I prefer that ride starting from 322 past Lewistown and State College to 99 rather than taking the PA Turnpike to Bedford and Somerset even though it is a little longer. The mountains are scenic, always tempting me in the Fall to pull over and take it all in.


There is a town about 15 miles north of Altoona right off 99, called Tyrone. It's nestled in the mountainside and is easily observed from the highway. It must have been vibrant over a hundred years ago as old railroads met there and the area is rich in lumber, but whenever I pass the dusty old town that reminds me of some of the coal towns where I grew up, I want to pull off the exit and visit it..