As you might have guessed from Monday’s post, Faith and I like to walk. My wife likes to walk too. Oddly enough, my wife and I would both like to walk farther than Maddie will agree to, but I digress.
When we were in Pittsburgh, we were surprised to learn that the Pittsburgh Steelers were holding their first ever Family Fan Fest at Heinz Field on Sunday. We decided to go, but with a baseball game at PNC Park (next to Heinz Field) and the Pittsburgh Regatta still underway, we weren’t sure where to park. We decided to park at Station Square and walk over.

Station Square is on the west side of the Monongahela River. Heinz Field is on the North Shore of the Allegheny River. Our walk involved crossing the Monongahela via the Smithfield St. Bridge and the Allegheny via the Roberto Clemente Bridge (on the way over).
We chose the Clemente Bridge because there are more restaurants at that part of the North Shore. On the way back, we could cross the Allegheny via the Ft. Duquesne Bridge. It’s part of the Interstate highway system that goes through downtown Pittsburgh, but it has a very wide sidewalk on the west side.
End-to-end, we clocked in at just under 4 mi (6.4 km), but, as you will see in the gallery, I was able to get a bunch of night shots over the river on our way home. I’m saving the Family Fan Fest photos (I love alliteration) for another day.
Yes, I know, it’s One-Liner Wednesday, I’m over 250 words into this post and I haven’t even mentioned the one line. I had to set the stage, establish the context…I know, I’m still talking and I’m no closer to the one line. Actually, it’s three lines – please don’t groan – if I don’t make it three lines, I’ll have to set a second, perhaps a third stage and establish even more context.
As we were leaving Station Square, Greta (my GPS) pointed us north, as expected. I assumed we would be retracing the route by which we came, which was the way we went home the night before. However, (sorry, a little more context) the night before, we parked at the Gateway Clipper dock which is at the other end of Station Square. You wouldn’t think it would make much difference, but (here comes the one-liner…finally):
“In one quarter mile, turn left into the Wabash Tunnel.”
“What the…Greta!!! We’re not driving a freaking locomotive.”
The Wabash Tunnel is a former railway tunnel that opened in 1903 for passenger and freight service into Pittsburgh via the Wabash Bridge. The bridge was torn down in the late 1940s (the piers remain standing) and the tunnel sat unused for decades. It served as a bus garage for a while and was later converted to an HOV lane into Pittsburgh. The minimum number of passengers requirement has now been permanently waived, and the tunnel was indeed available for the ride back to our hotel.”
“Oh cool, we get to drive through the Wabash Tunnel!”
Imagine that final one-liner spoken in Dan’s little boy voice.
Some of the still images in the gallery are taken from Greta’s dashcam video. The entire video is available for viewing at the end. If you’re at all claustrophobic, you may want to skip the video, and you definitely want to avoid this tunnel. If you click on the upper left photo, the slide show will be in the order of our walk.
This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. You can follow this link to see the one-liners from the other participants.
Buckle-up!
I’m surprised your wife lets you and Greta leave home. :-) Dash cam video? You need a post about the what, where, when and why. :-) I couldn’t watch the video, I got a ‘private’ message. :-) Have a good Wednesday, Dan.
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Oh, Judy, don’t get my wife started on Greta. Something about how I listen to Greta but don’t listen to…yeah, let’s not go there. I guess I forgot to publish the video. It’s available now if you want a look.
I do have a draft post about Greta and her camera.
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Now that surely was a perfect mini vcation for you. Tunneling like a train! 👍🏻
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I know! Driving through a railroad tunnel. It was pretty cool.
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While I am generally claustrophobic, I love tunnels.
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That’s funny. Have you ever been stuck in one? These can back up pretty bad during rush hour and before sporting events.
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😱Eeek! Maybe slowed down once or twice in the river tunnel in NOLA but too young to know the difference. But now that I’ve seen What Dreams May Come I feel differently about them.
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Sorry – I didn’t mean to stir up those thoughts.
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Absolutely not… maybe because i see how they are built? I hate them.
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Well, this one was built the old fashioned way, by hand. One of my dreams is to take Amtrak through the Cascade Tunnel.
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PS couldn’t play the video. 😞
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I think I fixed that.
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Damn that is one long tunnel! Wheeeee! Did you raise your arms and lift your feet?
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I think we were too busy looking for a train :-)
I did say (once or twice) “this is so cool”
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Cool photos, Dan. Like the others, I can’t see the video, which is “unavailable.” As the newscasters are wont to say, “Film at 11…”
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I blame the production crew for the video, Mike. Sorry about that. It is available now. Thanks!
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Nice night photos. I liked the third one-liner best about how cool it would be to go through that tunnel. Driving in Pittsburgh is one of my favorite things to avoid doing.
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Ha! That last sentence is a great one-liner, Frank. I think I only like it now, because I choose to do it. When I had to do it, I took public transit as often as I could.
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Your wordiness today made up for Linda’s lack of it. I’m glad to see that the Steelers are holding a Family Fest. The Packers have had Family Night for 18 years and they fill the stadium. I hope it becomes a similar event for your team.
In my head, I could hear your giddy laughter at driving through that tunnel. Awesome photos, Dan!
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Ha ha, Mary, that’s exactly what I told Linda in my comment. The Steelers had a good crowd for the first time trying this event. In fact, I think they had way more people than they planned for, judging by the line to get in and the lines at the concessions. They only had two levels open for seating, but they were packed during the mid-point of the practice. I think they’ll draw a larger crowd in the future. I’d love to see the place full!
That was a fun ride :)
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So, what do you make of Maddie’s opinion of longer than normal walks? Is she a creature of habit, do you suppose?
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She doesn’t have much stamina. She loves to walk, and she let’s you know (leaning into you to get you to turn) when she wants to do the long version of our normal walk, but she isn’t up for the really long walk. Our first Setter would go almost anywhere. The ones since have been a bit on the wimpy side.
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I applaud Maddie for knowing her limits and being able to let you know, “Home, please.” When I kept horses, our setter joined us on trail rides – that dog would cover at least three or four times the distance we did – back and forth and up and back. On one particularly long ride, he reached his limit and couldn’t go any further. My husband carried him on horseback. We probably should have paid more attention.
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We took our first Setter on a hike, on which we got lost and she got over-tired. I ended up carrying her. But, since we ended up back-tracking our way to our car (instead of the loop we were supposed to make) she was very helpful in letting us know where we had been.
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You call your GPS “Greta”? My car’s name is Greta :)
I call my GPS “Bitch” … because she is.
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That’s what my wife calls Greta! The previous GPS’s default voice was a bit on the nagging-bitch side of life. This one has a pleasant voice, but she’s a bit unstable.
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By unstable do you mean ‘turn left in 300 metres’ means driving directly into the lake?
I think my GPS is a form of advanced AI and she hates me ;)
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Was she a gift? I mean, maybe she’s on s mission.
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Gasp! She WAS a gift!! Now I’ll have to watch Husband a little more closely! ;)
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Great pics and video. I felt a bit claustrophobic driving through the tunnel but that’s part of the fun.
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It was close-in, compared to the other built-for-cars tunnel options, but it was fun. Thanks
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I enjoy your side comments as well as your posts, Dan. Oh, that tunnel is uh……long. Whew! I’d be getting a little claustrophobic there. “Are we there yet?” in Lois’ little girl voice.
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It is long, and without the amenities of the other tunnels (like marked escape routes every 100′. Access is controlled, so there’s only traffic in one direction at a time.
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You know that old superstition about holding your breath for the entire length of a tunnel? Some tunnels are easier than others. You have to wonder where that started, perhaps in the days of steam and smoke.
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If you watch(ed) the video, there are several cylindrical objects hanging from the ceiling. Those are fans, that are designed to help the airflow. I think they reverse so they are always in the direction of the traffic. If you held your breath through this one, you might pass out :)
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I love how we are with you in all of your adventures! Dear Greta is a hoot!
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Thanks! I’m glad you enjoy coming along. I’m not sure everyone would enjoy the tunnel experience. My wife kinda cringed just watching the video. The tunnel has been there for over 100 years. Although, I’m not sure if that’s a comfort to everyone.
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I figure it’s lasted this long, so why not while I go through! LOL
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Exactly.
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Great night pictures! If they were from camera, they would be all blurs..again, an interesting Wednesday read!👍
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my camera
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I have lots of blurry ones, too. The camera has a “handheld night landscape” feature that I love using. I think it takes multiple images and stitches them together to build the result.
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Greta did good! That tunnel sure was long. I kept looking at the clock in the video to make sure it wasn’t looping.
Really nice night photos too.
I call my GPS unit Stuck up Stephanie.
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Thanks Deborah. I love the way the colored lights reflect on the river. I can’t take enough of those photos. I just hope I’m not over-doing it.
It’s funny how the women seem to be negative toward the GPSs. Greta did do good on this one, this was a fun addition to a great trip. All the tunnels through Mt Washington are about a mile long.
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That’s a long one! And one lane each way, eek! I probably wouldn’t enjoy that as much as you did. I don’t mind the ones with two lanes, and divided, like the Cumberland Gap. Not much worry about head-on collisions then.
Greta has a cam? Wow, Dan, faaancy!
Pretty city lights :)
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It’s about 2/3 of a mile long. About as long as the Ft Pitt tunnel I featured before, but not as long as the Liberty Tubes that are a little bit south. I don’t think they ever have two-way traffic, or even two lanes of traffic. The gates at both ends control access. I think the reason Greta didn’t send us through the night before was that the access was in the other direction.
This is a replacement Greta. Previous unit is lost.
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The tunnel shot could be an opening of a film. Super stuff, Dan
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Thanks John. It does tend to set the stage.
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:-)
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I’ve heard about the Wabash Tunnel. Can’t remember what I heard but long narrow tunnels are definitely not my cup of tea!
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It’s been in the news a couple of times, for planned mass transit use, including a monorail “people mover” they were planning in the 60s. Once you get well into that hole, it starts to feel smaller and smaller.
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I enjoyed the video, but I prefer shorter and bigger tunnels. :) I always recall Stephen King’s book. “The Stand” when I’m in them.
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Ha ha. This is the stuff of horror scenes, neither short nor big but efficient and I like tunnels and bridges.
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Strange tunnel, like a big tube. Does it go through a hill or under water? It kind of looks like it is above ground.
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Well above ground, through Mt Washington. The tunnel originally exited to a railroad bridge across the Monongahela River. It was an active navigable river serving numerous steel mills and mining operations in WV. The bridge had to offer good clearance to boats and barges.
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Reblogged this on Ancien Hippie.
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Thank you!
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What a great vacation. Cool photos!
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Thanks Jennie. It was so much fun.
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That tunnel looks treacherous to me. How often have there been accidents in there?
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I don’t think they ever allow two-way traffic. There are gates controlling access at both ends. Still, I was glad we weren’t there during rush hour.
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GREAT photos, I like that you keep your post on one-liner Wednesday so short, and I could nto watch the video after the few seconds of tunnel images because i am sooo claustrophobic about tunnels.
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Sorry about that. That’s why I included the still images. I figured some people would be bothered by the video.
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Am wowed by your night pics – beautiful! Love the conservatory all glass building. The roof part of the one in Pasadena’s Huntington Garden looks very similar. Nice that Faith is such a good sport in letting you do your Thurs. Door addiction;) Now I’m off to see the video – if it bothers me, I’ll be back (teasing).
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Thanks. The night shots along the river are my favorites. I love seeing the reflections of the different colored lights.
Deborah mentioned the Conservatory in Golden Gate park being similar. Maybe these came from the same kit 🙂
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I kept on watching for the light at the end of the tunnel. It was a very long one indeed. Great narrative and photos, Dan. 😳
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Thanks. At least it wasn’t an oncoming train 😏
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:D
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Lovely photos and a VERY cool tunnel!! :D
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Yay, a tunnel fan! Thanks Linda.
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I’m so impressed with the fact a boy Dan had his dream come true, I am sure there were bursts of joy and awe intermingling. 🎆🎉
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It was fun. I think we all need little kid moments.
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Oh, the photographs were outstanding and I scrolled through twice. The dark ones were my favorite but then the bridge “remains” were cool and awesome.
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Those bridge supports are massive. I’m glad they kept them, but I’m not sure they had much choice. In glad you liked the photos.
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