Today I go behind the scenes to show what I saw while reviewing the digital map a page or two away from Pittsburgh.
Screen captures come from Excel 2007. Minor edits made using MS Paint.
Other images are sourced as noted.
TL;DR
- Introduction
- Fun with Maps
9. Bear Rocks, PA
8. Seven Springs, PA
7. Hidden Valley, PA
6. Champion, PA
5. Mammoth, PA
4. Luxor, PA
3. Latrobe, PA
2. Acme, PA
1. Kecksburg, PA - More Fun with Maps
Introduction
The cartographic review of Pennsylvania rolls on. This section is approximately two screen east of Pittsburgh. It's also a few screens west of Cheesetown because those pages didn't make the cut to be written about in Fun with Maps.
This is part of the section of David Guardia's ride through the state which was never documented. What prompted him to follow this path? As far as he's concerned, it was the route he had to take to reach East Palestine, Ohio; he would have gone there, anyway, although not for the motorcycle maintenance and repair he discovered he needed. In any event, it's safe to say he had been looking at digital (or even paper) maps.
What was he looking at? What caught his eye? What surprises did he find?
While I can't answer those questions for him, I can answer them for myself.
In our physical offline world, the trip would have been shorter and more efficient (not to mention cheaper) had David Guardia used some navigational aid, be it GPS or a Viking Sunstone. It also would have been a much more boring ride for him (and for us as readers).
Maps are a vital part of The GHAWG Universe, both for me as storyteller and for the characters. As much as I want to have scenes take place at certain locations, the ultimate decider is THE MAP: If the location doesn't make sense for the story, then I can't use it for that story. On the other hand, the map may show me a location I hadn't considered before but makes perfect sense both for utility and symbolism.
While reviewing digital maps, there are times I find locations which get me scratching my head and scruff, get me laughing, or even get me wondering "WTF is this??" This post features what I discovered a short distance west of Pittsburgh.
Fun with Maps
As with earlier editions of Fun With Maps, a few places on the map
… I had known about over the years;
… are better known by their more famous alternatives; and
… I just hadn't expected at all.
While it's true that David Guardia jumped over a huge chunk of Pennsylvania after leaving Allentown, that's not to say there was nothing interesting in the digital map. It just means that either
- what I saw didn't fit into the story I had in mind; or
- that I couldn't mold the story to take advantage of what I had seen on the map.
While in Ohio, David Guardia was always going to end up at East Palestine. However, it was by dumb luck that he would end up in Defiance.
This is my fifth look at the 325 mile stretch the story skipped over. Here is the 5th set of discoveries in this section which I had skipped:
Just to remind myself that this map was part of Pennsylvania, I added the label PENNSYLVANIA. Then I highlighted 9 locations. This map isn't directly tied to any other map, so I added the label Cheesetown ▬►► for reference. Here are the 9 locations in reverse order of interest:
9. Bear Rocks, PA
It's safe to say that this region was named decades (if not centuries) before the Cocaine Bear entered the popular culture in 2023. Given that Pennsylvania means "[William] Penn's Woods," it's not surprise that bears can be found throughout the state. (As for the cocaine, that's where the human beings live.)
Bear Rocks is about 2 miles from another town mentioned in this post, Acme (at Number 2). It is a town of 1,111 people located in Fayette Country, and it has combination suburban and rural ambience. According to Niche.com, 98% of residences are owned; so many people own their own homes in Bear Rocks that the median rent can't be calculated.
8. Seven Springs, PA
This area could have been named after a person or a geographical feature unique to the area where it's located. Perhaps it really is named after a unique feature, which would be 7 natural springs.
Seven Springs, Pennsylvania is located in Somerset County. If I go by the search results I get using Presearch.com, the biggest attraction there is the ski resort bearing its name.
7. Hidden Valley, PA
Hidden Valley Ranch dressing comes to my mind, although I was under the impression that either Hidden Valley was a fictional place or that if it really existed it would be somewhere in California.
Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania is an unincorporated community within Jefferson Township inside Somerset County. Many search results on Page 1 are for the winter resort there.
6. Champion, PA
The supergroup Queen, with lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, is known worldwide for many top hit songs; one of these is arena anthem "We Are the Champions". Besides, who doesn't want to be a champion, and who doesn't want to be a winner?
A few screens east of this section of digital map is an actual place named Queen. The section of digital map where I noticed Queen didn't have enough place names which grabbed my attention, so-- reluctantly-- I shifted the digital map away from Queen.
Parts of Champion, Pennsylvania are located within the counties of Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland.
5. Mammoth, PA
Wooly mammoths were last seen during the last Ice Age, when sea level was much lower. Some skeletons can be found in some museums worldwide. A few "intrepid" scientists and researchers have even tried using mammoth DNA to create a living mammoth. You know that saying: Be careful what you wish for, because you may just get it.
With a population of 520 as of 2023-July-01, Mammoth, Pennsylvania is a Census Designated Place (CDP). As a CDP, it's large enough to have its own place name, but it isn't considered a legal entity such an an incorporated place (city, town, or village).
4. Luxor, PA
The most famous Luxor is in Egypt. During the reign of the pharaohs, Luxor also included the city of Thebes. The 2nd most famous Luxor I know about is hotel-casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada on the famed Vegas Strip.
Luxor, Pennsylvania is a town of 214 people located within Westmoreland County. Despite its size, it's big enough to have great restaurants and attractions.
3. Latrobe, PA
Before I wrote this post, I knew Latrobe as the home of Rolling Rock Beer. After doing a bit of research, I discovered that the City of Latrobe can claim these two people as favorite sons: Hall of Fame golfer Arnold Palmer and legendary television personality Fred Rogers (better known as "Mister Rogers").
2. Acme, PA
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, the word acme
: the highest point or stage
the acme of his fame
also : something or someone that represents perfection of the thing expressed
a system that is the acme of efficiency
It's mainly for the 2nd reason that many companies made the word acme part of their corporate identities.
However, if you grew up watching this guy, you would have a totally different opinion of this word:
Source: /Film (SlashFilm)
As noted earlier, Acme is about 2 miles away from Bear Rocks, only Acme is east of Bear Rocks. It's located in Westmoreland County.
1. Kecksburg, PA
Although other UFO encounters have taken place before and since, the Roswell, New Mexico incident from 1947 is on a level all its own. A number of others are on the level just below Roswell. Kapustin Yar has been called the "Russian Roswell" (or "Soviet Roswell"). The Kecksburg Incident was a big enough deal to be the basis for the Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2, Episode 2 of titled "Carbon Creek" when the Vulcans crash landed on Earth and needed to leave the planet as soon as possible.
Kecksburg, Pennylvania is an unincorporated community in Mount Pleasant Township, located in Westmoreland County. Most searches using the keywords about "kecksburg, pennsylvania" or history "kecksburg, pennsylvania" returned results focused on the UFO incident from 1965. Does this mean I should start using artificial generative intelligence apps? I don't know.
More Fun with Maps
Given that 325 miles of Pennsylvania roads were crossed without comment in the zapfic serial, I will continue to go back to review the maps to see what David Guardia may have missed on his ride, and what I may have missed
What other place names can I find within this stretch of Pennsylvania? Will I find another place as attention-getting as Cheesetown? Let's find out together as I continue my research and we have more fun with maps.
As more posts in this series are published, they will be added to the pinned post "GHAWGnav: Navigating The GHAWG Universe". Thanks for taking time to see how this part of The GHAWG Universe is being built.
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[!!]See you next time for another edition of Fun with Maps!
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