changes very suddenly. It's almost as though they knew I was making fun of them, but the "Endless Mountains" certainly appeared today. US 6 got curvy with dramatic elevation changes, and I entered a pine forest. Pine Creek is aptly named.

There are two state parks that provide views of Pine Creek Gorge: Leonard Harrison, on the east side, and Colton Point, on the west side. Leonard Harrison, where I've never been, appears to have more viewpoints but less access (you can't drive to all of them as you can at Colton Point). Leonard Harrison is also farther downstream, which may change the way the gorge appears. I'm going to have to research this a bit.
But it was very pretty, aided especially by such a pretty day, and the fact that, aside from four park maintenance men, I had the entire park to myself.

Back to US 6, I passed the towns of Gaines and Galeton, both reliant on tourism and hunting, in particular, evidenced by the string of little motels right along the highway. There was also a canoe outfitter, providing tours into the Pine Creek Gorge.
I had seen it on the map, and had it in my mind that I wanted to stop, so I turned off at Watrous. The name sounded familiar, and I thought that there may be something significant about it. It's just a tiny village with a few houses and a church on three streets. I drove around, waiving at a couple of men cleaning debris from a yard when they looked at me (they waived back). Looking it up now though, I believe I got the name in my head because it's the name of a ghost town in New Mexico right on I-25. I had probably seen the exit sign, or even the dot on the New Mexico map, and it got into my head.

Gaines

Watrous. Schoonover Park is the name of our current neighborhood

Chickens in Watrous

Galeton was next. It was a larger town than I expected, huddled against Pine Creek and the large Berger Lake.

Galeton

Galeton

A few miles west of Galeton, you crest the Allegheny Mountains at Denton Hill. The top of Denton Hill features a ski area (which still had snow) and the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, which was closed for the season with a sign saying "See you in spring."

Ski area at Denton Hill

Denton Hill sign on US 6

Past that was a large descent into Coudersport. The name looks more unfortunate than it really is (it's pronounced "COW-ders-port"), but it's still pretty unfortunate. It was a fairly economically healthy town. I stopped to eat, and found the Olga Cafe and Gift Shop. It was built into a former drug store, and was, architecturally, quite a gem. The food was really, really pricey, though I was able to get a beef on weck that was fairly good (definitely not Buffalo standards). The alternative was a small pizza place or another restaurant across the street that likely would have been about the same price. They had wifi and a good selection of bottled beer though, so I felt okay in supporting them. I was able to catch up on some things, and listen to a couple of financial planners behind me (the only other customers in there) talk about their disappointment in the Republican Party (they were both republicans).
Coudersport had a beautiful courthouse and a large but abandoned bank building just south of town (American Metro Bank, according to Google Maps). Otherwise, it seemed like any unassuming small town.

US 6 in Coudersport

Potter County Courthouse in
Coudersport

US 6 in Coudersport

I was in a historically Swedish section of Pennsylvania, evidenced by the town names (Sweden Valley, just east of Coudersport), the proliferation of lutheran churches, the Swedish-themed coffee and gift shop in Mount Jewett, and the way people looked. There's just a "Scandanavian" look that's undeniable, and I saw it quite a bit in the people I came across in these little towns.
I did another random town turn-off, and stopped in Roulette, just because it had an interesting name. It was a larger village that sat right up against the rushing Allegheny River. The western edge featured a lumber yard that seemed to be busy with activity.

The bar in Roulette

Allegheny River in Roulette

Port Allegany was a more depressed town, which was especially striking coming from the more wealthy Coudersport. There appeared to be very few places to eat, and I saw quite a few abandoned stores on US 6, which serves as the town's main street.
And I'm not misspelling Allegheny here. In fact, there seem to be three ways of spelling Allegheny that are used throughout New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia: Allegheny (the river and the county that contains Pittsburgh), Allegany (a county, town and state park in New York, a county in Maryland, and well as used in Port Allegany, PA) and Alleghany (a county in Virginia).

Past Port Allegany, US 6 got very pretty, accentuated, again, by the beautiful, partly cloudy day I had gotten.

The next town, Smethport, though it has a bit of an ugly name, was quite a well-to-do town. On the west side, a number of grand, old Victorian homes sat in excellent condition. Until 1998, Smethport was home of the Smethport Specialty Company, which is most known for its Wooly Willy toy, but also produced a number of magnetic toys.

After Smethport, US 6 makes a southern dip, following Marvin Creek out of town, until it ascends a hill to reach Mount Jewett. This area starts the watershed for Allegheny Reservoir, which was completed in 1965, and is one of the largest reservoirs east of the Mississippi. The reservoir filling displaced the Cornplanter Tribe, who relocated to New York. It may have been with good intentions but seems to me a bit of a slap in the face, but the State Route 59 bridge over Allegheny Reservoir, near the dam, is named the Cornplanter Bridge. The Cornplanter Reservation was more north, while members of the tribe lived in the now-underwater towns of Kinzua and Corydon.

The intersection of US 6 and US 219 is known as Allegheny Crossroad and features a couple of gas stations and a state police post. The sign indicated that there was also a "Allegheny National Forest Visitors Center" 1/2 mile north of US 219. I turned, but found nothing. It may have been unsigned, but it may also be gone.


After this, US 6 comes across the town of Kane. Kane is a bit depressed as well, but features some nice architecture. I stopped at a little coffee shop, Village Brew, in order to get a bit of work done and to kill a bit of time before coming into Warren. I mistimed the drive a bit, and could have spent longer in some places, and probably should have, though it's hard to know as you're driving along.
The things that stick in my mind about Kane was the Kane Motel, just because it seemed to be in an odd location, back off of the road just before a sharp curve, with a large sign pointing to it. The Kane Motel's Facebook page seems to be sort of a running commentary on the guests that stay there each night, and is somewhat of an interesting read.
Then there was the Arlington Hotel, which looked derelict. However, in researching it, it's apparently still open as a steakhouse.
The wifi worked well enough at Village Brew, and it was interesting to watch things go by there. Honestly, if I hadn't stopped, I would have had somewhat of a lower opinion of Kane than I do now.

Just west of Kane, I turned off for the Tionesta Scenic Area. This was a small dirt road that ascended into the hills behind the little town of Ludlow. The forest here was quite pretty. It was all old-growth, with all of the forest floor's undergrowth still intact, creating a really serene environment.

Odd US 6 shield

Route 666

At Sheffield, I started encountering these strange looking US 6 shields. I also encountered PA State Route 666. I can only imagine that these route signs get stolen all the time.

By this point, the terrain had very much flattened out and farms were visible where mountains once were. The Endless Mountains had ended. I was now in the Great Lakes Plains.

Entering Warren, the first thing you notice is the Union Oil refinery. This is not another by-product of fracking. Oil production is this part of Pennsylvania has been around for almost 150 years. In fact, this region was the site of the first oil boom in the country, and gave rise to the first oil companies, including what became Pennzoil.
Here, US 6 separates into a main route and a business route. The business route, Pennsylvania Avenue (signed as "Penna Ave") in town, follows the north side of the Allegheny River while the main route makes a more direct connection on the south side of the river. This bypass, an expressway (there are signals but also some interchanges) was completed in 1989. There is quite a bit of traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue in Warren, so I can see why the bypass was necessary.

Blair was renamed "New Progress"
during its time, but has since
reverted to Blair

Riverfront condos in Downtown
Warren. Warren had a nice river
front area.

Allegheny River in Warren, looking
east

Warren is a larger town (for the standards of this area) with a bustling downtown area with a number of restaurants, shops, and a nice riverfront. I ate dinner at the iconic Plaza Cafe, walked around a bit, then had a couple of beers at a really nice bar and restaurant, Jack's. I also bought a couple of used books for $1, something I like to do in random towns. I think it says something to Warren's credit that there are at least two bookstores in town, just a block from one another.
My US 6 book mentioned two places that I believe have closed since its time of writing. One of these is the Blair Museum, celebrating the life of the Blair Corporation's founder. The Blair Corporation is known as one of the largest direct mail ordering companies in the country, mostly dealing in clothing. There's a fairly large retail store inside one of Blair's buildings, on the east side of Hickory Street about 1/2 block north of Business US 6.
Upon my arrival in Warren, I stopped at the only brewery currently in Warren, Kinzua Dam Brewing. It's a small shop in the back of an industrial building on the south side of Warren. There's no sign from the main street, but several signs by the door to the building. They had three beers available on tap: a Scottish ale, an English IPA and an amber. They do not sell bottles on site, but you can buy their bottles at a few stores near Warren. They do fill growlers, however I just was not at all excited by this beer and did not get one. The guy running the place seemed nice, and I got my three tastings for free. If you have nothing else to do, then I think it's worth a stop. This place sits only a few feet from the US 6 bypass, so I felt that I should try it.

Map of the day's progress: