Lansing....

....New York, another friendly town on Cayuga Lake,
people can't believe the number of pictures they take;
this region, Finger Lakes, seems to have it all,
and people who vacation here really have a ball.

This area is known for the natural beauty it provides,
but there is so much, your attention it divides,
you just have to settle down, take it kind of slow,
just remember that, for a good trip, when you go.

Top: Cayuga Lake
Middle: Ludlowville Falls, on a road leading into town.
Bottom: A Town Park, and a good day for a sail.

Seneca Falls....

....New York, this is one famous place!
Elections are different, as to who's in the race,
since those Old Gals got together, and what not;
they made Congress get off the pot!

Women today, and since 1920, can go and vote,
thanks to meetings held here, please take note.
Also this place is famous in film too.
"It's a Wonderful Life" can visit you.

Top: The Seneca River Falls, the town was named for these.
Middle: The village.
Bottom: "The Bridge", this is the one Jimmy Stewart was going to jump from in the movie.
NOTE: The Women's Rights movement started here in 1848, the women's right to vote came in 1920 (my mother was seven!), and the Equal Rights Amendment (which has failed) was started here as well.

Canandaigua....

New York, right at the Finger Lakes,
beautiful country water, and lots of grapes;
a tourist mecca since the early nineteen hundreds,
keep the region going, along with thoroughbreds.

Agriculture runs deep in between the shores,
dairy, wine and fruit trees and many more(s);
clearly the glaciers that scraped across the earth,
kind of knew what they were doing, when giving the area birth.

Top: The Canandaigua Lady, takes tour groups around the lake.
Middle: Lake Canandaigua.
Bottom: Autumn is also a good time to see the area.

NOTE:  The California wildfires have burned about 40 houses in Tehachapi, and it's a small town of about eleven thousand people, many have been evacuated.  Pete is worried about his friends.

Batavia...

...New York, home to a scandal, that was long ago,
Will Morgan was offended by the Masonic Lodge,
so he was arrested, paid a fine, was let go,
with a group of men, took him to the river, he couldn't dodge.

Will was never seen again by anybody here,
the Masons claimed they paid him off, the outcome was unclear;
people left the Masons scared of the church that they attended,
founded the Free Methodist, and that is how it ended.

Top: Downtown Batavia
Middle: The Tonawanda River flows through Batavia, this was the first mill site in town.
Bottom: 1948 Massey-Harris tractor.  These were made in Batavia until the 1950's, the
               town is now considered part of the Rust Belt.

Jamestown...

...New York, birthplace of Roger Tory Peterson and Lucille Ball,
and along with other Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL.
Up here in the country, it's no secret life is good;
this is New York that appears as it should.

When I say 'New York' people get confused,
they think of a big city, a term that's overused;
most of the state is inviting and alive,
so forget about the city, next time you take a drive.

Top: The Jamestown Farmers Market, looks good to me.
Middle: Grave site of Lucille Ball, many visitors come here.
Bottom: Headquarters of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute.  Mr. Peterson world renowned as
a naturalist and expert on birds, the Peterson Guides are great books.

Saint Marys....

...Pennsylvania, a pleasant small town,
Bavarian Catholics founded it, good to be around;
it's home to a brewery, Straub, at the foot of the mountain,
if you go on tour they have the "eternal fountain".

There is a Church, built by a priest,
when he became disabled, it is the least..
..or the smallest, or somewhere in between,
because it measures twelve by eighteen.

Top: Twilight time in Saint Marys.
Middle: Msgr. Deckers Chapel, he built it after he had broken his back.
Bottom: The inside of Deckers Chapel.
Note: The 'eternal fountain' allows for one drink, got long to live?

Punxsutawney....

...Pennsylvania, the home of Groundhogs Day,
it's when townsmen get Phil, out of the hay;
you see, he can predict how long 'til spring,
it's always six weeks, isn't that interesting?

Gobblers Knob is where it all takes place,
people eagerly awaiting Phil's smiling face;
they're all in hopes of an early spring,
but, every year, Phil says the same old thing.

Top: Famous resident in bronze.
Middle: Downtown Punsxutawney.
Bottom: Where to?

Butler...

...Pennsylvania, a history of American manufacturing is here,
Pullman Standard made it's rail cars, Pullman Park is where fans cheer,
American Bantam Car Company, whose memory we keep;
rolled out an original small vehicle, in World War II, known as the Jeep.

So there you have it, for better or worse,
those companies faded, the City's in reverse;
industrial towns all across our country,
all dead and gone, remnants to see.

Top: The City of Butler
Middle: A 1931 Bantam, these were the original small car - beautiful.
Bottom: Alameda Park in autumn, Butler, PA

Duquesne....

....Pennsylvania, what a hand they've been dealt,
once thriving, not an example of the Rust Belt;
seven thousand souls are living her today,
there were that many in the mill, when the town was in the hay.

It's an industrial landscape, full of broken dreams,
financially distressed, no help is close it seems;
they've even closed the high school, the student bussed away,
let's all hope that they....will see a better day.

Top: A bridge over the Monongahela River, road to Pittsburgh.
Middle: The coal loader at Union rail yard, still in use.
Bottom: Abandoned rail cars used for molten steel, the last car carried ingots.

Razing Appalachlia

Mountain tops are blasted, what a way to kill,
the waste goes to the valley and streams, called a valley fill,
the forests are gone, and never planted back,
replaced instead with grass, we should dress in black.

Coal drives the country, the miners like to say,
we need to find something better, it doesn't have to be that way;
underground mining costs too much, that is probably true,
conservation works, it must, to preserve me and you.

The photos say it all, go to www.pbs.org/independentlens/razingappalachia/mtop.html to learn more. (just click on the link.
We'll be back on the road tomorrow, in Pennsylvania.
Thanks for reading, bless you all.

Morgantown...

...West Virginia, is quite the busy place,
the state University, helps them all keep pace,
and a busy shipping dock, doesn't go to rust;
fill those barges with coal, leave them in the dust.

Ample recreation on a system of trails,
miles and miles left behind, when they removed the rails.
Or, visit Dobles Knob, high up on a hill,
steal that first kiss, go ahead, have a thrill

Top: The locks and dam, on the Monongahela River.
Middle: Rail Trail, there are about 35 miles to/from Morgantown
Bottom: The countryside of West Virginia

Note: Tomorrow, a sad state of affairs.

Clarksburg....

...West Virginia, called the Jewell of the Hills,
a quick trip here would cure your history ills;
birthplace of Stonewall Jackson, and Cyrus Vance,
and they ain't too sure 'bout the St. Vitus dance.

The FBI computer center's here, lot's of stuff on file,
fingerprints and records stored by the mile;
it's very pretty, up here in the hills too,
and one thing's for sure, they have lots to do.

Top: Thanks to the City of Clarksburg
Middle: Downtown
Bottom: Out in the country.

Parsons....

...West Virginia, is a coal mining town,
men working hard, women with a frown,
it's a dangerous occupation, this mining thing,
people live in fear, of the siren's ring.

The natural beauty doesn't go unseen,
it's just amazing, that things are so clean;
mountain views are everywhere, that you'd choose to look,
outstanding town, in an outstanding state, put that in a book.

Top: The Town Center.
Middle: Shavers Fork runs through town.
Bottom: Parsons is in the Monongahela National Forest, seen here.

Moorefield...

...West Virginia, a river town with lots of flow,
there are plenty of things that make it go;
it's the confluence of two branches of the Potomac River,
on called the "south branch", the other "south fork", it's hard to figger'

Scenery abounds in this part of the state,
where there is plenty! Oh! This is great.
Sunrise to sunset there's plenty to do;
here's "best wishes" from me to you.

Top: Sunrise in Moorefield
Middle: Moorefield seen from the air.
Bottom: No more winding road (there were plenty), this is West Virginia Route 55.

Carpendale....

...West Virginia, in the Eastern Panhandle of the State,
and your chance for adventure, turns out to be great;
here in the hills water's running white and wild,
take a raft trip, you might feel like a child.

See those people paddle, maybe try to steer,
looks kind of cold and wet, with no time to cheer;
I guess you have to hold on tight, or be tied in,
and have ear protection, the noise must be a din.

Top: The Carpendale area,
Middle: White water rafting
Bottom: or, try a kayak

Chambersburg....

....Pennsylvania, with two streams running through it,
is a city fighting for jobs, people feel as if they've been bit.
The State has Philadelphia on one end and Pittsburgh on the other;
with Alabama in the middle, as termed by one mans mother.

That is not the truth, except in a random way,
it refers to the conditions, and what they do at play,
people here like the outdoors, and it's many pleasures,
hunt, fish, hike and camp, nature has the treasures.

Top: A stream runs through it.
Middle: Memorial Square, downtown.
Bottom: Falling Spring Creek, for fly fishing.

York...

...Pennsylvania, first capitol of the United States of America, maybe,
the Articles of Confederation, written here..first used that phrase, to be...
..the claim of being the first.  A busy place with significan history too,
so much to learn, so much to see, it would take a week, for me and you.

National companies are headquarted, or work here, Pfaltzgraff, York Barbell,
York Controls, Harley-Davidson, American Hydro there are too many to tell,
but the best known is now missing, have a guess, hey, who can it be?
York Peppermint Pattie, was sold to Hershey.

Top: A 1906 Pullman, six wheels and all, it was driven to San Francisco, before a road was built.
Middle: The most "famous" of York products, or we could argue.
Bottom: The Shoe House, built in the 1940's to help promote a motel, it was recently sold.