Exploring Pennsylvania

I took a quick trip to visit Punxsutawney and Kinzua Bridge State Park. Both places have been on my list to visit so I am glad I was able to see them. 

Punxsutawney

Punxsutawney is shy of 2 hours from my mom’s house. It is home to the famous groundhog Phil who shares his weather predictions every February 2nd. The first stop was Gobbler’s Knob which is the site of the annual Groundhog’s Day celebration where Phil makes his prediction. The visitors center is closed on Monday and Tuesday, and I visited on a Monday, but you can still explore the area.  You can walk on stage or take a hike around the small trail near by. ​

Next I headed back into town to visit Phil’s Burrow which is located next to the library. All around town they have groundhog statues decorated. Phil and his wife Phyllis were sleeping away in their burrow. 

Kinzua Bridge State Park

While watching the show, Mysteries of the Abandoned, I learned about the Kinzua Bridge. 

The drive to the bridge was just shy of 2 hours. The visitor center is a great place to start. The exhibit hall provides information about the bridge. There is also a gift shop and restrooms. 

In 1882, the Kinzua Bridge Viaduct was completed. It took 94 days to build the 301 feet high and 2,053 feet long bridge. Over the years, freight and passengers rode these tracks. In August 2002, the bridge was closed for safety concerns, but in Feb 2003 work had started to restore the bridge. On June 21, 2003 at 3:15pm a F1 Tornado, with wind speed of 73-115 miles per hour, hit the bridge. Eleven towers were knocked over. Currently there is a skywalk which leads to a observation deck overlooking the valley and what is left of the bridge.

You can take the Kinzua Creek Trail to the base of the bridge however the walk down is intense. I did half and decided I better not push it since I left my water in the car. I was happy with the pictures I got. 

Zippo/Case Museum & Store

From the bridge I was about 30 minutes to the museum. The museum was really nice and informative. I had never heard of Zippo lighters and learned they are in quite a few movies.

From there I headed towards home and arrived early evening. Another great trip in the books!