Tilted

Slippery Rock Creek in McConnells Mill State Park.

Along the Trail

Alpha Trail in McConnells Mill State Park in Pennsylvania. Sorry I have not posted in awhile; my job is starting to consume more and more of my free time.

Dog Tracks

This image was taken last Sunday in McConnells Mill during a walk with my wife. We then headed over to Moraine and happened upon a woman who had spent the last five hours looking for her two lost St. Bernards. I hope she found them.

Green and White

A snowy picture of Slippery Rock Creek along the Kildoo Trail in McConnells Mill.

Upgrade

Last week I was pleasantly surprised to receive a new camera after a family dinner. Apparently a few of our relatives pooled money together for a Nikon Coolpix P90. I can't express how delighted I am with it.

This is the first post with a photo taken with the new camera. If I don't get a chance to post tomorrow, I wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Eckert Bridge

Eckert Bridge was built in 1852 originally as a covered bridge. In the 1950s it was replaced with the current concrete one. Due to low traffic in the 1970s, sections of the Breakneck Bridge and Eckert Bridge Roads were closed including their overpasses.

To get to Eckert Bridge, you must follow Cheeseman Road past the Breakneck Bridge parking area and down the hill into the gorge. Note that this section of the route is not maintained in the winter and is full of potholes. The bridge lies at the bottom of the hill and is primarily used for parking.

I am not sure why I am always surprised by how many people are in this nook and cranny of McConnells Mill. Eckert Bridge is not far from Breakneck and Eckert Falls. It also provides access to the Kildoo and Slippery Rock Gorge Trails sections of which are considered part of the North Country National Scenic Trail.

More Info and Sources:
Photo of Coverd Bridge
Source - Lawrence County By Anita DeVivo, Anthony P. Walczak

Reflection

I was very surprised this turned out as I had taken quite a few shots of water that did not. Slippery Rock Creek.

A Shadow, A Fern

The sunlight on Sunday was quite remarkable. Walking along a path near Slippery Rock Creek, I could not resist snapping this photo.

Pile of Rocks

The white area between two rocks in the right of the photo is foam from decomposing plants. Slippery Rock Creek in McConnells Mill.

Down Stream

I should have posted this photo before my last one. The above image was taken before we arrived to the covered bridge from Kildoo Trail. Behind the bridge you can see the old mill.

Slippery Rock Gorge

According to the DCNR Website, 140,000 years ago there was a lake to the north of Cleland Rock whose waters were bound by the edge of a continental glacier. As the glacier receded, the ice dam burst and the ensuing torrent of water carved the already existing valley 400 feet deeper. The change was so drastic that streams which normally flowed north changed direction and now flow south. It is hard to imagine such power.

Warm November Day

My middle daughter and I took a rest in this spot while hiking along Kildoo Trail. While she munched on pretzels, I snapped a few pictures of Slippery Rock Creek. Here the water is slow moving and had a nice green tint to it.

There were a lot of individuals and groups passing through this area. My daughter had to wave and say hi to everyone. She even shouted across the creek to people. So fun.

People, People Everywhere

I have been meaning to write a post about the covered bridge in McConnells Mill for some time. You can see the bridge in this image taken on a foggy September day.

Well it turns out, this post is not about that particular day nor is it about the bridge.

A few weeks ago I decided to head over to the park to take a few fall pictures of the bridge for the post about it. I did not expect how many people would be running around taking photos of scenery. Many of them had some pretty fancy cameras compared to my simple 'point and shoot'.

In any case, I wanted to take a picture like this one to illustrate the change in the foliage.


I did not notice there was someone taking a picture in my direction at the same time. You can see him in the close up to the right.

He seemed to be hanging around at that spot. I imagine he was waiting for people like me to wander off.

From there I walked around the mill intending to snap a picture of the bridge.

It didn't turn out as you can see in the below image. Not only because the left side is over exposed but I don't think you can miss the guy with the tripod. Like the previous photo, I did not see him until after the fact. He was also waiting for everyone to leave.

Seeing that every good spot was taken for getting a clean shot of the bridge, I decided to make my way over to nearby Kildoo Falls.


There is actually a girl sitting on the top of the cliff! She is hard to see in the close up to the right, but trust me she is there. She looked like she was posing for someone else with a camera.

Yikes! She is so close to the edge! What is she thinking? It made me edgy and worried she would fall, so I left.

Off to Cleland Rock! I should be able to hopefully get a few good shots there. At the bottom of the photo you can see the edge of Cleland Rock. I wanted to move closer to the edge (not too close) but someone was in the way. He was sitting there when I arrived, dressed in black and engrossed in writing in a journal. I waited awhile for him to move before I took the above image. Two couples came and went beforehand. They had to stand behind him to see the view. Eventually I did the same to take the hurried shot. He was not acknowledging anyone and I figured best to leave him alone.

As I said in a previous post about Cleland Rock, something unusual always happens there when I visit. On that day, it seemed to be true for the entire park.

Heading Back to the Mill

A quick posting of Kildoo Trail as it runs next to Slippery Rock Creek. There were many wildflowers blooming along the water when this photo was taken in August.

Late in the Afternoon

Slippery Rock Creek viewed upstream from the walkway by the Mill.

Can I Pick One?

This is not my children wanting to pick the flowers, which is strongly discouraged by the park rangers, but my wife wishing to choose the photo for today. Right now the kids are in bed, but tomorrow I'll have my middle daughter try to find the two bees in the photo.

We believe these are Tall or Green-headed Coneflowers (Rudbeckia laciniata) which are growing alongside Slippery Rock Creek near the Kildoo Trail.