The Kinzua Skywalk & Punxsutawney Phil
/A Walk in the Sky - Kinzua Skywalk
Sometimes our stops are not planned, they just happen because we pick up a brochure somewhere or see a random sign. I happened to pick up an Allegheny National Forest Visitor Bureau’s brochure at the Zippo Museum. “Selected as One of the World’s Top 10 Most Beautiful Skywalks and Viewpoints in the World by the Culture Trip, U.K., the Kinzua Sky Walk is an engineering marvel with breathtaking views of the Kinzua Gorge.” It looked interesting and it was kinda sorta on the way, so we decided to check it out. What a wonderful diversion!
The Kinzua Bridge and Viaduct was built as a railroad trestle over the Kinzua Creek. In 1882, the bridge was a challenge for Thomas Kane, President of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad. He was determined to build a branch line to the rich coalfields of Pennsylvania, but scaling the deep Kinzua Valley was a major obstacle. Enter civil engineer, Octave Chanute, who designed the bridge and the Phoenix Iron Works whose crew of 40 men constructed the bridge… 301 feet (92 m) tall and 2,052 feet (625 m) long in 94 days!
When completed, the wrought iron structure of the Kinzua Bridge was the tallest and longest railroad bridge in the world and was touted as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". According to Wiki, “In 1900, the bridge was dismantled and simultaneously rebuilt out of steel to allow it to accommodate heavier trains. It stayed in commercial service until 1959, when it was sold to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1963 to become the centerpiece of a state park… [Kinzua Bridge State Park in Mt. Jewett, PA.]”
A recreational railroad, the Kane & Knox (KKRR) took sightseers across the bridge on excursions from 1987 until 2002 when the bridge was declared unsafe in high winds and all rail and pedestrian traffic was halted. In February 2003, work began to restore the bridge, but an F1 tornado hit the bridge in July 2003 causing 11 of the 20 bridge towers to collapse. According to an article in the Fall 2005 Society of Industrial Archeology Newsletter, ‘The century-old bridge was destroyed in less than 30 seconds.’
Instead of rebuilding the bridge, creative and innovative individuals decided to turn the remains of the bridge into a skywalk and a network of hiking trails as the centerpiece of the state park. In 2005, construction work began to repair the six remaining historic steel towers of the historic Kinzua Viaduct.
Today, the Sky Walk consists of a pedestrian walkway with a set of railroad tracks that extends out 624 feet into the Kinzua Gorge to an observation deck offering panoramic view. A glass floor at the end of the bridge allows views of the bridge and the valley 225’ directly below. Unfortunately, the ‘glass floor’ is glazed over and the view is hazy at best. Looking over the side, however, certainly makes your privates clench
Visiting a Famous Groundhog - Punxsutawney Phil
I’ve always wanted to go to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to see the ‘prognosticator of prognosticators’ aka Punxsutawney Phil. The town bills itself as the ‘Weather capital of the World’. We watch Groundhog’s Day every February 2nd. We know most of the dialogue by heart. I have not, however, had a yearning to go in February. We’re told the town’s population of ~5,700 swells by 12,000 to 20,000 for Groundhog’s Day. Way too many people for us to contend with. August seemed like a perfect time to visit… not so many tourists and no snow.
We headed to the Gobbler’s Knob Visitor Center first thinking that’s where Phil would be hanging out. In the movie, Gobbler’s Knob is within walking distance of the town. It is definitely not within walking distance of Punxsutawney and quite honestly, unless there’s a specific groundhog function going on, there’s not much at the visitor center. There are some pictures, and some Phil souvenirs.
Nearby we saw the stage where Phil’s prediction of spring takes place, but otherwise we were a little disappointed. Had we been around on the second or fourth Sunday of the month, we could have participated in Sundays with Phil and a member of the Groundhog Inner Circle.
Back in town, there are Phantastic Phil statues everywhere… 40+ in fact. We wandered around town with our Phantastic Phil locator map and checked out quite a few. I personally thought Presby MacPhil which stands outside the Presbyterian Church was very clever. Here’s a sampling of the Phantastic Phils we saw.
Phil’s burrow is located on an outside wall of the library building. Hazy, scratched plexiglass offers a gauzy view of Phil who happened to be napping when we peeked in. He apparently has a wife, Phyllis, who also lives in the burrow, but she was otherwise occupied… probably out chucking wood.
The whole idea of celebrating and commercializing Groundhog’s Day in Punxsutawney was based on an annual groundhog hunt initiated by a group of men in the 1800s looking for a diversion. One day was spent hunting groundhog and the next day was spent feasting on their rodent bounty. Groundhog evidently used to be on the menu in Punxsutawney!
An innovative newspaperman combined the local traditional groundhog hunt with the European celebration of Candlemas Day (February 2nd) where the weather on that day foretold the length of winter. And voila… an American tradition was spawned.
The town is proud of its groundhog heritage and it was fun being there. I’m glad we visited… in August. Another check off on my minor bucket list.
Enough diversion, next time join us as we begin further cycling on the Great American Rail-Trail, the GART, in Pennsylvania. Make sure to wear your padded biking pants… no sore butts on this adventure.