Western Pennsylvania Vacation ....

Day 6.

It was another early start today as we are going to Elk Country to see the elk!  But before we left I had fun feeding the chipmunks (extra #1)!  I really miss mine from home.
 
We had read that the best times for viewing the elk are early in the morning and then again at dusk.  Well, we knew that we weren’t going to get to major elk viewing area, which is Benezette, PA too early so we weren’t too disappointed to not see any when we first arrived. Our plan is to do other things in the vicinity and then return by 4:00 pm.  Upon arriving in Benezette we did visit one viewing area and saw a small herd of elk way in the distance before we went to the Elk Country Visitor Center.
 
At the visitors center they told us that the best evening time to see the elk is between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm.  So we made plans to return then and off we went to do other things!
 
From the visitors center we drove by a few of the viewing areas just to check them out to see where we might want to return to later on in the evening.  One in particular (Hick’s Run) looked promising and had a really nice viewing blind with some benches.
 
Then we were off to visit Sinnemahoning State Park where we spent a few hours looking for wildlife. There is a dam and lake on the property where you can sometimes see eagles.  But not today.
 
We returned to Hick’s Run by 4:00 pm and sat waiting for the elk to appear.  And waited. And waited.
 
We finally decided to leave and look for the elk elsewhere … possibly at the visitor’s center.  While we were at Hick’s Run several people had told us of other elk sightings so we weren’t too discouraged yet.  On our way back to the visitor’s center we did see a few small herds of elk along the way.  The telltale sign of these elk are the cars stopped and people milling about.  My extra #2 is of a male elk that we saw as we headed for the visitor’s center.  These animals are just amazingly beautiful. I was standing not more than 30 feet away from him and his herd of females and youngsters.  Just look at that impressive rack!  

There were other sightings on our way back to the visitor’s center and at the center itself.  My main blip photo is of a female that was in the yard of the local post office where we had stopped to eat our packed supper.  She and others were just lying about without a care in the world.
 
We had a wonderful day in Elk Country!
 
Day 6 complete.
 

Total miles driven today: 163