Kennerdell Overlook

We ventured off today to pay a visit to the Rockland Cemetery where Linda’s brother & parents are buried. We wanted to put some flowers out and clean up around their stones. Cousin Bonnie went along with us as her father is also buried here. After our tasks were done we wandered a little wonderin’ how many of the people with the same last name might be related to them. Linda said some day she would like to do some research on her ancestry.
After the cemetery we drove to the Kennerdell Overlook. Linda & I had come here before but it was rainin’ so hard we didn’t get out to see it, honestly I don’t remember it. The overlook is situated on a bend in the Allegheny River south of Franklin and Cranberry, were we are stayin’. The river runs through a deep mountain valley in this region and the overlook is quite spectacular.

This is the view to the north

Cousin Bonnie & I  and the southerly view

After the overlook we continued on to Kennerdell to check out a campground in the Clear Creek State Forest. Turns out the access road to the campground is gated off and you must have to walk in. So Bonnie suggested we go down the road further cause she thought there was a campground further down. Turns out it wasn’t couple a hundred yards down the road, a cute commercial camp between two creeks.
We continued on down the road and what do I spot over in a field? An operating oil well. These wells worked on a push rod system, back & forth, running several wells from one central motor.


There are still some of these operating around here if you can find them. Linda says these where everywhere when she was growing up here and they used to ride the push rods going back & forth, as well as make torches out of cat tails soaked in the oil that collected in barrels from the wells. You’d never know today that this was the home of Quaker State, Pennzoil & Kendall Oil Companies. There’s not a clue left, no offices, the refineries are all gone. The only evidence of the once strong oil industry is the clean up efforts that have been ongoing for many years.
Well that’s all for today. Until the next time. Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.