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The Traveling Hat, 4000 Creekview Circle Apartment 4104, Cranberry Township, Butler County, PA (2026)

09/10/2026

Decided to go and scout out another potential fishing site. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it's viable. There's no real easy access to the Beaver river. The park Rochester Riverfront Park sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Beaver River. The park is fairly small but does offer some rather nice views of the Ohio and Beaver River.

I did find some unique monuments along the river which brought out the history nerd in me. The various plaques mentioned the Lewis and Clark expedition which believe it or not actually started in Pittsburgh. The boats that were commissioned were built in Pittsburgh for the expedition. And as unusual as it may seem the Ohio River actually runs north before eventually turning south to meet up with the Mississippi River.

While I was exploring the park I came across four civil war cannons in the park. The only way I knew that they were from the civil war was the makers mark stamped on the front end of the barrels. I'm not sure what type of cannons they are but they do range in the 2900 pound mark which tells me that the cannon balls used in these particular cannons were fairly large and labor intensive in loading.

While not an idea fishing spot, it is a nice park to walk around. I can hear in my head Claire asking me about the cannons even though I have no idea why they are here or what type they are.

08/31/2026

Last week I desperately needed to get out of the apartment but really didn't know where to go and didn't want to go too far. So I randomly just drove down PA Route 19 and ended up at the Allegheny Observatory. The building is in Riverside Park but with the trees still in full bloom I couldn't see any river. The park does have places where you can exercise your dog or even have a picnic.

While I'm not normally into looking at the stars or other planets (it's kind of hard to do that in the daylight anyway) I wanted to see what the observatory really looked like. While I found the building rather unique especially since it is located within the city limits of Pittsburgh, it definitely shows its age.

I did look up the observatory's website and in order to obtain a tour you have to make a reservation. Unfortunately for me this was a spur of the moment trip so I was just stuck outside taking pictures of the building. I'll have to give them a call and see when I can take a tour of the inside and maybe they'll even let me look through one of the massive telescopes. (I remember my dad used to have a telescope at one time but whatever happened to it I don't know.)

I think Claire would of really liked visiting it and even taking a tour. So I'll just have to plan a tour in the future to honor her.

08/19/2026

Sometimes Goggle maps can be frustrating since it doesn't always lead me to places I want to go then sometimes scrolling around on it I find places of interest. I found the Air Heritage Museum completely by accident. Of course Goggle maps wanted me to take the interstate with tolls to get there and instead I opted for a completely different way. I like going on roads that aren't as widely travelled as the interstate and definitely don't like paying tolls to get to a place that would only take 45 minutes worth of driving.

The Air Heritage Museum is a small air museum located in Beaver County and is run totally on donations. It is small when compared to some other air museums I have been to. Still it was worth the trip in my opinion. Where else do you get to see a C123 under restoration. It was pretty neat in my opinion.

The museum is open Monday through Saturdays from 10 till 5 and is located at the Beaver County Airport, 35 Piper Drive, Beaver Falls PA.

07/31/2026

When I was out taking pictures of McKees Rocks Mound and Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary, I eventually ended up at Allegheny Commons Park West or as I called West Park. For those not familiar the park is located in what is called Pittsburgh’s North Side. Seeing the park brought back a ton on memories. But before I get into that, let me explain some of the park’s features.

First, is Lake Elizabeth. I’m not sure how it got its name even though I researched it on the internet. At the time of my visit only mallard ducks and Canadian geese were using despite that the lake was developed for people to use. Oh well maybe its best to let the wildlife use it instead.

Two the park is fairly large running approximately ten city blocks from east to west. Most city parks in Pittsburgh are fairly small so they don’t interfere with traffic. But if you want a nice walk or jog and not worry too much about getting run over, then this part is for you. I will warn you though the squirrels are not afraid of humans and they will come up to you looking for food. I just happened to have a small bag of peanuts that didn’t last too long after my first squirrel encounter.

Three the park was used as a civil war camp/POW camp if you really dig into the history of the park. Yes, confederate soldiers captured at Gettysburg and from confederate calvary raids in eastern Ohio spent time there before being shipped off to other POW camps.

Four there are two historical memorials with the park. First is one dedicated to Hampton’s Battery. The civil war artillery unit was formed by Robert Hampton of Allegheny City, Allegheny County PA. The battery served in several major battles during the American Civil War distinguishing itself specifically at Gettysburg. Hence the moniker “Gettysburg to the Marne” which is displayed on the uniforms of any member of the 107th Field Artillery. Captain Hampton was killed at Chancellorsville VA on May 3, 1863 and buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville.

The other memorial is one of the torpedo tubes from the U.S.S. Maine which exploded in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. I’m not sure of the connection between Pittsburgh and the U.S.S. Maine so I’ll eventually have to do some more research on that.

As for the park itself, it holds a very special place in my heart. When I attended Allegheny County Community College, I used the park as a place to study and eat lunch. The cafeteria at the college was way too small and made it impossible to have any conversation let alone study. Occasionally Claire joined me when our schedules and the weather permitted. It was a nice place to go just to get away from the chaos of the college. The park also served as a back drop for the numerous wedding pictures that were taken when Claire and I got married. I still can remember numerous cars driving by and blowing their horns in celebration of our wedding.

07/27/2026

I took a short trip the other day to see what was left if anything of the McKees Rocks Mound. It is rumored that there was a ancient native American burial mound in McKees Rocks near the Ohio River. I did look for it on Google maps and hoped for the best. This is one trip I know Claire would of really liked and I definitely could of used her set of eyes to find the marker. Unfortunately trying to drive in some really sketchy terrain and almost ending up on railroad tracks I only managed to get one picture. The other two pictures are what I found on the internet.

Claire would of really liked this adventure since we took similar ones when we were in Ohio for some model shows. I made a promise to her that after the shows we would go exploring for the sites. One site was located near Dayton Ohio the other is called Serpent Mound also in Ohio but don't ask me where since I didn't keep the directions.

Unfortunately McKees Rocks Mound was a bit of a disappointment due to hill being quarried. There are still a wide variety of questions as to what happened to the items and skeletons that were originally located at the site but so far nobody knows or they aren't going to say anything. I wish the site had been left alone, it would of been interesting to see what it really looked like.

07/23/2026

This Thursday morning (July 23rd) I decided to take advantage of the nice weather. The sun was out, and it wasn't too hot which made my travels a bit more enjoyable. Somehow I ended up in a part of Pittsburgh I wasn't too familiar with except one building stood out.

That particular building was Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary. The only reason it stood out for me was that my father used to work there shortly after losing his job at a steel mill. (I just might go and try and find it someday to see if it is still around.) Anyway, my father was not a guard, but worked in the medical records section of the prison. He often said he didn't worry about the inmates so much but the nursing staff who treated him like crap. If I had a chance some of the nursing staff might of ended up in the exercise yard with the inmates. Anyway, he retired/resigned before the state closed down the prison and relocated to another part of the state. Sure he could have moved but I think at that point he was just down with working for a staff that did not respect him.

I never really worried about a riot at the prison, or if there was one I don't think the inmates would of bothered him. If they did, well things would have gotten a bit more complicated.

I think there is a private business that is leasing part of the prison since there were a number of cars in the front parking lot. I did get some pictures but wondered what it looked like from the inside. Guess I'll never really know.

07/14/2026

I came across these old train stations in Monaca PA this past Saturday. I believe one was a freight station and the other a passenger station. I hope that they don't get torn down in the name of progress. There's a lot of history to a train station and they would make excellent places for locals and tourist (like myself) to visit.

07/14/2026

This past Sunday (July 12th) I took a trip up north. Well it actually wasn't that far north but it took me to a part of the state that I hadn't seen before. Claire always told me stories about Franklin, Oil City and Titusville PA but we never got the opportunity to enjoy them together. I wish we had but as you know life doesn't always play fair.

I had tried to get some family members to go with me last year to ride the Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad. Well that plan didn't go off as I had expected and decided that I was tired of waiting around for everybody's schedule to line up so we could enjoy the ride. So early Sunday morning I took PA State Route 8 North from Cranberry all the way to Titusville. Google Maps wanted me to go another way but if I did, I would be getting to Titusville later than I wanted to and potentially miss the train.

While the engine was diesel and I much prefer steam locomotives, I made the best of it even if I was solo. I don't know if Claire would have enjoyed it as much as I did but I think she would of liked the scenery as the train ran right next to Oil Creek and all the way through Oil Creek Park. I think one of my next adventures will be into the park when the weather is a bit cooler and the leaves are starting to change.

06/30/2026

Well what to do on a extremely hot and humid day in PA? Well if you were smart you'd stay in a pool or air conditioning but not me. Today I went to Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, which is located in Settlers Cabin Park near the airport. I remember visiting the park when I was much younger when I was with the Boy Scouts. The park was transformed from a former strip mine to a county park but at that time I don't think the garden was even on the designs of the county.

I know Claire would of liked walking around the park despite the heat and humidity. I also know that as much as she tried she couldn't grow a garden which was left up to me. I hope that her spirit was willing to make this trip with me since it was well worth it in spite of the weather.

06/07/2026

Today, I tried to take advantage of the nice weather the area was having. As I have stated many times it is difficult to enjoy the scenery when there is nobody along to accompany me. I did stop in Kennerdale just to say hello to Claire and tried not to think of what might have been if our financial situation had been different at a specific time. But life goes on and no amount of wishing is or will change the past.
But also stopping to visit her reminded me of a story she told me a long time ago. When her parents owned a cabin in Kennerdale that was usually their vacation spot. I guess it was a nice place to go and they didn’t have to worry about expenses such as a hotel room. Anyway, one day Claire got injured while they were at their cabin. At that time hospitals were very few and far near Kennerdale so her parents took her to see a doctor in Franklin PA. Exactly the nature of the injury or how they knew the doctor is lost to history. But according to Claire this doctor seemed a bit off. The doctor did examine Claire and one thing that stuck out in her mind was that the doctor rolled around his office in a small chair with wheels. Claire did find that a bit odd and also a bit humorous since the doctor fell off the chair at least once. Claire didn’t know if that was intentional or the doctor may have had a bit too much to drink. I wish she was still around to fill in the details because it would have made the above story a bit funnier.

After my visit I did decide to go and explore Franklin PA. It wasn’t too far and by looking at Google maps it didn’t seem like there was much to see. But Google maps only show you what it wants to show you not the potential interesting places that might bring out the amateur historian in me. I did find several historical markers, and even an abandoned PA National Guard Armory that appeared to have one been an antique store/shop. I also found a city park that was along the Allegheny River and French Creek which are located next to Franklin. (And yes, it is named after Benjamin Franklin but that name wasn’t used until very much later in the town’s history.)

I did find some historical markers, which involved quite a few turn arounds on the streets of Franklin. Luckily traffic was lite so I didn’t get anybody upset at least I think I didn’t. The homes in Franklin are mostly Victorian area but Claire would have been able to tell me for certain.

The Traveling Hat

09/10/2026

08/31/2026

08/19/2026

07/31/2026

07/27/2026

07/23/2026

07/14/2026

07/14/2026

06/30/2026

06/07/2026

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