Posts Tagged With: National Park service units

Altoona PA, Tuesday March 29, 2022

On this first major trip of 2022, we will be visiting over 30 National Park Service (NPS) units along the Eastern Shore of the U.S. By the time this 30 day trip is completed, we will have a total visitations from 278 to over 300 National Park Service sites. Most of these NPS sites are fill in, that is, we have visited other sites in these states but have not been to the ones on our current list.

While we lived in Pennsylvania for almost 30 years, it was not until after we moved back to MN that we seriously began trying to visit National Park sites. Thus, there are many sites that are worth visiting, but were not on our agenda 20-30 years ago. In addition, some NPS sites are new since 2000. Our task will be made more difficult since some sites are not open until this summer, or only open certain days of the week-which might not match our travel schedule.

Our first day starts with a drive that is one of the most frequently traveled by us, I-94 and I-90 from St. Paul to Rockford, IL. As we were driving, Chris and I figured we must have made round trips on this section of Interstate once or twice a year for over 50 years. Past Rockford, the options split between through Chicago (ugh!) or southerly towards Indianapolis.

This trip is through the southerly route. While our first major goal of this trip is visiting Deb and Rebecca in the Boston area, on day two we are stopping at Flight 93 National Memorial in southwestern Pennsylvania. Unless you were born recently, you probably know United Flight 93 was bound to San Francisco from Newark. On 9/11/2001, this flight was hijacked by four terrorists who planned to crash the plane into an unknown to us federal government building in D.C.

Flight 93 was the fourth flight on 9/11 that was going to be crashed into iconic U.S. buildings. The other three flights hit the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. Flight 93 National Memorial honors the 40 passengers and crew who stormed the cockpit and forced the plane to be crashed into a field in the Allegheny Highlands of PA. Their sacrifice saved the lives of countless others who might have been in the U.S. Capitol or White House. The crash occurred but 20 minutes flying time to D.C.

Our visit started at the Visiotr Center. Exhibits re-create the day, a beautiful sunny day quickly marred by news reports out of New York City about the World Trade Towers. The crash into the Pentagon clearly makes known that the first crash was not a horrendous accident, but a planned act by terrorists. Flight 93 was delayed at departure, giving time for news of the other crashes to reach the passengers on the plane. When the plane is hijacked and turned around from its planned route, the people on board formulate plans. While the specifics are not clear, it is known they stormed the cockpit and disrupted the hijackers’ plans. The hijackers crashed the plane here in Pennsylvania, rather than in D.C. Each passenger and crew member is memorialized in the exhibit.

Outside, the visitor center has a walkway that simulates the flight path of the plane before its impact. The crash site itself is off limits, only family members are allowed within the gates during the month of September. The visitor center overlooks the crash site and impact zone. 40 groves of trees line a memorial drive that leads to an overlook of the crash site. At the closest public area to the crash site is a memorial wall. The wall looks solid, although it is made from 40 separate marble blocks, one for each person. The theme is of 40 people working together as one.

The final outdoor portion of the national memorial is the Tower of Voices. The 93 foot tall tower is a unique musical instrument, comprised of 40 chimes, each with a unique sound. Activated solely by the wind, the sounds change based on the wind patterns. (One can see wind turbines in the distance, so the musical instrument is sure to play often. We could hear it easily when we visited today.

The book store sells books about 9/11 and Flight 93. I thought it encouraging that next to books about this tragedy was a book of heart warming friendship. The book “The Day the World Came to Town” tells tales from Gander Newfoundland where 42 airline flights were forced to land on 9/11 as U.S.airspace was closed after the terrorist attacks. Chis and I both read the book and would recommend it to others.

This small town had an airport that became ignored as modern planes no longer needed to refuel here on their way to Europe. On 9/11, however, the town of 11,000 people became the emergency home for almost 6,700 people. It took days for airspace to open up and flights to be re-scheduled. The people of Gander opened their arms and their hearts. As we hear news of unspeakable horrors and tragedies, let us not forget the goodness in people also.

Ed and Chris

Altoona, PA Tuesday March 29, 2022