PODCASTS

Tag: #nature

Staycation – Elk Country Visitors Center – 8/30/24

Staycation – Elk Country Visitors Center – 8/30/24

It’s “Staycation Destinations” on Family Life

Keystone Elk Country Visitors Center – the PA Wilds

North Central Pennsylvania is gearing up for a massive influx of tourism, as we move past Labor Day Weekend.

The Elk Country Visitors Center at Benezette, Pennsylvania, sees 400,000 guests annually. Add in the people who go elk watching each fall in the public lands without stopping by the visitors center, and you’ll know why this interaction with nature’s unique wildlife is such a big deal.

Ben Porkolab is the Conservation Education Coordinator for the Keystone Elk Country Alliance. In this Family Life News Feature, he offers our listeners a radio tour of the Pennsylvania Wilds, one of only two regions in the U.S. where Elk are this numerous.

You will hear about the Pennsylvania elk herd, plus what makes these huge animals so unique. He talks about why Elk County and the surrounding regions captures the imaginations of so many people. It draws crowds from through the local area and throughout the world. (Porkolab gives the example of one couple who came half way around the world, with three specific tourism goals.)

Porkolab also gives insights into how this kind of Wildlife Tourism is so significant to the region.

 

Check out the Elk Country website for full details, recommendations for your visit, and live cameras and recorded videos to “take you there” (even if you can’t visit in person).

In addition to this Staycation podcast, we also have web-only BONUS CONTENT with elk viewing and elk-viewing safety tips for you and your family. Check it out as well.

 

 

Staycation Destinations is a weekly summer feature presented by Family Life News. Even as we arrive at the end of Summer 2024, your radio travels don’t have to end. All of Greg Gillispie’s features are available from your “Family Life News” podcast feed or through the NEWS tab at www.FamilyLife.org. You can visit — or revisit — these unique places in New York State and Pennsylvania by listening to or downloading our audio.You can also scroll through our Staycation archives from previous summers.

You can also share these interviews with friends and family, or choose to subscribe to receive notifications each time your favorite Family Life podcast posts a new episode. Find all our podcasts on our website or through the Family Life Now mobile app.

 

 

Staycation – Elk Country – Bonus Content

Staycation – Elk Country – Bonus Content

Staycation – Elk Country – Bonus Content

 

Pennsylvania Elk Country Educator Ben Porkolab is featured on this week’s Family Life “Staycation Destinations”.

You can hear that primary feature here from FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts.

 

He also wanted to add some advice for those who go to the Elk Country Visitors Center, any of the nearby national forest or state park areas, or some other place in these 11 counties in north central Pennsylvania.

Tap the podcast player on this page for this bonus content with Porkolab’s recommendations to enjoy watching the elk, but keeping you and your family safe, if you get “up close and personal” around one of these majestic animals.

 

 

Also, the website for the Elk Country Visitors Center has a full library of images and videos of the elk in Elk County and beyond … like this one:

 

Staycation: Coudersport Ice Mine – Gary Buchsen – 8/02/24

Staycation: Coudersport Ice Mine – Gary Buchsen – 8/02/24

It’s “Staycation Desinations” on Family Life

This week, a visit to a unique phenomenon of nature, in North Central Pennsylvania.

The Coudersport Ice Mine has been a longtime attraction for locals and out-of-town visitors. After being closed for a number of years, Gary Buchsen (the father) reopened the Ice Mine ten years ago. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, guests can see how layers of ice hold onto the mine’s walls, even with the hot summer temperatures in the surrounding outdoor air.

That man’s son, also named Gary Buchsen, retired after a career as a school superintendent and now leads the family’s operation of the Ice Mine. Listen to that stories — and a preview of what guests experience — in this weekly summer podcast from Family Life News.

The Coudersport Ice Mine is open Wednesdays through Sundays in the summer. More details about the location, hours, and affordable ticket prices are available from their Facebook and website.  The travel website Atlas Obscura also took a tour, posting more history, photos and reactions.

 

 

 

Staycation Destinations is a summer feature on the Family Life Radio Network, hosted by Greg Gillispie. Each Friday we seek to map out a unique opportunity for you to map out somewhere unique in Pennsylvania and New York — fairly close to home and fairly affordable.  Podcasts of our previous episodes are available anytime to hear, download or share from our News Podcasts page at www.FamilyLife.org. You can also search for “Family Life News” on the Family Life Now mobile app, Spotify and many other podcast sources.

“Buckle up, and enjoy your journeys.”

Autumn Leaves – a Fall Foliage Tour of PA & NY – 10/06/23

Autumn Leaves – a Fall Foliage Tour of PA & NY – 10/06/23

Many New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians (plus guests to the two states) spend an afternoon, a weekend, or a week — out in nature and enjoying the divine design of autumn’s leaf colors.

Certified Arborist Jerrod Webber and Natural Resources Specialist Ryan Reed gives you a forecast on the best views in our two states this month. They also explain how wet/dry weather, wildfire smoke, and the temperatures of the week you go touring all affect the abundance and the beauty of your leaf watching.

Pennsylvania’s weekly Fall Leaves Forecast

New York State Department of Forestry

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