Summer of 21 - #36 - Pennsylvania Wilds, Elk Country, Wykoff Run Falls

 June 29th, 2021

We went in search of Elk, although we are a bit early in the season for mating so they probably wont be out and about quite so much.

There was a nice statue of one outside the Elk Country Visitor Center in Benzette, Pennsylvania. 

They boast the largest Elk herd in the North Eastern United States, so let's see if we can find any.

                                

 

There's one inside the visitor center.

and a baby bear

a wolf amongst the antlers.

aah one of my favorites, an otter.

Fishers - Weasel shaped agile fishers, were a new one to me. They were once common here in Pennsylvania but became extinct after trappers killed them for their fur and logging destroyed their homes. In the 90's a Fisher Reintroduction Project was started in the protected Pennsylvania Wilds  and they can now been seen in this area.

I loved this owl. At least I think it's an owl.

Outside the visitor center we went in search of live elk. We found flowers.......

and trees

Sue looking for elk amongst the trees.

meadows and more trees

Is that one?  Oh no, it's a bench. Time for a sit down.

The viewing area was closed, presumably because it's too early in the season.

Well, this is the best we can do, back to the statue.

So with no sign of elk here we drove to the Winslow Hill Viewing Area, Woodring Farm Viewing Area, Dents Run Viewing Area and Beaver Run Dam Viewing Area.  There were no elk!!!! We even used binoculars but no luck. 

Beautiful scenery

At the Beaver Run Dam Viewing Area we had a short walk to the blind which is on a man made dam.

Birds Nest and "poop" inside the blind

The following are pictures taken from inside the blind.

This wood shape was the closest we got to an imaginary animal.

This was one of a couple of birds that we saw. So although we waited for quite a while, it was not a productive viewing!!! 

We had one more stop on the way home, Wykoff Run Falls, Sinnamahoning. We found a lot of places to visit while in Pennsylvania on https://pabucketlist.com.  This is a list of places that the author has found while exploring Pennsylvania and has a diverse range of things to do in the state. 

These small falls were by the roadside and it was a pretty area.  Thank goodness for this on a day of not seeing very much this was a good ending.

Can you see Bryan in the picture below. He is almost camouflaged.

It was a really pretty area and after not having many photo opportunities earlier in the day we went a bit mad and took lots of pictures.

I saw a few butterflies hovering at a spot by the road.  By the time I got there they had gone but this one came back and flew around me before settling on the ground. Thankfully we were the only people here as I stood talking to the butterfly!!!

It was a scenic drive home along a river for part of the way.

Well the day was saved by the small waterfalls and the scenery here in Pennsylvania.