Our mission: To inspire stewardship of Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests.


Through the miracle of modern technology, this Fridays comes to you on time although by the time you are reading it, Bill and I will undoubtedly be well on our way to Murphy, NC for Eclipse2017. Yes, we are braving our usual astronomical and meteorological bad luck and joining the millions of people headed to the Path of Totality for Monday's event. Bill insists that our streak of bad luck has now died on the tail of a meteor - we did, in fact, manage to see a good half dozen in last Saturday night's Perseids show. One was, I think, the most spectacular I'd ever seen, streaking across the Big Dipper as bright as could be. Fingers crossed - the western North Carolina forecast is at this point less than bright. But, no matter. Bill says I managed to find the only wheelchair accessible, pet-friendly vacation rental along the entire Path (a bit of an exaggeration, I'm sure) so we and two other couples plan to make a party of it whether or not Mr. Sun chooses to cooperate at roughly 1:30 Monday afternoon.

My only regret here is that I'll miss the TENTH ANNUAL (doesn't seem possible) Laurel Hill Bluegrass Festival (and Mountain Laurel 5k) this weekend. No lie - your toes will tap.



Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator

Our masthead this week is a "stumble upon" from the Cornplanter State Forest, a lovely shot taken LAST August by Shaun Kahl. Beautiful!


News of note

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Marci, Joe, and Izzy had a wonderful, if quite wet (and a bit too exciting because of wild weather) camping trip at Colonel Denning State Park last weekend.

They enjoyed helping at the Friends of Colonel Denning in their Saturday work day and eating ice cream at the Bootleg Creamery, the park concessionaire. Marci recommends the Junkyard Dog, a combination of vanilla, peanut butter, and chocolate cookies. On Sunday, they ventured out for a stroll on the Nature Trail, and quickly fell in love with this streamside trail, with its tall trees, wide variety of fungi, and lovely sounds of moving water.


At work and play in the parks and forests

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Two weeks of fun in one posting - just because I will be gone next week. 

Festivals in the Spotlight

Civil War Weekend-The Battle of Greenwood Furnace this weekend focuses on the (fictitious) events of June 1863 when a Confederate invasion of the Juniata Valley was repelled. Vintage baseball, too! Would that the Blue and Gray had settled the whole mess with a baseball game.

On the following weekend, a battle of a different kind is the theme of the day on Saturday the 26th as a Battle of the Bands takes place at Little Buffalo to raise money for construction of a veterans memorial in Marysville. 

North

If you aren't planning to hit the road and join the legions of us heading to the Path of Totality, Cherry Springs offers a Partial Solar Eclipse Viewing program on Monday. 

On Sunday, August 27 Explore the Trails of Sizerville on a three-mile trek.

South

In the South region, Greenwood Furnace will be your viewing station for The Great American Eclipse on Monday. 

Next Saturday evening (the 26th) come to Linn Run for Movies and Mountain Pies - an unbeatable combination. 

East

The East region's solar eclipse opportunity is in Fleetwood at Keystone College's TGC Observatory

On Saturday the 26th, join the Friends of Nockamixon in a celebration of International Bat Night with programs in the afternoon and a hike in the evening. What fun!

West

For the west region, two opportunities to celebrate Eclipse Day come in the form of a program at Ryerson Station (where 90% coverage is anticipated) or slightly more northerly at Goddard State Park where they figure a partial eclipse is as good a reason as any for a paddle program. Reserve your boat early!

A good heart-pumping hike is to be had on Ohiopyle's Great Gorge Trail and you can do it with others on the 26th. 

No matter what region of the commonwealth you want to visit, our website Events and the DCNR Calendar of Events are great sources for things to see and do. Bookmark them!

Picture of the week

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This little lovely was photographed by Sean Lauer in Susquehannock State Forest. Click to the original. Love this little dude.

Take five for trivia

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Hoo boy. I definitely got myself in trouble with last week's trivia question about the only counties in Pennsylvania without a state park. Reader Steven provided it and the answer of six: Armstrong, Juniata, Lehigh, Montour, Snyder, and Wyoming. However, a newspaper article on a proposal to add Park #122 in Wyoming said there are only three. DCNR's own interactive map shows nine (adds Adams, Columbia, and Forest to Steven's list). But is that only using the location of the park office? My, my, my. One would have to look at each individual park and see where all the actual PROPERTY is located and what borders are crossed. In the end, let's be grateful for all 121!

I'd like to say I'll give you a hard question to ponder over the next two weeks, but let's shoot instead for one with a definite answer! When was the last total solar eclipse visible in the continental US? (And when is the next?)

Send in your answer and we'll enter your correct response into our monthly prize drawing. All correct answers each week will go into the hat and at the end of the month we'll draw one lucky winner. The more correct answers you submit in a month (up to four or the occasional five depending on the month), the more chances you'll have to win.

In closing
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We had the pleasure of finally meeting Photo Phyllis at the Community Arts Center of Cambria County on Monday evening (where our Parks & Forests Through the Seasons winners are on display through Labor Day). This full moon shot is hers from a recently concluded visit to Cook Forest State Park. 




Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation (PPFF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - contributions to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. The official registration and financial information of PPFF may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling, toll-free within Pennsylvania, to 800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.


Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation is a proud member of EarthShare and is a Gold GuideStar Participant.

  

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