The temperatures are finally rising and the sun is making more than one appearance each week so that means summer is within sight. That also means that school will be letting out for vacation and there will be quite a bit of quality family time available. Which generally means that after about the first week of no school the litany of “I’m bored... there’s nothing to do” will start.
Few things brighten a child’s face on a 80 degree day quite as much as “Do you want to go get an ice cream cone?” If that ice cream cone comes with a cool history lesson then you have also managed to do your duties as a parental unit as well. (A total win-win situation.) So pile the family in the car and head over to Franklin Pa Dairy Queen located at 1578 Pittsburgh Rd Franklin, Pa 16323 which is also known as Route 8 South. Why drive 40 mins for an ice cream? For the chance to see up close and personal one of the 4 remaining Apollo Space Mission Training Capsules and to sit in an airplane booth while enjoying your frosty treat. These training capsules were used back in the early 70’s to help train Navy recovery personnel for when the manned capsules came back from space. Most of these training capsules were sold for scrap metal when they were done being used and now only 4 survive. One is in storage at the Smithsonian Institute, one is on display in Cape Canaveral, Fl and the two remaining are privately owned, including this one on display in Franklin.
On your drive to the Dairy Queen if you came from Franklin, then you went past Pone Lane. (it is the road to your left that has the stop light). If you want to plan to make a great day trip out of your ice cream adventure then be sure to check out the Sandy Creek Trail. Take Pone Lane all the way to where it comes to a “T” and turn right onto Belmar Dr. You will be on Belmar Dr for a little over 3.5 miles when you will see the parking for the trailhead on your right. Word of caution, the road is extremely steep and curvy near the end of the trip. In fact it is so steep that I smelled burnt brakes on the mini van the very first time I made the trip so proceed with care the last half mile or so. Don’t fret though, the prize at the bottom is well worth the white knuckle drive to get there. The Belmar Bridge is a part of the Sandy Creek Trail and is an old railroad bridge that has been updated to a bike/hike path. The trail itself is paved and the total length is 12 miles and has 7 bridges (including the Belmar Bridge) and one tunnel. Whether you hike it or bike it, it is a great excuse to get the large ice cream since you will be burning so many calories.
Once you have had your ice cream and trail fix it is time to head back to Franklin for one last glimpse of history. There is a fantastic Indian artifacts display located within the Venango County Courthouse. If you are leaving the trailhead for Sandy Creek you can just go straight back up Belmar Dr past the Pone Lane turn, at the intersection of Congress Hill Rd (which comes from the left) the road turns into Bully Hill Rd. No, I really did not make that up Congress Hill does turn into Bully Hill. Once you have gone down the hill it will turn into 3rd Street and then goes past the former Joy Manufacturing. Back to the ice cream topic, I was devastated to learn as a child that this particular Joy plant was NOT in fact the one that makes ice cream cones. From 3rd street you will come to Liberty St. here you will turn left and be back in downtown Franklin and the County Courthouse will be on your right. The entrance to the courthouse is located in the rear of the building and be prepared to empty all your pockets to go through the metal detector. The artifacts including arrowheads and pottery are on display in the second floor hallway which is open to the public.
Hopefully this summer inspired excursion will have your family of cosmonauts smiling and give a fun history lesson for their “what I did this summer” essay. As always please remember in the words of the great JRR Tolkien “Not all those who wander are lost”
As Seen in Meadville Tribune
