Cathedrals of Fire and Ice: Greenwood Furnace

We had an ice storm in central Pennsylvania a few days ago, and it's been one of those gifts that just keeps on giving. The ice was STILL on the trees in some places on this day, but conditions to go and see it in all its glory were absolutely treacherous; in fact, among the worst I've seen.

We'd stayed in the house for a couple of days and were longing to get out. So we planned a trip that included food from nearby Couch's in McAlevy's fort, and then a hike around one of our local state parks.

The state park we planned to visit was Whipple Dam, but that was just until we made our first stop, which was to drop off our recycling (plastic, paper, bottles, cans, boxes, etc.) at a recycling drop-off on the edge of Pine Grove Mills. My husband carefully slid his Impala up the icy driveway and perched it on another huge, slippery, semi-melty sheet of ice. I minced my steps as I made my way across the ice. Wow. Conditions there were BAD!

We drove up over Pine Grove Mountain, and what a treat for the eyes: every single tree was shining with ice in the mid-day sunshine. It was the best ice show I've seen . . . well, in quite a while, and I've seen a thing or two. There is a vista on top called Jo Hays Vista, but the view down into the valley was really nothing at all; the entire SHOW was happening up on top!

Unfortunately, we were hungry and we had no idea the conditions of the pull-in spots, so I simply oohed and ahhed as we flew past, feeling happy to see it all but unhappy not to be stopping for pictures! (Later, on our way back through, the shining sun was gone and the scene was a shadow of its former glory, much to my dismay; and once again, we did not stop.)

Once we had been fed, we decided that Greenwood Furnace (split by the main road, route 305) was probably a better bet than Whipple Dam, which is sort of tucked back into the woods on some gravel roads. We anticipated that any road in shadow would be ice, and we were pretty much right.

So off to Greenwood Furnace we went. And the main parking lot by the park office was fine. It is gravel and it had been plowed, but where were the huge piles of snow that we have on our side of the mountain? Where? I guess they didn't get as much snow as we did!

We walked all around the park and discovered many of the trails to be simply so slick they were unwalkable. I did the crunch-walk, which is when you sort of smack the heel of your foot down IN a bit, and then when you have purchase, take a step. I alternate this with the crouching duck-walk and peepie-steps, and I find that among the three, I am able to ambulate.

Greenwood Furnace was originally an iron-making village, from about 1834 to 1904. According to the park website:

"The furnaces were hot (3,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and cast clouds of smoke and cinders into the air, which rained down on grass, people, livestock, and buildings; rendering everything sooty and gray. At night, the fire’s red glow lit the sky, probably allowing residents to walk about without lanterns. Greenwood Furnace was a village built around an inferno."

What you are looking at in this photo is reconstructed furnace stack No. 2. Yes, you've seen it on these pages before, and I can promise you'll see it again! But here's a thing that is special about this photo: I had never before seen the furnace stack covered in ice, and on this day, it was! It was amazing and I took many pictures of what felt like - to me - a cathedral of fire and ice.

The soundtrack song is this one: Pat Benatar, with Fire and Ice.