This month has been very busy for me, but not just because of work. We had our second Regional Action Town Meeting at the beginning of the month. We spent the beginning of that day cleaning up Central Park in Brownsville. We picked up trash, mowed the grass, cut back overgrowth, and removed invasive species and Poison Ivy. There was only a short amount of time between that work and our meeting, which focused on recapping town projects and providing resources for small businesses.
Later that week we had the Mon River Sojourn, an eight mile paddling trip from Rice’s Landing, up Ten Mile Creek, that ended in Fredericktown. I was sweep for the trip, so I got to stay in the back and take it slow, making sure no one got left behind or lost. It was a great sunny day to be on the water.
The following day I went to the Carnegie Library Summer Reading Extravaganza in Pittsburgh to promote the SCA and the River Town Outreach Corps. It was a fun day in the shade, talking to people about our program and promoting our towns, and outdoor recreation. I got to meet and talk to a lot of people about what we do, that I would have never met without the event.
RTOC as a whole did the Oyster Race in Pittsburgh. A long hot day for running and biking, we didn’t do too bad. We had 2 out of 5 bikes break, which left all of the biking legs to Sam, Marah, and Ryan. But they were champs, and at the end of the day we all celebrated the fun we had.
We did a clean-up in California, where we removed a lot of overgrowth and invasives to clear a view corridor to the river from the park and the road. It was impressive how much we were able to clear in one a few hours time. When we were done you were actually able to see that there was a river there.
I had family and friends visit at the end of this month. I got to spend a week being tour guide. We spent a lot of time at Ohiopyle swimming and eating. My Aunt and Uncle went fly fishing in Confluence, we floated down the Youghiogheny River, attended the Lavender Festival, visited the Flight 93 Memorial, and even played trivia and sang karaoke at a local bar. It was a long and exciting week that made me appreciate all that is available to do in this part of Pennsylvania.
As the summer gets hotter I find myself wanting to spend more and more time on and in the water. Taking advantage of biking the trail and finding places to go down and get in the Yough is essential, just like trips to Ohiopyle, and Ligonier Beach. Though I can’t deny that I’m excited for a trip back home to NJ in July and a visit to the beach and my own hometown river waters.
