|  | Topic : Laurel Highlands East - Flight 93 Memorial Ride |  |
| | | RatDog | | Chaac |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 09/12/2012 | | Posts | : | 516 | | Location | : | Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| | Posted : 05 Sep 2016 - 18:32 Post title : Laurel Highlands East - Flight 93 Memorial Ride | | | Well, I've been at it again! Long story short, a buddy of mine has been unable to ride this year and finally had time to get out on the bike. As I am sure any of you would understand, there's no way I could refuse and still call myself a good friend. So after assessing the threat of Hurricane Hermine coming up the Atlantic seaboard, we decided to head west into the mountains of western Pennsylvania. I called Kevin (beatykm) for tips and he decided to join. I put 545 on the odo over the course of our two day (sat/sun) trip.
The area we picked is on the eastern edge of a region called the Laurel Highlands. With the 15th anniversary of 9/11 coming up and having never had an opportunity to visit, we planned to visit the Flight 93 Memorial.
We didn't get chance to take many pics but a few are posted below along with some maps. We slabbed it about 2 hours west from Philadelphia on the Pennsylvania turnpike. We exited immediately after the first of several tunnels. The terrain and landscapes were absolutely fabulous. The Appalachians run through Pennsylvania in an arc with the ridges topping out around 2500 feet. They're not huge by any means but they are substantial enough. The area is dotted with undisturbed state forests. Civilization is mostly limited to bucolic farmland in the rolling valley floors with climbs, descents, and switchbacks passing through a limited number of gaps in the ridge lines. There are tons of roads running straight SW to NE, but we opted for a less obvious and harder to plot twisting, turning, up and down path that cut east to west on the way out and for our return.
The Flight 93 Memorial itself was very impressive. It brought back the sick feelings we all had on that fateful day. The day we visited was a beautiful September day not too unlike the day of the actual event. The visitor center describes the crystal clear blue sky day, how the other events of the day in NY and DC unfolded, the flight's path, and most importantly the brave heroism of the passengers and crew that prevented an even worse disaster. The exhibits also laid bare the impact that reduced an entire airliner to bits and pieces the biggest of which was no more than 6-7 feet long, the experience of first responders and efforts of the investigators, and of course the tragic loss faced by 40 families, our nation, and civilized people everywhere.
The site is huge. As it turns out the crash occurred on an abandoned strip mine (Pennsylvania has many). The memorial design is in the shape of a circle which is interrupted by the flight path. You can park at the top, tour the visitor center, walk a .7 mile path to the debris field and memorial site. The site of the impact is marked by a boulder and the 40 acre debris field and final resting place of the deceased has been filled in and planted with grass. That particular area is accessible only to the families of those lost. There's a memorial wall with 40 white marble panels and a name inscribed on each one. The property has been seeded with wildflowers.
Wheels up departing Philly area:
Lunch break at Willow Hill about 125 miles/2 hours west of Philly just over (or under) the Blue Mountain / Kittatinny tunnel.
Kevin's blue and white, my Storm, and my friend's 2007 HD Fatboy
Gearing up for our ride into the hills!
Our route through the mountains from Willow Hill, PA to the Flight 93 Memorial
A poster explaining the memorial's design
Looking up at the Visitor Center from the overlook where families first viewed the debris field - the black balcony extends out along the flight path
The impact site from the families first overlook
The impact site from overhead 9/11/2001
The impact site 15 years later
Our route home over hill and dale from Altoona back to the Harrisburg/State Capitol area before slabbing it the rest of the way
Happily, Hermine ended up going further out to sea than expected so we stayed warm (to hot) and dry on our way home vs. the mess with 15-25 mph gusts predicted prior to departure below
| Paul
2012 Triumph Thunderbird Storm ABS (stealthy and fastest matte black!)
Previous Bikes:
2001 Suzuki Bandit GSF1200S
1981 Yamaha SECA XJ-750
| | Post edited by RatDog on 05 Sep 2016 - 19:19 |
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| | | Irish | | Chaac | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 28/10/2013 | | Posts | : | 854 | | Location | : | New England, NSW, Australia |
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| | Posted : 05 Sep 2016 - 22:38 Post title : Re: Laurel Highlands East - Flight 93 Memorial Ride (Re: RatDog) | | | Looks like a good trip with your mates, nice winding roads too
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| | | RatDog | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 09/12/2012 | | Posts | : | 516 | | Location | : | Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Sep 2016 - 02:01 Post title : Re: Laurel Highlands East - Flight 93 Memorial Ride (Re: Irish) | | |  again Irish.
It was good trip with good company.
I love the Pennsylvania terrain and countryside, it makes for some really great riding.
I also thought others would enjoy seeing a few pics and hearing about the memorial.
| Paul
2012 Triumph Thunderbird Storm ABS (stealthy and fastest matte black!)
Previous Bikes:
2001 Suzuki Bandit GSF1200S
1981 Yamaha SECA XJ-750
| | Post edited by RatDog on 07 Sep 2016 - 02:03 |
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| | | Sennaista | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 23/09/2014 | | Posts | : | 234 | | Location | : | London, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 23 Sep 2016 - 08:47 Post title : Re: Laurel Highlands East - Flight 93 Memorial Ride (Re: RatDog) | | | Bump
| All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.
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