The Road to Good Intent

The road to hell--if there is one--might be paved with good intentions, but the road to Good Intent is not paved with hellions.

Good Intent is a tiny hamlet in Washington County. It's known to a few old timers, and obscurantists, and snoops. And since I'm two of the three, of course I've been hoping that I would someday venture out that far just to see what's there.

As recently as last year, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported on the community's decline, which is undeniable. But I like the way the little town sits in a pleasant valley, on the banks of a brook, at the edge of the westernmost quadrant of SGL #245. (Notice the signage in the middle picture.)

State Game Lands #245 was actually my destination, and I came across Good Intent Road by mistake...but I always find that wandering the roads of Washington County is full of serendipity. Although the last time I made SGL #245 my destination, I found it more or less banal, I decided to return there today to see if the berries and apples had ripened. Indeed they had. And I picked about a pound of elderberries before hurrying off to explore the environs.

Due to family issues, Wednesday is going to become my new day off and trekking day. On the one hand it's nice because it's a time when few others head to the woods. On the other hand, unlike Sunday, Wednesday is not hunting-free.

The most uncool part about trekking on Wednesdays is that it gives me less time. From the time I put the younger kid on the school bus to the time I arrive home to greet them both at the school bus's return, it's only three and a half hours. That means that if I want to do a trek that's an hour away, the actual excursion has to be done in an hour and fifteen minutes. And there better not be traffic or car trouble.

Ah, but it's more time than some overly domesticated family / career men in the suburbs get, and I'm grateful for it.

In any case, I mostly wanted to discover Good Intent because I like the name. "Well, you know, we really had the best of intentions for that place. We meant to have a full-service borough there on the banks of Robinson Fork. Yessiree, we had big plans for the town of Good Intent, and that's why we named it that." The third photo is the village itself. Click on the photos to enlarge them. To be fair, there are some mobile homes hidden in the trees to the right and a house immediately to the left of the camera. The Studebaker-garage-place featured in the Post-Gazette article is further down this same road as it makes its way back up the valley and away from the village. Very intriguing place.