Keystone State Park: Lake

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Keystone Lake offers boating, fishing, and swimming, and in the winter, even ice skating. The lake was constructed around 1909 by the Keystone Coal and Coke Company. They used the water in a coal washing facility about two miles away. It wasn't until 1945 that the lake was transferred to the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, and since then, it has provided recreational benefits to all of its visitors.

Keystone Lake 

Only a few cattails were still standing in this patch near the shore of the lake.

Keystone Cattail

Keystone State Park: Mountain

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Keystone State Park covers 1,200 acres of southwestern Pennsylvania, including 8 miles of hiking trails and a 78-acre lake. I was surprised by how steep some of the trails are. By the time I reached the top of the first mountain, I was ready to stop and watch the sun setting through the trees.

Keystone Sunset

Near the hiking trail ran this set of power lines. It was amazing how the trees had been cleared to form a pathway that was followed by the power lines up one side of a mountain and down the other.

Wires

Laurelville Mennonite Church Center

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Southwestern Pennsylvania abounds with hilly terrain, shady forests, and winding streams. On a trip to this area of Pennsylvania, I visited one place that has all of these, along with good hiking trails: Laurelville Mennonite Church Center. There were already leaves budding out on the forest plants, despite the recent sprinkling of snow.

Laurelville

Creation Museum: Christmas Lights

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 My evening at the Creation Museum ended with another tour of the gardens, this time with a sea of bright Christmas lights shining in the darkness. It seemed like every tree was a shimmering pillar of illumination, amplified and reflected by the still water of the lake.

Glistening Foliage

Colors ranging from pink to green to gold decorated trees, walkways, and bridges around the elaborate maze of gardens.

Glowing Trees

 

Doubling the brilliance of the decorations was the placid lake, which mirrored all lights in its range. The purple spiral below is on one side of the lake, while the reflected lights are across it.

Reflected Brilliance