Prince Gallitzin 11/28/2010

Prince Gallitzin is a personal favorite of mine. As a kid, this was the park that we camped at most frequently, and now, we have started camping their with our own kids! It's such a beautiful park - definitely a favorite.

We headed out on a cold, but sunny Sunday to Prince Gallitzin. It took us about 1 1/2 to get there, but the kids did great. We first pulled into the camping office - which of course was "closed for the season" - and then headed to the next stop, Pickerel Pond. There we found a playground and a two very fun bridges.

The kids had the best time running circles from one bridge to the other and even found a 'tree cave' on our hike.

After a few more stops at Beaver Valley Marina and McKee's Run (which were basically boat launches), we went to Beaverdam and had fun running around there.

And although we have been at Prince Gallitzin a ton of times, we had never been at Beaverdam - so that was very fun!

Overall, we had a great time at Prince Gallitzin. We had most of the park to ourselves - not too many others there - and there was plenty of space to run around and have a great time. Plus, even though we had been there a bunch, there was a lot we hadn't seen before!!

After a quick stop at the bathrooms we decided to head out to Horseshoe Curve next. This is another spot that my family went to often during my childhood - my dad is a train buff. If you don't know, Horseshoe Curve is a famous railroad horseshoe-shaped curve near Altoona that is called an "engineering marvel" and is labeled a National Historic Landmark. The kids were excited about seeing it ... of course, little did we know, that the park is closed for the season!! Bummer!

On to the next stop, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site - which was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains - that connected two canal lines. We stopped here, quickly taking a walk through the museum and then headed down to the railroad tracks and the Lemon House. The kids had a fun time running around ... and checking out the Lemon House - which was a tavern located alongside the railroad tracks. Overall, a short stop, but a neat place to visit. The kids weren't into the "history" of it, but liked checking it out.

Great trip .... will definitely head up to Prince Gallitzin again ... :)

Moraine State Park - 11/21/2010

After our fun time at Jennings we headed to Moraine State Park. We had all (except Owen)been there before - we stayed in cabins there once and had been there visiting others a few times. But, we wanted to stop in as part of reaching our goal. Unfortunately, we were all feeling pretty tired (we got a later start than normal in the morning) and we didn't have as much time to explore Moraine as we would have liked.

Quick stop at the park office for some maps, and we were on our way. We took a quick stop at the playground - which the kids had been begging us to stop at.

We took some pictures of Lake Arthur. It was such a gorgeous day out still!

That was it for our trip to Moraine this time. We want to head back up this way again, to visit McConnells Mill (which we love!) and hopefully we can spend some more time at Moraine also.

All in all, it was a great trip. Hoping for some more nice weather before winter hits ...

Jennings Environmental Education Center 11/21/2010

A beautiful Sunday for another park trip! The weather was gorgeous - no bulky winter coats today. We headed up Route 422, then Route 8, then through Slippery Rock and onto Jennings Environmental Education Center - which we thought would just be a quick stop on our way to Moraine State Park. We were pleasantly surprised!

Jennings is a one of several state parks that is specifically dedicated to providing environmental education to the community. In fact, the parks education center was packed for a program. We headed to the opposite side of the road to take in a hike. After a quick bathroom break, we headed onto the Blazing Star Trail and then onto the Prairie Loop Trail. This trail surronds part of the prairie ecosystem that Jennings is known for. The kiddos had fun following the signs and reading about the prairie ecosystem.

We stopped for plenty of photos and really had a great time running around on this trail. There was a bridge the kids had a great time playing on and each of them helped lead the way with their maps! HA!

Overall, Jennings was well worth the stop and we definitely want to go back and do a bit more hiking around the area. We just hope we don't see the massasauga rattlesnake - YIKES!

S.B. Elliott State Park 11/14/2010

The second park this sunday, we started at Parker Dam and made our way down a half hour to S.B. Elliott State Park.

Pennsylvania Center

Park Office: Closed this time of year. A small campground (25 sites) is across the street. Seems like a quiet place to stay if Parker Dam is busy.

Another stone building circa 1930's. Great park for history buffs.

All in all, we had a great trip to Parker Dam and S.B. Elliott State Parks. Would be more likely to stay at Parker Dam with more to do and it has sites for pets. Would want to spend at least another half day at S.B. Elliott, hopefully when the buildings are open.

Parker Dam State Park 11/14/2010

Another Sunday, two more State Parks.

Today, November 14th, we drove north through Punxsutawney and Dubois to Parker Dam State Park. None of us had ever been there before, and we left very impressed.

It was about an hour and a half drive, including some time on the PA Wilds Elk Scenic Byway; we did not see any elk, but the kids had fun looking for them anyway.

We stopped at the Park Office to pick up some maps. With maps in hand, we went on a driving tour. The dam had a Tornado display - this was neat for me because I can remember stories of my dad chasing after the tornados in his truck (May 31, 1985).

#9 Mesopotamia

After the driving tour, we headed for the dam. The kids were disappointed we did not try to cross the dam on the slippery rocks, but we drove around the park and came down the railroad tie steps.

It was a great trip, finished off with Jen's hike on the park's Boardwalk. We did not have time to play on the playground because we wanted to go to S.B. Elliott State Park; but we all agreed we want to go back!

Linn Run State Park 10/31/2010

Happy Halloween! What a great way to spend the day - we headed down Route 56 through Brush Valley and Armagh to catch Route 711, the Laurel Highlands Scenic Byway. A very pretty drive - the trees are almost bare, but the few leaves that remain are beautiful oranges and reds.

We traveled through Ligonier - a very sweet town with lots of shops and local businesses. As we were getting close to Linn Run, we noticed that this fence was lining the road. I remembered seeing this fence the last time I was at Linn Run (years ago!). It seemed to line the road the whole way from Ligonier to Linn Run. Very neat!
We arrived - YAY! - took our quick picture at the sign, quick potty break ... and off to find a map.


We decided to try the Flat Rock Trail, which was a fairly easy hike with lots of views of Linn Run. We had hoped to view a waterfall, but realized we were on the wrong trail. But, the kids loved running around and crunching the leaves under their feet. They touched the water - very cold!- and kept their eyes open for rattlesnakes. Thank goodness we didn't find any! Here are a few pictures along the Flat Rock Trail. Once back on the trail to the parking lot, we decided that it would be worth a little more hiking to find Adam Falls, so we headed up the hill and onto the trail. It didn't take us long to find but unfortunately Adam Falls was no more than a trickle!! After a quick stop for a picture, we headed back to the van and off to visit Laurel Summit State Park - which was about 5 miles further on Linn Run Road.

Well, Laurel Summit State Park wasn't quite what we expected - we thought that perhaps it would make for some good photos ... with good views (of a summit!). Didn't really find that. There was a lot of hiking that perhaps would be good for us in a few years (little legs don't make for long hikes!). But we did stumble upon some outhouses there that were worth a photo ...
It was after lunch so we headed on our way, back through Ligonier, finally finding a Burger King along Route 30. Good day - it was a success!


The trip was about 45 miles (an hour and 15 minutes) each way and we spent about $15 at Burger King for a late lunch after making it through the morning with some Halloween snacks. Will have to go back and spend some time in Ligonier, in the town center around the square and at Fort Ligonier.