Pennsylvania - The Rust Belt

When most people think of Pennsylvania, they think of Philadelphia - maybe of a Philly Cheese Steak. Sometimes they may think "Amish country" too. Or if you pay attention to great schools, "Penn State" may come to mind as well. What most people don't think of, or see, is that it's part of the "rust belt." What once was a thriving, industrial area has long since lost its economic prowess. The former numerous manufacturing factories now appear to be rusted husks of what used to be there.  Why is that? In the late 80's / early 90's, many of these businesses with American labor went out of business due to over-saturation of low-cost manufactured goods from overseas. The steel and coal industries were two huge commodities to this issue. Chinese steel is much cheaper than American due to the exponentially lower wages and working conditions China subjugates its workers to. The movement to overseas labor created loss in income to flourishing communities that were made up of blue collar workers. The factories were shutting down, the money was growing scarce, so these workers took themselves and their families to find better work opportunity elsewhere. So now, many old pieces of farm equipment lay there, rusting away. There are multiple tiny towns of the people who didn't leave. They look like they're stagnant, and it wouldn't be an area with many opportunity to raise children in. Some families do get by in these areas. There's also a lot of farmland being used to its potential when going through there.

I recently graduated from the great school I referenced before, with my Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. My husband and I drove up so I could walk at the commencement. To avoid tolls, we went on a lot of back roads. A lot of people taking the main highway won't see the decaying towns, and rusted equipment you see when going through these back roads. I managed to take some photos of the beautiful landscape there, and some of what I'm talking about. Rusty, worn-out, industrial equipment. I didn't get as many as I would have liked, at times the car was going too fast to get my camera out in time to take a picture. Here's what I got below:

A lot of my family is one the West Coast, and haven't really seen the winter trees the North East has. They were glistening and iced around, so they looked very beautiful to me. I had to show them off. You can see the window reflection from my car in the sky if you look closely.

Here's a little rest stop we drove by. We didn't stop at it, but it definitely looked old school and small. I also liked the mountain the background. 

One of the first pieces of farm equipment I saw. I'm not sure if it was still in use, but it's a great representation of the rustic scenery that's mixed in with the landscape out there. 

Here's more trees. They may not be exciting if you're used to them, but they look so eerie and beautiful to me - like a witch could have a hut in there. I grew up surrounded by the redwoods, so seeing these scrawny, bent branches always gets me excited - especially with the snow surrounding them. 

Here's some flat land. If you click on the photo, you'll be able to see some rolled hay bales in the distance. Through most of this trip, there's be miles and miles of farmland like this. There were mountains in the background, which was nice.

Speaking of mountains, here is a beautiful shot I got of one when we were turning a corner. I also got a zoomed in one of the shimmering, snowy trees on top too. 

Here was a farm I passed on the way there. The picture with the tree in front sums up a lot the landscape out in rural Pennsylvania. The farm looked like it was in use, but run down nonetheless. You can see all of the little houses and buildings in the background, like a little community. Those may have been part of a town, like a schoolhouse or church, or just someone's houses. With the amount of land people out there can own though, a lot of it may have been owned by the same person. I also think I can make out a truck stop in the back, but I'm not sure. Just to clear it up, it was in the beginning of winter, so the dead looking crops really isn't an indication of if this was a working farm or not. It all isn't in the best shape though. There just isn't too much opportunity for those raised in these conditions, it's mostly family generational farming. 

This photo featured a big lot. It all looks like it's owned by the same person, because the house, sheds, and barns are all so close together. I made this photo black and white because the scenery looked like it could belong in the time where black and white photos were the only option. This farm definitely looked to be in working order. The ranch fence was in healthy condition, and nothing seemed to be in disarray. 

The hills in the background really showcased a lot of the landscape I saw. Distant mountains, winter trees, some rolling hills, and flat farmland. Plus you can see farms and other buildings in this broad shot. 

More equipment standing near a barn. You can only see a corner of that building though. I can imagine that at one point, that equipment was a bright and a shiny silver. Now though, it's faded into a darker, gunmetal grey. It looks like it's been standing there for years now. 

This photo was on the way home. We had to get up early to get home in time, so the morning mist hadn't evaporated yet. The mountains look more rolling and small in this photo, but they were bigger when you got closer to them.

This was one of the last pieces of equipment I saw. It was isolated on top of a hill, so I'm going to guess it's not in use anymore - but I can't say that for sure. 

The last farmhouse we passed by on the way home. By this time we had passed by so many, they all looked pretty similar. I hadn't been able to get pictures of most of them, but if you compare this photo to the last one I had of a farm, you can see similar equipment and house styles. 

That was my trip when driving up to Pennsylvania State. I didn't see any Amish, I didn't eat any Philly Cheese Steaks; however, I did get to see a part of the state that are really not spoken enough about. It's places like this that made Pennsylvania go red in our last presidential election - so maybe they shouldn't be so underestimated all of the time. They made up a majority of what I saw, and they have a big voice overall in the state. Unfortunately, when most think of Pennsylvania, all of this is vastly overshadowed by the very small, but loud, parts of the state. I hope this blog was able to show people who haven't traveled through here that there's much more to every place than what we think of. For example, if you think of California, you may think of the boojee L.A. scene. It's a hot area with deserts, bad drivers, and rich people, right? Well, sort of. There's a lot of people in L.A., but that area is very disconnected from the rest of the state. They're in their own bubble. The Bay Area would probably be your next thought, but again, the state is more than just those two areas. There's places not by the ocean at all, in the Eastern part of the state. There's also where I'm from, Humboldt County, that no one thinks about or knows exist. Many people think the Bay Area is Northern California, then it hops straight to Oregon. Actually though, there's at least 6-10 hours between the Bay Area and Oregon. Along with hours to the East of the state, filled with towns, farms, and people that live a totally different life than the L.A. personnel that brands our state. In fact, from the Bay Area up, it's mostly all cold weather. Sunny California is more like " Super Sunny Southern California." If you can travel around, I encourage you to take long highways through any state you travel through, and see what the area is actually like - not just what it's known for. I'm very happy to have gotten the opportunity to see Pennsylvania in its vast, raw, true form. One last note - go Penn State!