ever hear of a Dark Sky Park ? it's near Denton

CHECK THIS OUT!!! IT REALLY IS AMAZING!!! imagine seeing this overhead. WOW!!!

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/SHOW_DIG/078.HTM

notice the tree line at the bottom of the first picture. this is a view of the stars that you would see with your naked eye if you were standing in Cherry Springs Dark Sky Park. the place is amazing for heavenly beauty, the handy work of God. the extra dark skies, the absence of any skyline city light pollution combined with a plateau location (360* view) makes it a stellar place to see the stars. just as important is the latitude. here you look thru the heart of the Milky Way like if you were looking thru a bike wheel from the rim to the hub. this vastly increases the number of visible stars!!! there's so many stars that they actually will cast a shadow.

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/statepar...darkskies.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Springs_State_Park

i'm not completely sure, but the best views seem to be during Sagittarius, when Earth has the densest view of the Milky Way stars and nebulae. reckoning by tropical astrology, that would be november 23- december 21. reckoning by sidereal astrology, december 16 - january 14. savy?

this area is real close to Ski Denton, 30 minutes?

also very nearby:

the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. very scenic and the bicycle trail along it's bottom is supposed to be in the top ten in the world according to USA Today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Grand_Canyon
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/statepar...ltonpoint.aspx

many State run ATV Trails. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/atv/atvindex.aspx

The Pennsylvania Elk herd. This easy to see herd has many world class bulls.(not kidding) royal and imperial bulls are common.
http://gene.maslar-online.com/elk/
http://www.pitt.edu/~cjm6/index.html http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvania/a/elk.htm

i've been gathering this info to prepare for our trip(s) down there this summer to rip on the ATV trails. i share it here w/ya'll cause i know how much you love me! :wink: and maybe you wanna go see these sights for yourself.

this is gonna be a great trip this summer. 3 world class attractions and ~ 120-150 miles of ATV trails to rip, some on the very edge of Ski Denton (should i poach it?)and some on the edge of the Elk country. WOO HOO! maybe we'll see Elk right from the quads.

the locals call this area God's country because it's so scenic.

glad i did. 8)

i just returned from this trip. every part was remarkable so i share it for your knowledge.

Pennsylvania Grand Canyon is very scenic and the people i met all raved about the streamside bicycle trail's beauty, with it's ascending cliffs and plentiful rock formations plus absolute ease of riding.

Cherry Springs Dark Sky Park on good nights is an experience you've likely never had. Our moonless nights there included clear, super dark skies plastered with stars, planets, nebulae,the Milky Way,twin stars etc. with the unbelievable the bonus of many meteors courtsey of the Perseids. It freegin rocked. I'm talking stars, horizon to horizon atop a plateau - 360 degrees! Some nights Park personal are on hand to guide you around the Heavans with telescopes and a green laser pointer who's solid beam points right to where she's explaining. a fanatastic aid. it's amazing what you see with your naked eye. with binoculars, distant objects are rather easily viewed.

The ATV trails were a blast. ~ 200 miles State run trails. We rode ALOT. it was a riot. what a great way to have fun and see nature.

This part of Pennsylvania is very rural. We saw, mostly upclose - deer, bobcats, turkey, turkey buzzards, hawks, plus eagles and ospreys diving for fish. riding the ATVs one day we rounded the turn and actually stopped in the middle of 8 deer, 20 feet around from us and they didn't leave at all for 2 minutes, just kept browsing. it was a wow moment that totally awed the boy. we saw 10 - count em! - 10 Bears including Mama bear and three cubs. last day riding the ATVs there was a 350 lb bear standing on the trail as i/we drove up towards him. he too just stood there and watched us - watching him fo 2 minutes or so.

The Pennsylvania Elk herd of 800+ animals continues it's prowess. If you like antlers this is where the truly huge ones are. Out west, a 6 by 6 or a 7 by 7 bull is considered large, a trophy. Pa Elk are routinely much larger with antlers of 10 by 11 (+?) appearing on more just a few bulls. Pa. also has lots of really large bears. 700-800+ lbs bear are taken every year. We were on the extreme edge of Elk country and did not see any Elk but we only went looking one evening. talked to Park Rangers and locals. The Bulls bugling and strunting around during October's mating season is quite a show from the viewing platforms in the heart of Pennsylvia Elk country along the Elk Scenic Highway.

thought i'ld share as all this stuff was top shelf.

speaking of bears.

http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise...id/508357.html

please do not ever feed bears!!! there is a saying among wildlife officials. " a fed bear is a dead bear. "

we have big one that raids our neighborhood every fall. it mostly steals birdfeeders and strangely never raids the garbage cans. two years ago, my neighbor came out at night to walk his dog and this bear was in his backyard. it was momentarily trapped against my very stout 6' chain link fence. no problem. a couple front paws, a few stomps, obstacle removed. bear 1, fence 0.

same fatty was spotted on a daytime raid. as it ran across the road with a bird feeder, an equally plump woman emerged from the house and gave chase....." My bird feeder. I just filled that up! ". the bear was unsympathic.

in Pennsylvania, i know a woman who showed me photos of a Mama bear who would stand on her hind legs so the cubs could take turns climbing up her fur. they would reach her shoulder then eat outta the bird feeder.

you flatlanders visiting this fall be careful brandishing any food about in the woods. they eat constantly this time of year and seem to be somewhat generally losing fear of humans.