I have several major blank spots on my travel map - Russia, Brazil, Rome, Madrid, and Central PA. Central PA is an unfortunate miss given I've lived within three hours of this area for the majority of my life. Part of the reason I haven't explored this area is because I went to North Carolina for college instead of Penn State, Bucknell, or Bloomsburg. Each of those three schools providing an excellent jumping off point to exploring Central PA. Another reason for the lack of exploration is this part of the state does not offer much in the way of "must see" attractions - but after a two day swing through the area I think the towns themselves are an attraction enough. I regret not visiting this part of Pennsylvania sooner. I wasn't sure what to expect. I've often heard this area called Pennsyltucky or compared to Alabama - in a derogatory sense. That couldn't be any worse of a description. This part of Pennsylvania has a middle America / Heartland feel. There are some glorious towns along US Route 6 and sprawling farms along PA Route 414. The drives alone would have been worth the trip - that every few miles there were picture postcard towns along the way only made the journey better. The only things missing from this area are great restaurants. I had a few decent meals along the trip and the lack of dining wouldn't preclude a follow-up trip at a later point.
ROUTE 6
The Eisenhower Interstate system allows Americans and truckers to zip across the country from major city to major city. Drives that previously took ten hours were reduced to four. Unfortunately the zipping from major city to major city meant that small town America would be bypassed as part of the reduced travel time. Some former US Routes, such as Route 66 have been immortalized, others such as Route 6, have fallen into oblivion. In some cases, the interstates run nearly parallel with the former US routes - Route 1 and I-95 are a good example. In other cases the interstates pass far from the original US routes, in the case of Route 6 through Pennsylvania, I-86 and I-80 never reach within 25 miles of Route 6. The prosperity that came with the economic expansion literally and figuratively passed over the Route 6 towns. Fortunately for the Route 6 towns they did have a heyday and it was a glorious hey day. The towns are like a living museum with main streets that have been preserved from the early 1900s. I've always like the look of the Colorado, Wild West boom towns, and never knew I only needed to drive up to Route 6 to see them.
Heading West on Route 6 from the exit of the PA Turnpike Northeast Extension the first town of substance is Tunkhannock. For most of the towns along Route 6 - once you approach the town's limits, there's typically a short bypass around the town's main commercial artery - be sure to take the local route instead of the bypass. Tunkhannock has a nice, old school movie theater and a few shops and restaurants. You could pass the next two towns along Route 6, Meshoppen and Laceyville, and not even notice. I spent the night in the next town, Wyalusing. The Wyalusing hotel offers a chance to stay in a hotel opened in 1860. The rooms have been updated (barely) since then but the facade still recalls a prior era. The hotel has a bar and a restaurant that serve as the primary gathering point for locals in the surrounding area.
The Eisenhower Interstate system allows Americans and truckers to zip across the country from major city to major city. Drives that previously took ten hours were reduced to four. Unfortunately the zipping from major city to major city meant that small town America would be bypassed as part of the reduced travel time. Some former US Routes, such as Route 66 have been immortalized, others such as Route 6, have fallen into oblivion. In some cases, the interstates run nearly parallel with the former US routes - Route 1 and I-95 are a good example. In other cases the interstates pass far from the original US routes, in the case of Route 6 through Pennsylvania, I-86 and I-80 never reach within 25 miles of Route 6. The prosperity that came with the economic expansion literally and figuratively passed over the Route 6 towns. Fortunately for the Route 6 towns they did have a heyday and it was a glorious hey day. The towns are like a living museum with main streets that have been preserved from the early 1900s. I've always like the look of the Colorado, Wild West boom towns, and never knew I only needed to drive up to Route 6 to see them.
Heading West on Route 6 from the exit of the PA Turnpike Northeast Extension the first town of substance is Tunkhannock. For most of the towns along Route 6 - once you approach the town's limits, there's typically a short bypass around the town's main commercial artery - be sure to take the local route instead of the bypass. Tunkhannock has a nice, old school movie theater and a few shops and restaurants. You could pass the next two towns along Route 6, Meshoppen and Laceyville, and not even notice. I spent the night in the next town, Wyalusing. The Wyalusing hotel offers a chance to stay in a hotel opened in 1860. The rooms have been updated (barely) since then but the facade still recalls a prior era. The hotel has a bar and a restaurant that serve as the primary gathering point for locals in the surrounding area.
Dietrich Theater - Tunkhannock
|
Wyalusing Hotel
|
Wyalusing
|
|
In this part of Pennsylvania Route 6 follows the curves of the Susquehanna River. Less than five miles west of Wyalusing is an elevated viewpoint and a bar called the Marie Antoinette. You may be wondering why a bar would call itself the Marie Antoinette in Central PA thousands of miles from France. Fortunately, there's a plaque at the viewpoint. In 1793, at the height of the French Revolution, monarchy sympathizers built a village in the plain below with the hopes that Marie Antoinette would soon follow them to a safer location. Marie Antoinette never made it to Wyalusing and the village was abandoned (there is a marker further west on Route 6 indicating where the turnoff to the settlement is, however, none of the original buildings remain). I went into the bar, Marie Antoinette, and drank two Coors Lights in her memory. The crowd in their are a bunch of good spirited locals who all seem to know one another by name.
The next morning I left Wyalusing and drove to the next town, Towanda for a cup of coffee. Towanda has an impressive town hall with a Civil War Memorial in the front courtyard. It's a different sensation seeing a Union Memorial in the north than a Confederate Memorial in the South - it feels normal, not strange. The Susquehanna runs north to New York from Towanda and Route 6 continues, river-less, to the West. I decided to go even more local and drove PA 414 to my next destination. |
French Settlement Placard
|
Marie Antoinette
|
The View from Marie Antoinette
|
Towanda City Hall
|
PA 414
I'm really glad I drove along PA 414. It was a great drive and had there been a shoulder along the road I would have stopped every few miles for photos. There were more small towns along this route and miles of rolling farmland in between. The towns of Bradford County displayed photos of county veterans on all their light posts. Driving through this area made me realize Central PA is much more closely aligned with Middle America and the Heartland than the Dixieland and Alabama.
I'm really glad I drove along PA 414. It was a great drive and had there been a shoulder along the road I would have stopped every few miles for photos. There were more small towns along this route and miles of rolling farmland in between. The towns of Bradford County displayed photos of county veterans on all their light posts. Driving through this area made me realize Central PA is much more closely aligned with Middle America and the Heartland than the Dixieland and Alabama.
|
|
|
WILLIAMSPORT
The proliferation of coffee shops and microbreweries over the past few years has made finding travel destinations much easier. When figuring out where to start my walk through Williamsport, I searched for a coffee shop and found the well reviewed Alabaster Coffee Roasters. The barista saw my camera and asked what I was doing in Williamsport. After detailing my trip the barista asked a follow-up if I had seen anything interesting - I replied no - but quickly clarified the response in that the towns I was visiting were interesting enough. The towns themselves were the interesting attraction and I didn't need to see anything else to accentuate the visit. Case in point - the most notable attraction in Williamsport, that the city is know throughout the world for, is being host to the Little League World Series. I wouldn't travel all the way to Williamsport to see the Little League World Series complex and museum...but I would stop in the town, order an Americano from Alabaster, and walk around the downtown area.
The proliferation of coffee shops and microbreweries over the past few years has made finding travel destinations much easier. When figuring out where to start my walk through Williamsport, I searched for a coffee shop and found the well reviewed Alabaster Coffee Roasters. The barista saw my camera and asked what I was doing in Williamsport. After detailing my trip the barista asked a follow-up if I had seen anything interesting - I replied no - but quickly clarified the response in that the towns I was visiting were interesting enough. The towns themselves were the interesting attraction and I didn't need to see anything else to accentuate the visit. Case in point - the most notable attraction in Williamsport, that the city is know throughout the world for, is being host to the Little League World Series. I wouldn't travel all the way to Williamsport to see the Little League World Series complex and museum...but I would stop in the town, order an Americano from Alabaster, and walk around the downtown area.
|
|
|
BUNKERS OF ALVIRA
Fifteen minutes south of Williamsport, another local drive brought me to the Bunkers of Alvira. During WWII the US government built munitions bunkers in the area, later realized it made no sense to build munition bunkers in the middle of nowhere, and stopped the war related activities. The bunkers remain as an obscure, road-side attraction. The Bunkers are right where Google Maps takes you - the first one is easy to find. Supposedly there are over 100 more similar bunkers throughout the state park but since they probably all look the same, I continued driving south to Lewisburg.
Fifteen minutes south of Williamsport, another local drive brought me to the Bunkers of Alvira. During WWII the US government built munitions bunkers in the area, later realized it made no sense to build munition bunkers in the middle of nowhere, and stopped the war related activities. The bunkers remain as an obscure, road-side attraction. The Bunkers are right where Google Maps takes you - the first one is easy to find. Supposedly there are over 100 more similar bunkers throughout the state park but since they probably all look the same, I continued driving south to Lewisburg.
|
|
|
LEWISBURG
Is there a better college town in Pennsylvania than Lewisburg? I don't think so. Lewisburg is nice - county seat nice. There's tree lined streets with beautiful old homes along the side. There's a quaint downtown with a good supply of restaurants and dining. And there's the college itself, Bucknell University that complements the town in its beauty. On a sunny spring afternoon it's a great place to hang out - I saw a couple of college tours going through the campus and it would be difficult to pick another school on a day like today.
Is there a better college town in Pennsylvania than Lewisburg? I don't think so. Lewisburg is nice - county seat nice. There's tree lined streets with beautiful old homes along the side. There's a quaint downtown with a good supply of restaurants and dining. And there's the college itself, Bucknell University that complements the town in its beauty. On a sunny spring afternoon it's a great place to hang out - I saw a couple of college tours going through the campus and it would be difficult to pick another school on a day like today.
|
|
|
DANVILLE
Danville has more of the Wild West buildings I saw along Route 6 - and a good microbrewery, Old Forge Brewing.
Danville has more of the Wild West buildings I saw along Route 6 - and a good microbrewery, Old Forge Brewing.
|
|
|
CENTRALIA - THE GRAFFITI HIGHWAY
In 1962 a coal mine fire started under the town of Centralia. The fire grew and grew and continues to burn to this day - and estimates say it will continue to burn for another 250 years. The burning caused the ground to be unstable, it started to cave in, and the state condemned the land. Residents were forced to move and their homes were razed. Seven brave (or stubborn) souls still call the town home. The fire was so bad it caused a portion of Route 61 to be closed and a new road to be built around the damaged area. The former road became an area for spray painting and soon every inch of the former highway was covered. The Graffiti Highway is easy to find - it's right where Google Maps says it is. There's a few parking spots south of a cemetery and the entrance to the Graffiti Highway is just south from there near an turn arrow sign. I was actually a bit nervous approaching the site. I read that effective February 2017, PA State Police would be siting anyone trespassing on the property. The State Police had a safety concern that the road could collapse. I wasn't sure if I'd wind up in the center of the earth or in a police cell. When I arrived there were lots of other people interesting in exploring the artwork.
In 1962 a coal mine fire started under the town of Centralia. The fire grew and grew and continues to burn to this day - and estimates say it will continue to burn for another 250 years. The burning caused the ground to be unstable, it started to cave in, and the state condemned the land. Residents were forced to move and their homes were razed. Seven brave (or stubborn) souls still call the town home. The fire was so bad it caused a portion of Route 61 to be closed and a new road to be built around the damaged area. The former road became an area for spray painting and soon every inch of the former highway was covered. The Graffiti Highway is easy to find - it's right where Google Maps says it is. There's a few parking spots south of a cemetery and the entrance to the Graffiti Highway is just south from there near an turn arrow sign. I was actually a bit nervous approaching the site. I read that effective February 2017, PA State Police would be siting anyone trespassing on the property. The State Police had a safety concern that the road could collapse. I wasn't sure if I'd wind up in the center of the earth or in a police cell. When I arrived there were lots of other people interesting in exploring the artwork.
|
|
|
Eckley Miners' Village
Central PA was home to coal mining company towns. I'm not sure if any of these company towns have withstood the test of time but fortunately there's a kind of cool modern replacement. In the 1970s a film starring Sean Connery called the Molly Maguires built a modern day coal mining town complete with mine shafts, lodging, and a company store. This may be a complete recreation but it's actual pretty cool to take a drive through - free admission to.
Central PA was home to coal mining company towns. I'm not sure if any of these company towns have withstood the test of time but fortunately there's a kind of cool modern replacement. In the 1970s a film starring Sean Connery called the Molly Maguires built a modern day coal mining town complete with mine shafts, lodging, and a company store. This may be a complete recreation but it's actual pretty cool to take a drive through - free admission to.
|
|
|
|
CATAWISSA
I headed north to Catawissa. The beauty of Google Maps is sometimes I find a completely random place that turns out to be an awesome, quick stop. Catawissa Bottling turned out to be such a place. They've been bottling Big Ben and Moxie soda for years. I picked up a Moxie and hit the road. It tasted a bit like cough syrup. |
|
|
By now my GPS knew I wanted to take local roads, so instead of taking I-80 and Route 11 to Berwick, I took PA Route 339 - it was another fun driving along creeks and past rolling farmland.
|
BERWICK
Berwick is a blue collar coal town and home to one of PA's great highschool football teams. In the mid '90s they had a quarterback prospect, Ron Powlus, who was the highest rated recruit in the country. What are the odds I could walk into a brewery over 30 years later and hear someone reference Powlus? 100%. |
|
|