As I followed the Allegheny up into the Appalachian Mountains the forest grew dense with conifers. Large lumber mills and old mill towns, huge industrial parks stacked with oil refinery equipment and old pumpjacks tucked back in the trees along the roadway.

I found Buckaloons Campground just before the intersection of Route 62 & Route 6, the famous route that winds through all of Pennsylvania. 

Being a Wednesday the campground was mostly empty so I chose one of three tent-only sites, less than fifteen feet from the west bank of the Allegheny River. As I pitched my tent and the sun began to set over the surrounding green ridges, an elderly couple toured the paved parking lot on a pair of beach cruiser bicycles. Everything about them was so casual, slowly turning and weaving around, making as much as possible of the limited asphalt.