My usual MO is to figure out where I’ll land next the night before or even the day I depart my current location.  I was leaving Clinton MA, heading to West Grove PE which is down in the corner next to Delaware and Maryland.  Since I don’t care to travel major highways, I looked for a place to stop for the night that would allow me to check out some out of the way places. 

I identified the Sands Casino in Bethlehem PA. I had no clue what Bethlehem was like.  Perfect! Off I went.

Whoa!! the Casino was built on the grounds of the old steel mill in the heart of town.  As usual, I found parking in the most remote parking lot and settled in.  It was very late in the day, I was tired and we settled in for the night right next to a huge abandoned industrial structure.  I suspected it was part of the steel mill.

During the night, I could hear faint bits of music and voices drifting through the abandoned buildings.  It was eerie to say the least.  As on most days, the dog and I were up before the sun rose.  We walked around a bit while I enjoyed coffee.  As daylight approached, I grabbed a camera and shot some photos of the old building.  Shortly, casino security came by and I flagged them down. I asked if this was the old Bethlehem Steel plant.  They said it was and then pointed toward some stairs on the edge of the parking lot and said I could climb them and walk on an elevated catwalk that wandered through the steel mill buildings right up close to the blast furnace.  WOW!  What a treat.  It was awesome.

The catwalk stretches on along several buildings and has signs explaining what they were and discusses the history of Bethlehem Steel.  I noticed that there was an amphitheater across the street from the steel mill.  So, that’s where the music came from.  Not long after I was there, Arlo Guthrie played there.  He described the steel mill in a most eloquent way.

For me, it was and unexpected and very moving experience.