After Yom Kippur, and after some time on antibiotics for bronchitis and a sinus infection, I needed to get away. I've been trying to visit two counties per month, to make up for the fourteen months I missed. I had doubts about traveling, but since West Virginia is now the worst state for COVID, I figured it couldn't hurt to visit Pennsylvania. Going alphabetically, Forest is my next county, and Fayette, the other county I visited, should have been in April, before I started traveling again.
It's 185 miles, courthouse to courthouse, up I-79 past Pittsburgh, then east a few exits on I-80, then U.S. 62, and a better road that parallels it. I decided to go Sunday, so that I could do Friday night services, which we did from our dining room, and I wanted to spend Saturday night with my husband. We had dinner out, which was pleasant.
The weather was beautiful the first few days. There was a detour on I-79 north of Pittsburgh, and the flashing signs said to take Route 51. Google maps said to go into town on I-376, then cut north on I-279. That sounded more logical, except that it went past the stadium where the Steelers were having their first home game with no attendance restrictions. I was stuck in traffic for over an hour. Once past the stadium, it was fine, and U.S. 62 goes through some pretty small towns.
I had booked the Mid-Town Motel, a small, non-chain family-owned place in the middle of Tionesta, the county seat of Forest County. There are fewer than 8,000 people in the county, and in the 2020 census only 419 in Tionesta. It's the third smallest county in population in Pennsylvania. I didn't care. I wanted a few days away. There is a state forest and a national forest, the town is on the Allegheny River and there is a lake. The motel was two houses, one building behind a house on Elm, the Main Street of Tionesta, with five rooms off a long hallway. Across the street was another building with three rooms facing a small parking lot. It wasn't much, but the room was clean, the cable television and internet worked, there was hot water and towels. I heard a woman's voice and a dog two rooms down, but I didn't see anyone, including the owners of the motel. I crashed in the room when I arrived about 4 for an hour, then walked up Elm. It looked like nothing was open, so I took the car up the road. Haller's General Store sells local jams and jellies, wood carvings and bric-a-brac, and next to that was a chain sub shop, so I ate there. It wasn't yet dark, so I visited the riverfront, only a block away, as most of the town is along two north-south streets, and I also found the unusual lighthouse along the river.
I had all the next day to explore. I found that Bear Claw Cafe just up the street was open, the clientele seemed to be old hippies (one with a MAGA hat, but not a red one) and a table of ten well-dressed men and women who looked like they were on a convention. I didn't ask. I had blueberry pancakes.
I drove south to Lake Tionesta, an Army Corps of engineers Project. I followed a short path around the lake on this warm morning, and ran into a group of young forest rangers, who said they were closing up for the season, as they didn't get a lot of visitors from late September to May.
I visited Cook Forest State Park, and the historic Indian Cabins District. There is a B&B nearby. I hiked a little through the forest.
I was in Marienville for lunch, the largest place in Forest County, unincorporated. Much of the population is in a state prison. I stopped at a roadside fruit stand for some healthy food, and the local library, which had a book sale with hundreds of books. An older couple walked in and the woman said " We're too old to be bringing home more books." It occurred to me that they were right. I didn't buy anything. I had lunch in an old-fashioned, dark, carpeted restaurant in an ancient hotel, which I think is no longer in business.
I came back to Tionesta on a back road through Allegheny National Forest. There were trails marked, but they seemed to be designated for ATVs.
After a nap, I went looking for something to eat. I ended up at a bar, Hickory Nut Inn, seven miles north of Tionesta in East Hickory. Jen, the bartender, was a young blonde with a few delicate tattoos. I sat next to a young guy and nodded "hello" which was ignored. There were five older guys at the bar. One near me had a t-shirt that said "I'd tap that" and had a picture of a hole on a golf course, with a ball and club. The men next to me were talking about retirement. I had a fried fish sandwich, which was enormous. The young man nodded to me as I left.
I had seen a drive-up ice cream place at the north end of Tionesta. I stopped on the way back. A man and woman were coming away, the woman excited about her chocolate sundae. I told the handsome high school-age man staffing the place that I wanted what she had. It was yummy. I stopped back at Haller's General Store for a fridge magnet made of wood that said "TIO" in gold letters as a present for Joe.
Tuesday morning I left for Uniontown, 138 miles due south, just north of Morgantown. That will be my next post. I enjoyed being out in the woods and exploring a new place.
Lighthouse on the Allegheny River, Tionesta
