Wilmington, OH / Roaring Run RV Park, Champion PA

Thursday, June 4 - We left the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY around 9:30 after going to the “dump” station (park has no sewer). We took our time due to the mass of rain about to hit the area we were heading to. Temperature around 65 degrees, and miserable weather to drive in to Wilmington, Ohio. We arrived at the Wilmington Thousand Trails preserve at 11:45. The park was filled so we went to the highest point where there was one site that we felt we could live with. We had Verizon (internet slow) and AT&T worked.

Friday, June 5 - Beautiful day here in Wilmington Ohio. Lows are 55 at night and mid-70s during the day. Sun shining brightly. We walked down to the lake and saw they also have Canada geese and poo is everywhere. Had to really watch out for Mitzy. It was an enjoyable walk.

We then went out to eat for my birthday (6/7) to beat the weekend crowds.

The restaurant is Der Dutchman, an Amish Kitchen Cooking up crowd-pleasing foods at a very reasonable price. I ordered their chicken because it is without any type of drugs and are free-range. It was also broasted, not fried. It was awesome along with “real” mashed potatoes and chicken gravy. The Amish cooking is bland so we were able to eat without the salt effect that most restaurants have. They also serve family-style dinners for four to twenty-four. I’d give this place a five-star for food and service. We bought an apple pie to take home and it was excellent.
Monday, June 8 - We left Wilmington Thousand Trails Park, Ohio to travel to an ROD park - Roaring Run, Champion PA. Wilmington was a very nice stay and we had good weather. During our five hour drive we saw plenty of corn fields with 8” high crops looking very healthy. Also a lot of wheat fields.
 
Once we started to see mountainous terrain we crossed the Ohio River going into West Virginia. There was plenty of industry along the river and Wheeling. We went a short distance on the USS West Virginia Memorial Highway. The USS West Virginia battleship was among 19 U.S. ships that were sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. The attack killed more than 2,000 U.S. servicemen.  We passed by old neighborhoods off in the distance with steep pitched rooflines. Portions of the roads we started to climb have steep grades at 1,400’.  Around noon we crossed the Pennsylvania state line. Roads were very bad with pot holes, uneven cracks in the seams, and very narrow. Due to the rough, roads, we lost our passenger side front hub cap. Ray won’t get a replacement until we are back in Florida.
We arrived at Roaring Run RV Resort around 2pm. Roaring Run sits within a lushly shaded area of every tree imaginable. They have an Olympic-size swimming pool and plenty of activities for children and adults during the weekends during the summer. We also found the staff to be quite friendly. We selected site 89 to be in the clearing of trees and receive satellite instead of using the park’s free cable access. All electronics work fine at this park. The park has no sewer and causes us to order a “dump” of the tanks by the park for $12. The roads are rutted and very steep in places.

People in the park burn wood fires day and night so there is always a smell of wood smoke whenever you go outside. We keep our windows closed and the a/c running due to the humidity and smoke. Resorts of Distinction (ROD) writes this park up as a 5-star.
The area of Laurel Highlands in the Allegheny Mountains is filled with parks, forests, trails, water and golf. Nearby is Ohiopyle State Park home to Youghiogheny River with its dramatic rafting routes and gorgeous waterfalls.

Tuesday, June 09 - Morning was overcast skies with threat of rain during the day. Walked with Mitzy up the hill toward a ravine where you could hear the Roaring Run River and it is “roaring” all the time. Drove the truck over to Summerset to get a few groceries and check out the area.  Somerset was a central stage for the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. Also on the map due to  September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93, bound from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco and one of the four planes hijacked that day by al-Qaeda operatives, crashed near Somerset in Shanksville, killing all 45 persons on board. It is believed that hijackers intended to fly this plane into the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
Fort Ligonier is a full-scale, on-sight reconstruction of the original fort that Great Britain used from 1758-1766 while fighting the French. We took a drive north to visit Fort Ligonier at Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Ray took a side road to drive through a beautiful valley and reached a height of 1,700 ft. on Rt. 381.  In the middle of the 18th century, Great Britain and France went to war over the ownership of the inner basin of North America. It is now known as the Seven Years’ War as it became a struggle world-wide; the conflict in America was known as the French and Indian War. The post was constructed in September 1758 and was to serve as a critical supply depot. During the eight year existence as a garrison, Fort Ligonier was never taken by an enemy.

The fort was decommissioned from active service March 1766. The spacious modern museum features five indoor exhibition galleries and provides a portal to the eighteenth century fort. After over two centuries in private hands, Fort Ligonier acquired Washington’s “saddle” pistols. Also locked away for over two hundred years, the original manuscript of George Washington is displayed. Washington vividly recollects his military experience on the Pennsylvania frontier some thirty years earlier. It was well worth seeing.

After seeing the fort we drove about 20 minutes to Mount Pleasant, located at the foothills of the Laurel Highlands, very close to vacation and ski areas.
Railroad Station Restaurant and Inn

Mount Pleasant is one of the oldest towns in Southwestern Pennsylvania, formed 1771. I read about the local Railroad Station Restaurant and Inn. It is a 122 year old hotel and Train Gift Shoppe. It has 17 Victorian rooms featuring famous train décor. The restaurant shows its age, but the food was very reasonable and decent. The station was built in 1883 as well as Kessler Boarding House. In 1945 it became a restaurant and hotel. Fourteen ghosts reportedly inhabit the 123-year-old inn.
Saturday, June 13 - We drove the countryside and visit Fort Necessity National Battlefield near Farmington. The drive through our RV park was very rutted from the rains and uncomfortable to drive. There were a lot more families in trailers and/or tents arriving for the weekend. Wood-burning fires were the norm, filling the air and nostrils with the sometimes unpleasant smell. We drove on the Laurel Highlands Scenic Highway on our way to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwaters. It is considered by many as the supreme example of Wright’s concept of organic architecture. A tour of the house and grounds requires 1 to 2.5 hours and the fees were more than anticipated. There is a guard gate to be sure we could not take any pictures. Kentucky Knob is another Frank Lloyd Wright design constructed of native sandstone, tidewater cypress, and copper that blends with the surround nature. We decided not to take a tour.
Fort Necessity National Battlefield is located about 11 miles from Uniontown along the historic National Road (Route 40) in Farmington. It is a state-of-the-art interpretive and Education Center and we enjoyed their displays very much. We were not able to walk the 300 yards downhill to view the original fort and battlefield. This is actually a reconstruction of the fort that Washington built in 1854. The Battle of Fort Necessity marked the beginning of the French and Indian War in 1754.  It is an odd fact of history that George Washington came to own the land on which he fought his first battle. He bought it in 1769, 15 years after surrendering his Fort Necessity.

We drove up the hill behind the museum to see Mount Washington Tavern and found it amazing how well this original structure has survived all these years. Travelers stopping at the Mt. Washington Tavern were pleased to find a commodious brick and stone tavern of eleven rooms in two stories, with an attic and basement. Built around 1827 by Judge Nathaniel Ewing of Uniontown, the Tavern was operated by James and Rebecca Sampey and did a lively business from the time it opened. Here you will find memorabilia of the era where the National Road (Route 40) helped build a new nation.

We had an excellent lunch at this historic restaurant in Farmington PA.

One of the original inns along the National Road (present day U.S. Route 40), the Stone House has a 175+ year history of providing rest for the weary traveler. Since 1822, the Stone House has hosted both dignitaries and common folk alike, providing comfort and the finest food to be found in our area of the Laurel Highlands.  Today, the Stone House Victorian Bed and Breakfast Suites provide guests with comfortable quarters that are decorated charmingly with period furnishings and linens, but also include modern amenities. The Stone Room is the gathering room. It has a television, telephone, books, games, and puzzles for inn guests to use. The New Zeigler wing features modern rooms that include televisions and private baths. All inn guests receive a continental breakfast of homemade breads and muffins at no extra charge.

We drove further north to see the Nemacolin Castle that has gazed upon the Monongahela River since the late 1700s. It is a landmark and focal point of Brownsville, one of the most historically important towns in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Nemacolin Castle property was one of the mounded sites within early Brownsville.

It is also referred to as the residence occupied by Nemacolin shortly before Col. Burd arrived. Nemacolin was the Native American who helped white settlers set the course of what is now Route 40 past the Castle. Most likely, the site of the Castle was a fortified village, though there were at least two or three other mounded sites within view of it, some of which were probably much older and may have included burials. Nemacolin Castle's unique site is intrinsically linked to certain circumstances that molded what is Brownsville today.  Redstone (now called Brownsville) was a frequent point of embarkation for travelers who were heading west via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. The major attraction of these early settlers to Brownsville was two fold. One, Brownsville was positioned at the western end of the National Pike, U.S. Route 40.

The other was the easy access to the Monongahela River where a vast flatboat building industry that later evolved into the largest steamboat industry developed during the 19th century. This access to the river provide a "jumping off" point for settlers headed into the western frontier. The Monongahela converges with the Ohio River at Pittsburgh and allowed for quick traveling to the western frontier.b:if cond='data:blog.pageType !="item"> >