Altoona, PA Road Trip

Horseshoe Curve

Haley, Melody, both

On the Road

Did you know there is an Indiana in Pennsylvania?
Sure thing. Remember, Xyra told us Lady Grey went to college there.
Oh, right! I must have forgotten.
Anyway, the other day we got up really early to head west. The route to our first stop near Indiana, PA was a bouncy one. Backwoods Betty (the GPS) provided the straightest route...
An interesting one too!
Yep, a unique experience as the roads got narrower and less paved.
(laughing)
The people we met gave us a better route to our second destination...Altoona.
Here we are all buckled in with Tris.

On the Curve

When we got to Horseshoe Curve, we didn't ride the Funicular.

Nope, we walked the 194 steps instead.
It's good there are lots of landings for people to rest.
We just pushed right on up to the top.
Thankfully we found an empty bench to rest and put our stuff.
Tris was a good, quiet little girl and hid in Xyra's bag. Pets aren't allowed on the grounds, but we weren't going to leave her in the hot car.
Service animals are allowed.

At the top a big fence keeps everyone a safe distance from the tracks.

There is a big, Pennsylvania Railroad GP9 on display.

Then we saw our first train!

Cool!
We waited a while for the next train to come. 
When it did, it was westbound...

And a long one.
Those are helpers on the end.

Right after, an eastbound one passed.

Then another westbound came through.

We walked over to check out a track building.

I think this watchman's shanty is neat. 
The stone is great and there must be a stove inside for warmth.

The Funicular comes up this way.

A great view of the canal and reservoir.

Time to head down the stairs.
Down is much easier than up.

You bet.
(giggling)

Home again!

We were gone for 14 hours!

Super fun day!

Have you ever been to Horseshoe Curve? Do you like watching trains?

Xyra Notes

• Melody and Haley are wearing brand new denim skorts from Laundry Daze Designs. Watch for a review in the near future.
• Bloggers who look for interesting places to set new posts encounter lots of different public reactions. While at Horseshoe Curve two younger girls looked at Melody and Haley as they walked by with their families. They did not say anything or stop to ask questions. Later, older girls arrived with their family. While reading the main information plaque one spotted Melody and Haley. Trying to be subtle (she failed) she pointed them out to the other teen. Then they took turns stealing glances over to us. Definitely not subtle at all; and I'm not certain the nature of their giggles. A tiny part of me crumpled, but another part of me brushed off the incident and kept having a great day! (I have a tendency to overthink things.)

Best wishes! Have a great day!