Fallingwater, Running Water, and a Downpour: Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania

A few weeks ago we took the Shasta on a family camping trip Ohiopyle, PA. We have had never been to this area before and have had it on our list of places to visit for a very long time. We had been given a heads-up that roads into Kentuck Campground all have some considerations when towing a trailer. Dunbar Road that we took in from the north was very narrow and windy through the woods, this normally wouldn't have caused much concern for us but when we got to this stretch of road it was getting dark and quickly turning into a severe downpour. We found our site and all worked together to get the Shasta leveled and set-up while it was raining as hard as you've ever seen. Dinner was cooked outside on our Coleman stove under an umbrella, one of the few times we really wished we had a Stove in the camper. The rain finally stopped about the time our heads hit our pillows. The next morning and for the for the rest of the trip the weather was beautiful, even though this campground is quite large we found it to be quiet during the week and there are nice trails for hiking that start near the sites. For most visitors the biggest draw in Ohiopyle is white water rafting & paddling, with guides that cater to large groups and a small town that is all about rafting. We didn't do any paddling as we prefer flat water, but did enjoy watching boats navigate the rapids from a hike in the Ferncliff Nature Area. There's also a lot of bicycling here, the 130 mile long Great Allegheny Passage is a rail trail goes right through town and there's lots of things that cater to those passing through on bikes.

For us the big draw was to check out Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater. We are fans of FLW's  architecture and have vistited a bunch of his sites around the country.  Fallingwater is now easily one of our favorites and we left feeling like our next house will definitely be in the woods with lots of glass. The building is quite amazing and in the 1930's when it was built it must have seemed unbelievable. Another of my big take-aways was to not be afraid to explore custom solutions to get what you really want, the number of small hand-made details to make things work the way the architect or owners wanted in this house is amazing. As a bonus we also toured a 2nd FLW house called Kentuck Knob that is really close to the state campground. Kentuck Knob was designed and built about 20 years later in the 50's and is is being referred to as a FLW Grand Usonian style, being similar but larger than his typical Usonian houses. Kentuck Knob was also inspiring and well worth checking out if you are in the area.