Thursday 9-19 Kinzua Bridge State Park

Just having fun together

Sorry it took so long to post this, we were without cell phone service for multiple days.

We spent the night in the Seneca Allegany Casino’s parking lot. It was right next to a major freeway so there was a bit of road noise but it didn’t keep us from sleeping. When we woke up there was some fog, we didn’t have far to go so we waited a little while for the fog to lift. When we left at 9:00 the fog wasn’t as thick but it still was there. 

Larry wanted to stop at Allegany State Park in New York to see a stone tower that was built by the CCC. We love looking at structures built by the CCC. The park was only 7 miles away. The road through the park was very nice but the road to the stone tower turned out to be a rough dirt road with very low hanging branches. We decided not to go down the road.

Our next destination was in Pennsylvania at the Allegheny National Forest, about 43 miles down the road. Before entering into the forest we stopped by a National Forest Service office to pick up information on the area. The lady was very helpful and gave us information on the campgrounds and trails. Some of the campgrounds had power and bathrooms with showers. We wanted a campground with power and hiking trails. We decided to go to Red Bridge Recreational Area. 

Red Bridge Recreational Area is a beautiful campground. Some of the sites are first come and others are reservation only. There are sites with power, full hook ups and no power. We drove around to find a site with power. The sites that had power and are first come first serve were taken but there was one full hookup site left, we took it for a couple nights. I have the Senior America The Beautiful pass which got us a discount, we ended up paying $25 a night instead of $35. Our site is a great site, it is very private, quiet and near the bathroom. We ended up getting the blocks out because we needed to lift the back of the Minnie to level it.

Red Bridge Campground

Camping in Allegheny National Forest

After setting the Minnie up and having lunch we decided to take the motorcycle for a ride. Larry wanted to visit Kinzua Bridge State Park. It was about 25 miles away. We drove through a few small towns and the road had curves. The park is known for the Kinzua Sky Walk, it was used by the railroad until part of it was destroyed by a tornado in 2003. The Kinzua Viaduct was first constructed in 1882, it was 301 feet high and 2,053 feet across, it was the worlds longest and highest railroad bridge. General Thomas Kane, who was the President of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad wanted to move coal to the north and he needed a bridge to cross the valley. Octave Chanute, who was a Chief Engineer accepted the challenge. The bridge supports were made out of iron but in 1900 they had to rebuilt with steel because the locomotives and railroad cars were larger and heavier. Once the Viaduct was built it also became a tourist attraction and people walked out on the bridge, it was the next best thing to flying. In 2003 engineers and railroad workers were working to repair and reinforce the structure when a F1 tornado came through. It left only six towers standing on south end and three on the north. Now the remains are left for people to see. The park has a visitor center with great displays about the Innovation of General Thomas Kane and Chief Engineer Octave Chanute. We walked on the Kinzua Sky Walk, which is the remains of the old railroad bridge. It was cool to look down into the gorge and see the damage from the tornado.

Kinzua Bridge State Park Visitor Center

General Thomas Kane

the Kinzua Sky Walk

Larry walking the Kinzua Sky Walk

The destruction the tornado did to the bridge