urban views – Page 2 – Run All The Streets

No Starch and I’m Not Lion

This run was the second RATS run of the day, the earlier one being a little over 3 miles in New Homestead, described in my last post. For this run, my intention was to get to the bottom of Starch Street and the top of William Street.

Of course by “bottom of”, I’m thinking “the bottom of the story”, rather than the lowest elevation. Starch Street is purportedly at the end of Excelsior Street. I had been down Excelsior before, but stopped at the Jersey barriers at the end. Today I wanted to see how far it went “Beyond the Barrier”. I trotted up McClain and then took the quick right, left combo onto the end of Excelsior. At that point, the asphalt gave way to brick. There were a couple of cars parked there and then the barriers. I hopped over them and went a few feet. The road disappeared into a mass of vegetation. I pressed on. Maybe just past these bushes? But no, I just disturbed a deer, who noisily clambered down the slope. Perhaps in the dead of winter there’s a path. Perhaps a pith helmet and machete are required, but I’m considering this one inaccessible.

I turned back up Excelsior and found the Emerald Street Steps, which conveniently led me down to Arlington. I think Arlington is a cool street. It twists and turns, decorated with streetcar tracks and overhead wires. As it slinks down the hill, a few small streets shoot off uphill to the left or downhill to the right.

William Street was one of those going up to the left. In 2018, mudslides caused the street to be closed. They’ve made some major improvements to it, but parts are still eroding off the hillside. Cars can’t drive through anymore. On foot, however, I was able to skirt the falling hillside and emerge onto Bailey Avenue.

From here, I crossed over Mount Washington, taking Boggs down to the end of West Warrington Avenue. (I had missed that intersection in my previous travels.) I came back up the hill on Southern Avenue. Here the houses are all perched on precarious hillsides with guard dogs, and, in this case, a guard lion. Looks like he’s on the tomb of the last trespasser.

I made my way through Emerald View Park back to my car. The views here were outstanding, especially on this sunny Saturday.

Basic Questions

Does Basic Street REALLY have a spur which connects Revenue with Girder? How far down Chord Street is it feasible to run? Is Mestaland really a street? These questions and more had vexed me for some time. Early on a bright Sunday morning in October, I intended to get some answers. I parked at the West Homestead Community Park and ran back into the city. Even here, an electric scooter was dumped along the road. Niceville leads up to Armorhill, past a little New Homestead sign. Somehow, the last time I was on Armorhill, I had missed the turn for Mestaland.

Oh, now I realize why. It looks like a driveway! Anyway, I took Mestaland as it snuck behind houses on Armorhill, clinging to the top of a ridge overlooking Sandcastle. At the end were a few mobile homes stacked on foundations and several “Private Property” signs. No worries, folks, there’s nothing appealing here anyway.

Getting back to Armorhill, I took a right as it winds and becomes Panorama Street and Ingot Avenue. There are several streets jutting off to the left and I cruised down each one. An elderly man was taking his morning walk down Mariana and I asked him whether the street continued. “Not anymore” he said. Then he asked “Is that your car parked on the side of the road?” I had noticed it, too, a small blue car. “Nope not mine.”

Panorama Street became Spike Way with a playing field on the left and skying radio towers to the right. Two of these were old style towers, with guy wires going everywhere.

Now Ingot Avenue starts to drop quickly until it intersects Girder Street. On an earlier run, I had taken the right. This time I took the left. According to Strava, Basic Street should intersect Girder before it curves into Chord Street. On the other hand, Google Maps indicates that Girder curves and dead-ends before some houses, with no other intersection. Must say that the reality is closer to Google Maps.

Girder was simply a narrow roadway; but Basic, as it ends, becomes a driveway for numerous vehicles in varying states of operation. Three mildewed trailers, and some trucks guarded the driveway full of vehicles. This did not look promising, so I turned around.

Working my way back to Armorhill, I passed Mt. Rise Baptist Church and the blue car again. This time, as I ran past, I noticed a man slouching down in the front seat, sleeping. Well, look at that! Time to pick up the pace! I made another effort to find mythical Basic Street connector off of Revenue Street and only found a cell-tower and a dragon.

Just a little over three miles had answered many of my questions. No, None and Yes, if you’re keeping score.

Redstone, Morse and Chatsworth

RATS run #00459 in Hazelwood was a re-run, specifically to finish up ends of some streets that had evaded me earlier. It could be a parable, but I’ve often found that an initial attempt at covering streets fails only to be done with another try. Sometimes, honestly, it takes more than two tries. And, sometimes, I reach the conclusion that a street, or perhaps a portion of it, is simply inaccessible.

Anyway, I parked near Mill 19, the new center for Advanced Manufacturing built from the skeleton of an old steel mill. From there, I ran up Hazelwood Avenue and made a right onto Monongahela and another right to cover Redstone Way. Redstone Way is a driveway next to row houses. The last time I was there, the street was busy with kids playing and parents hanging out in the driveway. I took a pass on it that day. Today though, an early, humid Saturday morning, the road was empty and I scooched down that 20 yards of driveway as quick as a cat.

Well, not this particular cat. This kitty was very interested in getting attention, purring and meowing, but didn’t seem very quick. I made my way over to Glen Caladh, off of Gertrude. With a name like “Glen Caladh”, I’d expect a bucolic Scottish scene with babbling brooks and stone walls keeping sheep at bay. Instead, I got a series of low-slung row houses.

Morse Way is at the end of Glen Caladh. On the right, Morse Way quickly disintegrates into the woods. On the left, the long narrow alley leads to Flowers Avenue. On a previous journey, there was an antique car in pristine condition parked back here. I didn’t see it today.

I sped out to Johnston Avenue to pick up Marigold Lane then headed up the hill on Flowers. Towering hills enclose Flowers Street, which, itself rises part way up the hill. Many houses are in dire need of repair. A few have the City of Pittsburgh’s blue “condemned”sign on them.

However, at the corner of Nansen, there is a Free Little Library and a nonperishable goods cupboard. Nansen seems to be the center of “Owl Hollow”, which has a strong sense of community, steep steps and periodically, music performances.

Continuing up the hill, the grade increased from about 5% on Flowers to over 10% on Kilbourne, as it climbed to Tesla Street. This stretch is one of the “Dirty Dozen” hills in Pittsburgh. Now, I didn’t do that whole stretch at once, but rather made my the right at Tesla, completing Edington Street as it wanders into the Hazelwood Greenway. The end there was easy to see, for it had a doll house out. Or maybe an elaborately painted dog house? I don’t know. I do know that the steps from this top section of Edington down to Flowers are completely overgrown and impassable, even with that bright blue street sign at the top.

Now I tackled the steep part of Tesla, clawing out to the left at Clarion and Prescott, streets like flat knife blades stabbing into the hill. Passing Prescott, I saw a fox dart into the lush green acres of Calvary Cemetery.

Finally up on top, I lost all that elevation by going down Frayne Street and adventuring to the end of Elyria Way where a gate awaited. Returning down Hazelwood, I headed for my last adventure here; Chatsworth. This section of Hazelwood seems more open than the area areas around Flowers and Gertrude Streets. A broad, steep hillside rises directly from Irwin Street. Streets parallel to Irwin are nearly flat while the cross-streets are steep enough for steps.

Fortunately, Chatsworth is parallel to Irwin. On my way to the end of Chatsworth, I passed a pretty impressive brick church; abandoned, but a decent Dek Hockey rink and steps up to gardens. From the end of Chatsworth, downtown Pittsburgh peeks out, seemingly forever away. Mill 19, on the other hand is right there, its erector-set skeleton belying its size.

With that, I scrambled down to Irwin Street back to my car. A nice six mile tour of Hazelwood.

Around the South Slopes

I started on the flats, parked under the railroad trestle on 26th Street. I warmed up by going downhill and circling Sidney Court, a small plaza of townhouses in the heart of the South Side. They look new and relatively modern.

Now I reversed course and clambered up the 30th Street Steps to Josephine Street. My targets were a few streets off the beaten path in Arlington. Going up Northview Street, Cobden and Cologne were just a “short-cut”. One more set of steps, the Syrian Street Steps powered me over to Devlin Street, which is unexpectedly broad and flat. (It was, the first time I came over here.)

My target street, Castel, had two portions; an obvious one which quickly dead-ended and a section which curved towards and old playing field. This was the section I had missed. Some light bush-whacking was involved and got me to the end as it unceremoniously dissolved into weeds. Returning, I scurried up the steps of a building. It still must be an active garage.

Next, I ventured to the very end of Roman Way. I’d been on the street long before and was not surprised by the flat street with modest houses spaced neatly along it. Sometimes, I feel like I’m going back in time in the neighborhoods. I wouldn’t have been too surprised if Rip-Van Winkle himself had emerged from an old RV.

I did run down to Orin Street, but was thoroughly dismayed at the mass of cars parked on that dead-end. From there, I went up to Dial Way, off of Jonquil Way. Dial Way doesn’t appear on Google Maps, but there it is, street sign and all. It just goes a hundred yards or so downhill between faltering houses.

From here, I popped over to Spring Street on my way to Waite, where it sticks into St. Michael’s Cemetery. That cemetery is high on the hill and the houses across the way look like they are in the sky.

I made my way behind the yellow house onto Quarry Street. It was the day of the South Side Step Trek and I could hear the crowds down in Quarry Field. While later in the day, I did part of the Step Trek with some friends, now I was destined to find the back of St. Paul’s Monastery before climbing down the steps on St. Joseph Way. The views up here never disappoint.

Pets on the Run

To finish off September 2021, here are four runs; two in the Perry North and Brighton Heights areas, one in Fineview and one in the West End. A couple of these included run ins with pets, famous and obscure.

On a Monday evening, after work and dinner, I set out to finish out a few little streets in Brighton Heights. I must admit, this was not a particularly effective or long run. I did find the end of Weltz Way (looking amazingly like a driveway) and fixed my shoes on Cobbler Circle. However, I took a pass on Karwich and Dougan, with dusk coming on strong (spoiler alert, I came back later to finish those).

That little corner of Pittsburgh off of Speck and Haller streets is quite hilly. Crossing Benton to San Pedro, I was rewarded with a nice broad view and deer leaping up the yards.

From here, I went up Brighton to a stub of Jacks Run Road. Turns out, that wasn’t the end I needed, but it got me out of the city for a few minutes. And, NOW, I know where to get dry ice.

RATS #00452 Elliot, West End, Crafton Heights

This was another evening run, but this time I started in the West End. I always take the opportunity to run through the green tunnel on my way to check out the city view from the Overlook. Tonight, a cloud seemed ready to overtake Downtown.

But my way headed down the hill. First stop was Cameron Way which, I discovered, has the city’s pinkest concrete mixer, in addition to an old red van plugging the end.

From here, I glided downhill to explore Nittany Street where it hits Chartiers. Each end of Nittany Street has a sharp curve and changes names; one end, “Valle Rue” and the other “Elf”. Continuing, I passed Pittsburgh Classical Academy School and went up Dubois Street. The street continues through a few turns and changes names at each turn: Idola, India, back to Dubois and finally Dickens. The end of Dickens Street is strewn with old appliances and parked cars, which, honestly always feels creepy to me. But, there’s a nice little cut-over to Greenway Drive, which runs around the school again.

Back at Chartiers, I continued to Municipal Street, going up the steep hill. I just needed to do Fierro Way, an alley. Fierro Way quickly ascends behind the houses on the left. The houses mostly front Fallston Street and have little fenced in yards. The Twilight Bark was going on, every dog in each house taking up the howl, growl and bark as I ran up the alley. I was just thinking “I’m glad they’re all fenced in”, when a screen door burst open and a healthy black and white hound bounded up the back-yard steps and started chasing me. I sped up a little, hoping to get beyond the Fido’s territory, but ended up in a cul-de-sac at the end of the alley.

I now realized Fido wasn’t really chasing me, he was just happy to get out of the house. When I scolded him and told him to go home, he turned around, tail between his legs and trotted back. At his yard, he scurried down his steps.

Whew! I was so relieved that I started seeing orange and purple flamingos on my way back to my car.

This was a Saturday run after City of Bridges’ Saturday group run. During the group run, we ran across the most famous pet of the year, the Steller’s Sea Eagle, Cody. Cody was just chilling in California-Kirkbride after escaping from his cage at the Aviary. My first thought when seeing him was “Is that real?”

We took lots pictures. He was good with selfies, too. Some folks called 311 but there wasn’t much to do except ogle excessively, so we just finished our run. The epilogue is that Cody stayed free for a week or so and was re-captured in Pine Township, just north of the city. Go to the Aviary and you can see him, squawking to the other birds about the day he got away and ran with City of Bridges.

So, after all that excitement, I took a short route through Fineview, starting up Federal Street. Letsche Street scurries becomes a narrow lane in front of a housing development but steps at the end let me back onto Belleau Street. I turned down Sandusky to see the end of Catoma Street. It just dead-ends into bushes, so not much to see there. Lots of houses here are on crazy slopes. Some are well maintained but many have seen better days.

I went past the Fineview Overlook and up Warren Street, where the “Fineview” is spelled out. Off of Warren Street were a couple of stubs of streets. Ural curves around to Pilsen and stops. Several cats scurried about, likely wondering where that big bird was they had heard about.

I expected the next street off of Warren, Pilham, to be similar. However, while it started off badly, it continued around the backs of houses until it came out on Sprain Street.

Sprain grips the edge of the slope. There are a couple of houses on the high-side, while the low-side houses have fallen into disrepair. Sprain emerges onto Compromise, which ends in steps down to Middle Street in East Allegheny.

With this, I simply returned to my starting spot.

RATS #00454 in Brighton Heights and Perry North

This was very similar to RATS #00451 above. I started at my base in Riverview Park, ran south to make sure I finished Kennedy and Leroy Way. Then I headed north to get the correct section of Jack’s Run Road along with Perryview Avenue. It was another evening run, racing the twilight.

Milroy is one of the steepest, curviest roads you can drive on in Pittsburgh, but I just went down partway. After hitting the end of Bothwell, I scurried up Tretow to Watson Boulevard. That street has quite the mix of houses, some grand mansions and some decrepit row-houses.

And now, for the North section. Pretty scary going down Venture Street, while Perryview Ave was surprisingly flat, filled with brick Pittsburgh Four-Squares.

The most interesting section was Roosevelt Street off of Bascom. While it was just a small lane between 50’s style Cape Cods, there were steps leading into lower Riverview Park. Wooden and wonky, they led to a couple of houses at the bottom.

That’s it for September, 2021. I had lots of miles, aided by my 100K, but struggled to make good progress on the streets. Stay tuned for October!

One and a Half Runs

Here are two short September runs. The first, #00447, covered a few alleys in Lawrenceville. The second, which was rather disappointing, covered some territory in Hazelwood.

Modoc, Blackberry and Poe. The Ways.

Running, dodging people, cars. The Means.

Up steps, sniffing flowers

Past the last house on the alley

Craning my neck for the view

Scooting through the broken fence

Finally home. Meow.

This was supposed to be a simple run to do Cove Place and get Redstone Way, a tiny alley I had missed off Monongahela Street. I also needed the end of Marsden Street. Marsden Street went further than I expected, basically becoming a driveway as it passed the remains of a shed littering a backyard. I popped out onto Hazelwood Avenue and made my way toward Redstone Way.

However, Monongahela Street was a raceway of kids on bikes. Folks were hanging out, leaning against cars parked in Redstone Way, so I skipped it. The good weather really brought out everyone. A small black kid on a bike with wheels no bigger than my hand raced me to the end of the Monongahela. I was worried I would trip over him.

Anyway, I ran up Johnston Avenue, looking to complete Cove Place. Much to my chagrin, it was thoroughly fenced off. Damn!

So, this run only gets a “1/2”. Three miles in and only one street done.

Wavy Glass Run

RATS Run #00446 – Glass Run Road and Hays

In which Edward Runner realizes that Glass (Run Road) is dangerous and vows to never run that way again! Cross the street, hope not to die, get those salt crystals out of my eye. Amen.

Starting in one of my favorite spots, the Waterfront across from Costco, I ventured past Sandcastle and up Baldwin Road. It is one of those mixed-use areas, part heavy manufacturing, part worker housing. I picked up Glass Run Road, carefully crossing ramps leading to the Glenwood Bridge, Carson Street, Homestead and points unknown. I went up and down Haysglen Street, a small side road with maybe a dozen homes on it. Google maps calls it “Glass Run Road Extension”, but I think that’s wrong.

Glass Run Road wasn’t very busy, but still, isn’t a road I will be running on again. No sidewalk, no shoulder and some tight curves made me pretty nervous. Many drivers are cautious roads like this, but one wacko and it would be all over. I was inordinately overjoyed at the sight of Tom’s Fleet and Tire Service, as I approached the Pittsburgh-Baldwin line. BTW, Baldwin Borough looks like a gerrymandered Congressional district, curling from the Mon around parts of Pittsburgh, Brentwood, Bethel Park, South Park Township, Pleasant Hills and West Mifflin.

I continued into Baldwin plowing up the big hills to West Agnew Street. Going left would take me to Becks Run Road, but I headed right, where Agnew dissolves into the Hays Woods “neighborhood”. That’s a bit of a joke, because there are no houses up there, only trails. I’d say 99% of Hays’ population (all 400 of them) lives down on Baldwin Road. But, there are great views from Hays Woods. From the hilltops I could see the Cathedral of Learning, the Glenwood Bridge and railroad yards in Hazelwood. In spite of its deserted appearance, there is a lot going on about this area. Roughly speaking, it is slated to become a Pittsburgh park. I’ll leave the curious reader with just this link for further research.

Off of the hillsides, I tried to stay on West Agnew but lost my way. I was just thinking “this will be fine as long as I don’t get my feet wet” when I plopped into a muddy puddle. Oh well, no worries. This is a pretty wild area. The “street” I was following petered out across a creek from Glass Run Road. Bushwhacking my way back to the main trail I did get some close up views of nature.

My original plan was to find my way down to Baldwin Road from West Agnew, but that didn’t pan out. So, I retraced my steps back to West Agnew Road. There, I had a dilemma. Should I return along Glass Run Road, the most direct, but nerve-wracking route, or traipse through Arlington and the Slopes to catch the trail back to Costco? I chose the latter. Hear that, Glass Run Road? I’d rather dodge bullets in Arlington and do the Himalayan peaks of the South Side Slopes rather than run on you again!

Nonetheless, after tracing the arc of the Mon, racing trains, I returned to the waterfront with 16 more miles under my belt.

Last August

Here are a couple of runs to finish out August of 2021. It wasn’t my highest mileage month, by far, with only sixty-one miles recorded and eight street runs. But, there were other life events; a vacation, a wedding, so I’m okay with it.

RATS #00443 in Highland Park and Stanton Heights

This was an evening run to catch a few streets from Highland Park to Stanton Heights. I started by running up from North Highland Avenue to Sheridan Avenue. I circled Sheridan Court, a mid-50’s “modern” housing plan. From there, I dove into the Highland Park.

I traipsed down One Wild at the back of the Pittsburgh Zoo. I had gotten a late start, so it was getting dusky when I saw lights through the trees. A dragon! These cute white and blue creatures! Are they Chinese zodiac lanterns? This was the closest I got to the Lantern Festival.

One Wild Place meets Butler Street just before the large zoo parking lots. In prime summer season, this little stretch is clogged with cars; families going to the zoo; families getting ice cream and dogs; silly commuters trying to make their way through this mess. Now, however, the sun was setting, the zoo lots were empty and the burgers were sold out, leaving stragglers with only malts, floats and sundaes at the Lock & Dam Dog Shop.

Just past this intersection Gallatin Street rises from Butler, crosses Baker Street and steps its way into the tip of Morningside. I took a left on Witherspoon until it becomes Java Way, a little cul-de-sac between small houses. I worked my way through Morningside to Greenwood Street, where steps rise to Stanton Heights.

The dusk had given way to full blown night by the time I made through Stanton Heights to Arcade Way. Looks like high summer is over.

RATS run #00444 was a wet little run in East Liberty. Hudson Place, Armstrong Way, Tyler Way, Kalida Drive and Weldin Way were on my list this night. Following a theme, I got a rather late start; 8 PM, in a downpour. My pictures are all blurry with splotches of light, quite representative of my vision that night.

I really didn’t mind the rain too much and splashing through puddles is, after all, one of my superpowers. However, I scared the bejeebers out of someone on Weldin Way.

Weldin Way is a potholed alley which dead-ends into a parking lot surrounded by dingy apartments. Just before I made my turn down onto Weldin Way, a car turned down the alley. Normally cars are in another dimension – they speed by like I’m a rock. However, with the low light, potholes and rain, this one went slowly, in fact almost as slow as I was going. I kept hoping it would turn off somewhere, but no, it went all the way to the end of Weldin with me only a few yards behind. It parked while I splashed to the end of the lot. As it was a dead-end, I had to go back out. While I gave the car a wide berth, a woman got out of it and screamed just as I ran by. I had totally surprised her. I muttered apologies and ran out of there.

That, my friends is all for August 2021.

Short August Runs

Here are a few short runs from August.

RATS #00438 – California-Kirkbride and Marshall-Shadeland

Here’s a little Sunday funday runday. Fivish miles in California-Kirkbride and Marshall-Shadeland. With the bulk of the streets done, it was more about going down back alleys than an expansive opening of an area. Accordingly, while starting in Allegheny West, I made my way up California Avenue. Flowers at the corner of Marshall Avenue and California Avenue were as bright as the day.

Moving up Superior Street, I took a side trip on Seiffert Way to Thelma Way. On Google Maps, it looks like Thelma Way goes through. It doesn’t. Rather it ends in a tangle of weeds and branches. Seiffert Way and Ludene Way were as advertised; short, dead-end alleys. I wonder how many times I’ve used ‘dead-end’ in this blog. At least a thousand. Next stop was Bland Street. How Bland was it?

Pushing forward through the myopic, dystopic fog, I came to a ballfield and Unit 56, waiting for orders. Unit 56 looks a little forlorn. Has the Mothership abandoned it? Did no one pick it for the team? How long has it been sitting there, with weeds growing into its brain?

It was all downhill from here, though I had an AMAZING time!

This run was even shorter than the last. I just wanted to complete a couple of streets in Duck Hollow. Rather late one Tuesday evening I made my way there via a bike trail below Summerset. Trails go off the main one into old slag heaps, although this one was apparently closed.

Duck Hollow has four streets and maybe twenty houses. It is at the confluence of Nine-Mile Run and the Monongahela River. After some research I found a nice Pitt News article about it. Surprisingly enough, I sometimes run with Mike Portogallo whom they interviewed. Small world.

I do have some news! McFarren Street has been rerouted over a new bridge. Perhaps now Duck Hollow residents can get deliveries to their door. My pictures of the Hollow, itself, came out rather fuzzy between my running and the dusky light.

I went in on the new bridge and came out on the old, open grate bridge. The railroad trestle is striking in the twilight.

Finally, I came out onto the parking lot above the Mon. Sure enough, folks of all shapes and sizes were hanging out, enjoying the evening. I enjoyed the view of the river and the Homestead High Level Bridge.

Another short, evening run; this time in Brookline. July Way, Harex Way and Tariff Way were my goals. July and Harex I got, but Tariff Way continues to frustrate me.

There’s a street sign on Sussex Avenue at it’s intersection with Tariff. I dutifully did that little driveway section which, incidentally, doesn’t even show up on CityStrides or Google Maps. Meanwhile the other section of Tariff Way, off of Thistle Street, goes about twenty yards before arriving at a broad expanse of lawn. I suppose I need to go across the lawn and have a beer at the neighbors for CityStrides to recognize it. Argh!

At any rate, it was a decent little run on a hot summer’s evening. I even got to do the Stebbins Steps, again.

This is a Greenfield Re-Run. I was retracing a route which CityStrides hadn’t picked up. While that was initially a bit annoying, it turned out to be a good run with some amazing views. I love this one from the corner of Lydia and Bigelow.

From there I wrapped around a couple of alleys, some which dropped me into backyards, some of which allowed me passage. The grapevine arbor was pretty cool.

Eventually I found my way to Tasso Street, which has two distinct sections joined by the Noah Street steps and the Bud Hammer baseball field. The home team must have won, as heavenly beams of light shone down on the field.

And that was all, 4ish miles on a hot August evening. My watch recorded over 600 feet of elevation in this run. Not sure I believe that.

So, there are a few more runs in August I haven’t recorded here. I’ll get to those in the next blog. Thanks for reading along.

Hail to Pitt!

RATS #00437 from Swisshelm Park to West Oakland

So, this was a rather ambitious run from Swisshelm Park, aka “The Land Beyond Frick Park” to the high reaches of the University of Pittsburgh. Going through Frick, one of my favorite routes is along Nine-Mile Run. It has been significantly cleaned up, but I still wouldn’t splash around in it. In a heavy rain, the upstream sewage systems in sections of Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Edgewood and other communities tends to overflow into the drainage system, which, of course, flows through here.

From there, I continued through Squirrel Hill into the Land of the Universities. CMU continues to build like a beaver. It is a place of learning, though, so good advice is everywhere. This wouldn’t be the last crane I saw.

Flossie Way was one of my target “streets”. It’s actually just a little alley in Oakland. ROTC students were gathered in the parking lot, doing drills. Beyond the asphalt was a green drainage swale, to slow runoff before it hits places like Frick Park. (Though that water would never go through that park, it’s already downstream.)

Coming into Pitt’s Upper Campus, I needed to complete “Benedum Square”. It’s a cozy little courtyard in which the engineering students can decompress. One, apparently had worked too hard for so long that he was just a shell of his former self. In seven years or so, I might see his offspring.

Moving up, I got a glimpse of the deconstruction of the Learning Research and Development Building. It’s not often that a building is taken down piece by piece. Further up the hill, I got some close-up views of WQED’s tower. More chances to look up!

Deconstruction of Learning Research and Development Center

I spent some time running in and out of the streets at the top of the hill. The Veteran’s Administration has a big shiny building there. Beyond Pitt’s sparkling athletic fields you can see downtown.

After dodging students moving in, I made my way past the Peterson Event Center. The steps provide a shortcut from the winding roads.

With that I made my way back to Frick Park. This was the first run in awhile and, by the time I got to Frick with 13 miles done, I was pretty beat.