My Father's Magic Carpet Made of Steel

It's been a little more than a year since I reduced my work schedule to four days a week. It's been a winning choice, earning a big two-thumbs-up from both my husband and myself. When the weather is good, our recipe for my "Freedom Fridays," as we like to call them, is simple: 1) get outdoors and get some exercise and fresh air, and 2) stop somewhere and get something good to eat, either on the way to or from the hike.

This day featured beautiful sunshine and blue skies arriving in the afternoon. So we set out for Jim's in Bellefonte first, to have "the entire usual" for lunch before our hike. The food was delicious and plentiful, and we were well nourished when we left there, ready to walk for miles.

Our first stop was Bald Eagle State Park. Not the part of it we usually go to, near the swimming area. But to the other side of the lake, near the primitive camping area. It had been a few years since we'd been there. The road in is something awful, full of potholes and ruts. But we found a spot and parked the car, and took off along the railroad tracks into the woods.

There are still some yellows in the trees, but most of the autumn foliage has turned brown or has come down by now. The trail was muddy and full of ankle-twisting rocks. I tried to find the underpass that runs beneath the railroad tracks, but I couldn't. That whole area seems to be overgrown with brush.

And there are ticks, lots of ticks. Both deer and dog ticks. I removed maybe 6 to 8 ticks from my pantlegs. This is a good reason to wear decent, light-colored hiking pants: so the ticks are easy to spot.

So overall, for various reasons, I cannot recommend this hike. And if you go there, be careful, and check yourself and your hiking partners and kids and pets for ticks. Oh, and don't forget your blaze orange, for hunting season has begun; you don't want to get shot.

But the main claim to fame of this area is what you see above: the railroad tracks of the Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad. They were long and shining and beautiful in the mid-afternoon sun, and simply looking into the distance made me proud to be a railroader's daughter. (My husband comes from a railroading family too.) So yes, these tracks are indeed my father's magic carpet made of steel, as the song goes. . . .

We got back in the car and headed for home, but first one more stop: along Spring Creek by the little bridge we discovered earlier this year. There were still a few foliage colors in the trees along the water, and the bridge was beautiful, as were the milkweed seeds, lifting and rising like angels into the late-day sun.

When I downloaded and reviewed my photos from the day, the picture above was one of my favorites. In monochrome, it summons not just a railroad but The Quintessential Railroad of all of our hopes and dreams. It could be Any Railroad, Anywhere, Any Time. Adventure awaits at the other end of the rails!

The soundtrack . . . the song was written by Steve Goodman, and famously recorded by both Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson. You knew what it was before you got this far, didn't you? ;-) City of New Orleans, performed by Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, and Dottie West; and also by The Highwaymen (Nelson, Cash, Kristofferson, and Jennings).

Also related:
Railroad Scene, Central Pennsylvania
In Which We Ride the Rails!
In Which I Ride the Rails! (The Adventure Begins!)
In Which I Ride the Rails Again!