Return to the Old Log Church, Schellsburg

I had intended to spend the night in the Town Hill Tract of the Buchanan State Forest, but there was just something a little off-putting about the place.  So...Plan B was to spend the night at Shawnee State Park and hurry back to Pittsburgh in time for work today.

I couldn't spend a night at Shawnee without revisiting the Old Log Church that sits along the Lincoln Highway just west of Schellsburg.  There are actually many, many old and interesting buildings along this road--not least of which the Jean Bonnet Tavern.

The simple beauty of this little church is haunting.  It keeps me coming back--even if it could use a good cleaning.  There might be nearly as many dead flies on this windowsill as there are dead people buried just outside the window.

I'm grateful that they leave the place open for passersby and history buffs to come inside.  It's a nice place to just sit in a painfully uncomfortable straight-backed pew and catch up with the thoughts that you're usually so busy avoiding.  (You know the ones: questions about mortality; your ongoing quest for meaning; the memories that need sorted through.)  I tried to do just that, but another couple of visitors showed up and interrupted me.  The little guest book inside the church seems to indicate that they get a pretty steady stream of traffic--even if the place is never crowded.

 Or, if you're not quite ready yet to catch up with all the stuff you're not thinking about, then you could just sit there and think nothing.  Or think how this serene spot has been a place of worship since 1808.  When the trees that make up this old church were felled, Thomas Jefferson was President.  There were only fifteen stars on Old Glory.  The British still had designs on retaking the continent.

This is the first time I ever camped at Shawnee State Park, though I've hiked there a lot.  And though it stung a little not to be spending the night in the Town Hill Tract, I have to admit that it was really nice to have a hot shower (and a long check for ticks) at the end of the day.  The campground seemed pretty empty, which was nice for me but not so nice for the park.  My only complaint is that you can hear the turnpike screaming and whining nearby.