Montour Robinson
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
‘Pennsylvania’ means ‘Penn’s Woods,’ and the place definitely lives up to that ‘Sylvan’ label. Unlike my native NYC, where trees are often caged, the woody things are allowed to roam free out here and fill up the landscape. I’ve mentioned Pittsburgh’s abundance of urban forest before, but once you get a half hour out from the City in any direction from the center of all things, the suburbs give way to vast tracts of land where these vegetable overlords are in charge.
Recent endeavor found one heading over to Robinson Township (a low density suburb with an abundance of strip malls and chain stores, which is set against heavily wooded hills) and a section of the Montour Trail (pictured) which I hadn’t visited yet for a medium length scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve mentioned this ‘rail to trail’ facility many times since relocating to Pittsburgh in December of 2022, and one often contemplates his lamentations about the world, and literally everything I’ve ever screwed up, echoing between the ears and behind the eyes while walking along it. My internal voice is seldom a pleasant companion, so I’ve recently opted for listening to podcasts and audiobooks to drown out the internal condemnations.
I’m in the mid 4th century on Mike Duncan’s ‘History of Rome’ at this point and the actions of Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, were being discussed in some depth during this walk by the author.
A side trail beckoned, and one positively plunged into the verge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Montour Run is the name of the waterway found down here, and that bridge in the shot above is the same one seen in the distance of the first shot. This water follows the trail, which used to carry railroad tracks, and looks like it’s a semi artificial waterway that provided drainage for the tracks. Based on olfactory observation, Montour Run receives a bit of residential and commercial sewerage and runoff as well.
Not too much, and mostly storm water in my estimation, as there was just a hint of of the scent of honey floating around down here. The NYC DEP taught me to call sewage honey, I should mention.
It had been a minute since I set up the tripod for flowing water shots, so I cracked out a few exposures down here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One busted through the brush and returned to the trail. The goal for the day was five miles, and so did a humble narrator lean into the walk. It was quite a warm day, and is the case with nature type settings during warm weather – kind of buggy. People were riding bikes, and jogging, and walking big friendly dogs and or toddlers.
The great thing about these rail trails is that there were originally graded for railroads, and provide a fairly easy path through the steep hills and valleys of this Appalachian landscape.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s all sorts of ‘used to be, once, long ago’ ruinations found along the path, and more than once I found myself pushing through heavy brush and picking my way amongst the trees to attain certain points of view.
A native Pennsylvanian would laugh at me for describing these wooded pockets as ‘woods.’ There are ‘state game lands’ nearby which offer actual ‘woods’ that stretch for hundreds of square acres in any direction, and these areas are said to host a myriad of seldom mentioned or observed critters. Bear, deer… hunters even report spotting Bigfoots crashing about in these wild areas.
You probably ain’t gonna see a Bigfoot traveling through here, I’d mention. The airport is about five miles away, and Pittsburgh is about twenty. Also – Bigfoots prefer Amtrak or the Megabus when they travel rather than airlines.
They need a lot of leg room, the Bigfoots. Bwah, hah, ha.
Here all week, two shows on Saturday.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Having hit my turn around point on the trail, it was time to reverse course and head back towards the parking lot where the Mobile Oppression Platform awaited. This walk ended up being just over six miles in the end, rather than my planned upon five.
Back tomorrow with something different.
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Never miss an opportunity
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator has been obliging the wishes of his team of doctors in recent weeks, who have decreed that he submit to a now annual series of tests. These procedures are ingenious, including the use of high frequency sound waves and or queer radiations which are focused through my decaying flesh and the rot of my physical firmament.
The white coat and blue pants brigade have also been siphoning off the ichor in my veins, and sampling the various jellies and syrups found within the skinvelope, for chemical analysis. Nothing is particularly wrong with me other than the usual stuff, but these scholars seem to enjoy testing my patience as well as my fleshy bits.
My resolve is to ‘play ball with the docs,’ on a now annual basis. Back in NYC, I’d generally only seek medical attention when bleeding.
I’m making the best of all these violations of comfort and privacy, and since I’m in the habit of carrying a camera with me everywhere I go – took the opportunity after a recent ultrasound lookie-loo to crack out a few shots from the roof of Allegheny General Hospital’s parking lot roof.
Have to admit, I love the sound of the word ‘ultrasound.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The hospital where this particular procedure was inflicted is on the north side of Pittsburgh, so the perspective on this one is looking southwest towards the downtown section. It’s a ‘stitched panorama,’ meaning that I took about five photos while twisting at the waist, and ran them through a photoshop function to combine and blend them together into a panorama.
As a note: My neck was all sticky after the ultrasound, and its accompanying application of weird institutional jellies, and I felt pretty gross. Bleh!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I don’t know about you – lords and ladies – but one such as myself is silently screaming when submitting to the attentions of the physicians. Nightmare fuel, most of it.
A recent trial involved a multiple appointments series of Periodontal treatments at my Dentist. I’ve lived my life in a manner which is designed to avoid having power tools inserted into my mouth, but acquiescence to medical advice is a wise course of action and thereby I endured multiple hours of this particular torture. Good news is that my gums are now as pink as a baby’s bottom.
Did you know that most of the men who would eventually form the KGB’s torture squads, under the early rule of the Soviets, were Dentists?
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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A Short walk, around HQ
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A recent day found a humble narrator positively crawling the walls and needing a bit of exercise to burn off the severity of ‘a mood.’ I didn’t have time for a long walk, and it was incredibly warm and humid out as well. Since I was ‘all tuned up,’ and couldn’t afford a long time interval for distance, I’d instead head for one of several local sets of municipal steps instead, for a quick burn.
Camera and bag on my shoulder, one lumbered down to a spot about two blocks away from HQ, which leads to one of the many ‘City Steps’ of Pittsburgh. I’d break a sweat, and chew my way upwards to the prominence of the steep hill which I live at the bottom of.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve mentioned in the past that there’s a small gorge which starts directly across the street from HQ, and it’s one that’s very well wooded. To this alien New Yorker’s eye, the urban forest which is laced throughout Pittsburgh is a fascinating feature, and one which compliments its batshit crazy terrain. These steps allow one to accomplish five to six stories of vertical climb and travel over the groin of two steep hills. The steps are strung along a heavily wooded path, which a trickle of water flows through. It’s not quite a stream down there, but it’s something.
There’s an army of critters living in this patch of woods – deer, woodchucks, squirrels, raccoons, you name it. There’s also Chipmunks, which are adorable.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the prominence of the hill, which is arrived at after leaving the safety of the forested steps and walking on a sidewalkless and quite busy road for about 1,000 feet, one finds themselves on a street called Broadway Avenue. This is sort of tertiary arterial street, but with the predominant square footage of its path devoted to mass transit – aka ‘The T’ light rail.
This is in Dormont, which is the ‘Boro’ or town I’m living in. Next door and over the hill, in the Beechview section, the T’s tracks are set into the vehicle lanes, and it shares a path with buses and automobiles.
Back next week with something different, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Moonrise at Carrie Furnace
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One has traveled a bit over the years. In Greece, for instance, I visited the ruins of the Acropolis in Athens, Minoan and Frankish castellations in Crete and the Peloponnesus, and the cave where Zeus was born was also visited on that fantastic and perplexing island.
Carrie Furnace in Pittsburgh reminds me of those experiences – cyclopean ruinations, left behind by an earlier civilization which reached great heights before collapsing.
The Carrie Furnace site, as described previously, is a ‘National Historic Place’ cared for by a non profit outfit called ‘Rivers of Steel.’ Said nonprofit looks after several other locations in the ‘Mon Valley,’ but Carrie is their ‘big one.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a labyrinth of corridors, walkways, and chambers to wander through here. If you’re in the Pittsburgh area, definitely try to secure a tour or buy in on a photo safari here – it’s kind of a unique experience.
At any rate, I’m going to be taking a break from Carrie for a while, as I’ve been here several times in the last year. This place is like a ‘honey trap’ for someone like me, and I’m still trying to actively explore the larger area, and not get bogged down by rabbit holes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The moon was rising as I shot this last photo. Sunset was meant to be occurring about 8:30 something on this evening, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so a colorful vault wasn’t going to be happening. It was time to return the loaner hardhat back to the Carrie people, and fire up the Mobile Oppression Platform for a 30 minute or so drive back to HQ.
Back tomorrow with something different at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Carrie the load, wontcha?
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is one of the two remaining furnaces left standing at the Carrie Furnace ruins, here in Pittsburgh. Chatting with a member of the Rivers of Steel operation, which looks after the ruins of this steel mill and offers programming at this historic site, I was informed that ‘back in the day,’ being in this area during the active manufacturing era would have required specialized garments to vouchsafe your flesh against the heat that was being generated during the steel making process. Just being in this chamber without the protective material was life threatening.
The fellow whom I was chatting with had actually worked here, and he filled me in on the dangers of this profession prior to OSHA regulations and an era full before personal injury attorneys were a thing.
One task that he described as having a career lifetime of no more than 3-4 years, due to crippling lung injuries which were caused by inhaling a miasma of superheated chemicals. When the company had to let you go due from that position to being unable to work anymore at 20, you’d get a week’s pay and that was it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hell on earth is what was being described to me, essentially.
Back in NYC, I knew lots and lots of blue collar types who had incredibly dangerous gigs. Longshoremen, sailors, sewer plant employees. One of my pals is an engineer who digs tunnels, and I know another guy who builds elevators. Both have described their day to day to me, much of which sounds like pure nightmare fuel, to one such as myself.
Titanic forces are at work in certain trades, and one slip up can mean crippling injury or a horrific death (in some cases, you’re lucky if it’s the latter). Most of the boat people I knew back home were missing at least one joint of a finger.
Steel manufacture was, and is, one of those sorts of jobs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Personally, I’ve had a lot of lousy jobs over the years, but nothing terribly dangerous. At one job back in college, I literally shoveled shit. At another, I was part of team of doofus’s who moved multi million dollar statues around from gallery to gallery and mansion to mansion.
A favorite work memory of mine was when I was an aquarium serviceman. On the surface it sounds nice, but then you aren’t thinking about carrying joint compound buckets full of salt water fish (and hand warmers) onto and off the subway (during the 1980’s), and traipsing around the city with 70-80 pounds of water on each arm and a diatom filter with all of its supplies in a bag on your back. The actual job wasn’t terribly hard… if you’ve ever kept a tropical salt water aquarium you know the routine. Rich people don’t like to get their hands dirty, which is where my boss and I came in.
My boss and I would start our day at a trade shop on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, then park his car somewhere in Downtown Brooklyn. We’d hop on the train with our gear and livestock for the day.
Y’know those giant salt water aquariums that used to occupy the entryway of every fancy pants Chinese restaurant in midtown? Yeah, that was us.
Never had to deal with air temperatures that had a comma in them, though. Can’t imagine the existential hell that the laborers here experienced.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 