Road Trip to Centralia

Ever wanted to see what Centralia, PA is all about?  Well this is it.

What? You missed it? Yeah, so did we at first.  A basic history of Centralia is that it used to be a coal mining town like those around it but has become a ghost town due to a mine fire burning beneath it since 1962.  The town was condemned and its zip code revoked by the postal service due to the supposedly toxic chemicals spewing into the air through a number of vents.  There are approximately 9 residents left who are fighting to stay there (any good geographer would tell you the term 'sense of place' as the reason) but all other houses have been bulldozed leaving behind piles of garbage, a river that runs orange, and a town dump with active vents.  If you're interested in learning more about the history and the politics of the area, the History Channel actually did a special show on it and I think there has been a number of books published on this place as well.

<<Smoke and steam, very Armageddon>>

<<That's me at the top of a coal pile, exploring>>

The rocks in the area were very hot to the touch and if there wasn't the concern of toxic fumes I might consider opening a spa there haha or maybe a bakery.  We weren't able to see deep down into the earth through these vents, it was more like a system of minute air pockets the steam was coming from.

<<Pat having a touching experience with the vents>>

<<More of the steam field/town dump. I found it to be somewhat reminiscent of the Elephant Graveyard in The Lion King>>

In order to discourage visitors from making Centralia a tourist destination (fail) the highway system was rerouted.  Thus there is now 'graffiti highway' where an abandoned section of highway has fallen into disrepair, covered in graffiti, and subject to more of the steam vents.

<<Large fissures in the highway, also emitting steam>>

I won't put too many pictures up regarding the graffiti, although there were some truly beautiful pieces, because someone had come through and drawn inappropriate anatomy on a majority of them.  While walking along the highway, a group of 3 jeeps from Connecticut passed us off-roading onto the highway (irony?) and had fun smashing their cars by jumping over the cracks.  Here's a video of what we witnessed:

 

 <<Resulted in a broken axle>>

<<Basic feelings from the graffiti highway: pride and aggression>>
 

<<Prime real estate of the area>>

This was the final destination for our SUNY Geneseo Geography Club Road Trip.  I will be including another post about the road trip itself which was intended to help us explore 'Roadside America' or rather, those cheesy roadside attractions you can't believe people actually go to.  Though Centralia was a rather depressing destination, it is always an interesting experience to visit some place with a unique history and characteristics.

*Discovery and Dereliction*

Kmegan