When in Ohiopyle...

Day 1 of family vacation in Ohiopyle; Day 2 of "fun" in the sun

The third day of vacation dawned cooler than the other two. Not only were there wreaths of fog on the river when we put in our kayaks, but there was mist over some sections of small rapids as we traversed them midday. This was the view downriver from the launch beach.

Having gotten a leg workout the day before by bicycling, I figured we could exercise our arms the next day. Although it was overcast and cooler, and in some ways it would have been easier just to sit at home on our laptops, it seemed like the thing to do while in Ohiopyle was to participate in outdoor sports, so I found us a couple of single inflatable kayaks to rent from White Water Adventurers. We packed water and a few snacks and planned to be home for lunch.

The shop was disorganized, so the shuttle left half an hour late, humpity-bumpity up the road to a little south of Confluence. We put in at 9:30am with another couple, who had brought their own hard-sided tandem kayak. It was the third time they had traveled this section of the river ("the Middle Yough") but our first.

We had never paddled this kind of kayak before, so it was definitely a learning experience. These little sit-in kayaks were definitely better suited to running the rapids at the start and end than traversing the deep quiet water in the middle, when both of us wished for a canoe with a proper paddle for deep strokes.

We encountered class I-II rapids. The interesting thing about the class I rapids was that if the field of rocks was big enough, they created a soft roar, even though the water wasn't deep at all. I enjoyed running the class II rapids, as there was only one place that threatened to tip us over. Thankfully, everyone (and the gear!) stayed in the boats.

The views were beautiful, although I wished for either sunshine or 5 more degrees of warmth to make the constant wet-butt sensation a little more bearable. We only had to get out and portage once, when I chose a channel that was too shallow. (Should have followed the other couple...) Otherwise, we made great time, with both groups getting out at the same time, and the guy at the equipment shop told us our 3 hours exactly was the best time all season! Honestly, there wasn't anywhere good to stop, and most of the food was at home, so you know I was motivated to keeping paddling. I think Dear Husband was just glad to be back on solid, dry land.

After the folks finished their fly-fishing lessons, we all had some quiet time in the afternoon before heading out to the Historic Summit Inn for dinner. We had hoped to enjoy the view from the veranda, but it was closed due to the threat of inclement weather, so we had to enjoy our steak and lamb inside.

The inn opened in 1907 for wealthy vacationers and currently offers 94 rooms open April through November, a 36-par 9-hole golf course, reception rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, and partnerships with various local attractions like the Frank Lloyd Wright sites, Fort Necessity Battlefield Park, and bicycling trips. There was a bridle shower while we visited.

The lobby is done in dark woods with Tiffany-style lamps and Craftsman furniture. In 1907, the American flag had 45 stars (Oklahoma made it 46 in November 1907). This one hangs over a square Steinway piano from the second half of the 19th century.

It's said that if you look west from Chestnut Ridge, there is nothing higher across the plains until you reach the Rocky Mountains.

Back at the cabin we made old-fashioned popcorn on the stove and then tried to teach ourselves how to play Texas 42, a domino game. If you are familiar with it, we would love to learn strategy and scoring with you.

And of course, the National Parks puzzle was finished!