October 28, 2021 Flight 93 Memorial and Patriot Park

THIS IS A PICTURE INTENSIVE BLOG.

Last night it rained and as we headed to the memorial, we could see the fog lifting from the valleys:

We passed numerous farms and, of course, my favorite farms – marshmallows – LOL:

In 2013, Andy and I were at the Flight 93 National Memorial for the first time – here is the link to that blog:

http://thehitzels.blogspot.com/search/label/Flight%2093%20NM

At that time, only the visitor shelter, walkway, and Wall of Names was finished.  In 2017, my friends and I did a road trip here to see the newly opened visitor center and the trails that led thru the 40 memorial groves and the area between the visitor center and Wall of Names. 

It was emotional both times and was emotional again today.  The newest tribute is the Tower of Voices and we were so blessed with a little wind to hear them sing.

The Tower:

I made a video with my phone but all you can hear is the wind .

We made our way to the visitor center and museum.  The museum was awesome and emotional.  Sorry, no photography allowed.

The visitor center from above.  Notice the cuts in the building.  That is the flight path of the plane.

This is at the end of the balcony:

I know it may be hard to see but if you enlarge the photo and look straight above the d(in day), you will see a white line (which is the Wall of Names), beyond that is the gate and then beyond that is the boulder where the plane crashed.  (There are no words…)  I think this is the first time that I truly saw that flight path.

A view from the balcony facing the museum.

The balcony:

The Wall of Names:

It is formed from 40 individual marble panels engraved with their names.

The Ceremonial Gate:

If you enlarge the picture, you will see the boulder that marks where the plane crashed.

Here was the flight path.. Over this hill, upside down, over the wall,

Past the wall into the field beyond.

 

It was a very emotional experience.  There is a wealth of information on the Flight 93 National Memorial here:  https://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm

After leaving the park, we decided to see the countryside.  We saw a sign for Patriots Park and decided to go see it.  Oh My….

Here it is:

Awesome, isn’t it.  Each flag represents a person lost during the war on terrorism including the 13 service members killed in August at the Kabul Airport.

“The battle that raged onboard United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, prevented what would have been another awful tragedy on an already tragic day. In fact, the passengers onboard Flight 93 can be referred to as, “the first combatants’ in what came to be known as the “Global War on Terror”. Since that infamous day, millions of Americans have bravely served in the military and over 7000 brave men and women have lost their lives in the Nation’s efforts to eradicate terrorism. Thousands more have suffered severe and debilitating injuries. Patriot Park has been conceived as a place where our gratitude can be expressed.

The park was started by volunteers and is maintained by volunteers to honor our brave men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice. “

Their website and more information can be found here: https://www.patriotparkfoundation.org/index.php

What a tribute.

We continued our travels and came upon fields of the windmills – very up close and personal.

Chickens everywhere in our paths:

More marshmallow fields:

And even a cool covered bridge:

We ended our evening at the Somerset American Legion before heading home.

I will leave you with one last picture of today.

 

Enjoy today.

PS.  Sorry for some of the blurry pictures – still trying to learn my camera.

September 17, 2013 Planes and Planes

This morning we woke to a beautiful day, packed a lunch and headed to the Flight 93 National Memorial.

What a beautiful tribute to those 40 extraordinary people.  The memorial is not totally finished but it is humbling.

The plane came in over this area (can you imagine the sound?):

Walking from the parking lot to the start of the memorial:

The wall along the walkway to the wall of names - this wall is the north boundary of the crash site:

The Wall of Names - the wall is situated on the plane’s flight path:

This is the crash site - the boulder marks the site:

Only the families of the fallen are allowed here.  I took the picture through the gate.

A note about the flowers - they were all over the crash site and around the wall.  I talked with the ranger and she told me that the whole area has been seeded with wild flowers to bloom in various times throughout the year.  The meadow flowers (near the entrance) bloom in the spring.  The area around the crash site and around the wall blooms late summer/early fall - to coincide with September 11 (gives me the goose bumps).

The wall:

The visitor center is due to open in 2015.

Being here was a very emotional experience for Andy and I.  Our America changed that day and these hero’s may have saved so many more lives.  God bless their families.

Last summer (2012), I was at the 9/11 memorial in New York City - another emotional experience. 

We highly recommend seeing one or both of these memorials. 

--------

We then headed to the Johnstown Inclined Plane - the World’s Steepest Vehicular Incline Plane.

Here it is:

It was built in 1891 by the Cambria Iron Company in the aftermath of the 1889 devastating flood to carry people, horses, and vehicles to Westmont.  It was originally powered by a steam engine.  In 1911, a 300 horsepower electric engine replaced the steam engine. (It currently has a 400 HP Engine.)  The Incline was designed by Samuel Diescher of Pittsburgh with a double set of tracks so the cars would counterbalance each other.

The cars were originally two floors: the top floor was for wagons and horses, while the bottom floor was a cabin large enough for twelve people.  Now think about that - horses on top, people on the bottom - hopefully it was waterproof - .

In 1921, the cars were replaced with single deck cars.

The Incline is 896.5 feet long with a 71% grade - WOW!

We entered at the top where they have a gift shop, overlook, restaurant, and picnic area (where we first had lunch).  We decided to go down the plane - free for Andy, $4.00 for me, round trip (a bargain!). They leave every 15 minutes if there is someone there.  If no one is there, they wait until someone is there ().

The view going down, with the counterbalance car coming up.

At the bottom, there is a bridge across the river, then another across the highway to town.  This is the bridge across the river - it is a vehicular bridge - cars do take the ride to the top.

The car - isn’t it beautiful!

View of Johnstown from the top:

This flag is 30’ by 60’ - one of the largest in the United States:

Andy would LOVE to have this flag next to the motorhome - he is leaning against the pole at the bottom:

One final look from the flag area - the Incline Plane Gift Shop / Restaurant Area is in the foreground:

We made our way back to Ebensburg and stopped at the local Moose Lodge - another great time.

We ended the day with supper over the fire and enjoyed the rest of the evening by the fire.

Stay tuned for tomorrow - we are going to learn about the Johnstown Flood.

Enjoy today.