Great Allegheny Passage & Crawford's Cabin

Northeast America is beautiful in the fall. I'm beginning to understand why so many people hype up this season. (I still don't understand the obsession with pumpkin spice lattes and fall wreaths... some things can't be understood.)

Pennsylvania seems to be holding onto summer. The temperatures have been in the high 20s for the last few days. I'm told the weather will cool down tonight though I'm not holding my breath. I hope it stays warm. I love summer.

Because the weather has been so nice, Justin wanted me to visit an amazing bike trail in a town nearby. I'm not much of a biker but agreed to come along. The afternoon was warm but a light breeze kept the air fresh and breathable.

The Great Allegheny Passage is part of a series of bike paths connecting Washington D.C. with Pittsburgh. The GAP trail is 150 miles of the 334 mile trail that travels from Pennsylvania, partially into West Virginia, through Maryland into Washington D.C. The Allegheny Passage portion of trail used to be a railroad track but has since been repurposed into a multi-use public trail. The advantage of its history is that the ground is fairly level, flat, and clean, making it an easy trail to ride. I was thankful for history that day.

Rather than tackling the beast of a path, we took a casual ride a few miles down the path, took photos, and enjoyed the views.

Some cool murals lined the path, presumably painted by local artists. The bright, cheery colours beautified an otherwise nondescript section of pathway.

While on our ride, we passed the little cottage belonging to Col. Crawford. After a bit of digging, I found out that William Crawford was a land surveyor during the late 1700s for Gen. George Washington and fought in the French and Indian War as well as the American Revolutionary war. This cabin is a reconstructed version of Crawfords and is the site of a battle reenactment of the Major General Edward Braddock's crossing of the Youghiogheny River in 1755 (you're welcome, history people).
A beautiful bridge spans the river next to the cabin, geese hang out at an amazing historical site, and all the while the bike path continues on north to Pittsburgh.

Photo from connellsvillehistoricalsociety.com

I'm not much of a history person but walking around places that have such historical significance is pretty cool. It reminds me that so much has happened in the past, lots will happen in the future, but all I can control is today.

You can read more about the Great Allegheny Passage here, Col. Crawford's Cabin here, and General Braddock here.