Park Rambles

GTT - 25th Anniversary Year - 2019

Sculpin

Sculpins are bottom dwelling fish found on the bottoms of water bodies. Their pectoral fins are smooth on the upper edge and webbed with sharp rays along the lower edge, a modification that makes them specialized for gripping the substrate. This adaptation helps the fish anchor in fast-flowing water.

Tanoma Wetlands - Evergreen Conservancy

The Tanoma Wetlands is owned and operated by the Evergreen Conservancy. The treatment ponds here help clean abandoned mine water from Crooked Creek. The Conservancy also sponsors education programs at the site.

Ice Fishing at Blue Spruce Park

On February 2, 2019 there were at least 8 inches of ice on the lake allowing for ice fishing to take place.

The Eclipse Bridge in Snow

Memorial Park - February 2, 2019

A snowy day at Memorial Park, on the same day the groundhog did not see his shadow in Punxsutawney. Spring is on the way.

Waterworks Snowman

Visitors to the Waterworks Conservation Area built this snowman during a recent snowy day. January 23, 2019.

Pennsyvania Conservation Corps - October 1988

The Pennsylvania Conservation Corps played an important role in improving Blue Spruce Park and other parks and trails in our park system. From 1984 through the late 1990s PCC crews worked throughout our parks. The legacy of the PCC lives on today in facilities and improvements that our visitors still enjoy today. The Hemlock Tree the crew planted in this photo still grows near the park's Lakeside Center.

Bow Tunnel at Conemaugh Dam

Before There Were Indoor Ice Rinks

Before indoor ice rinks many people skated and played hockey on the lake at Blue Spruce Park.

Buttermilk Falls - January 18, 2019

Hemlock Lake Wood Duck Box

Colorful Wood Ducks will use nesting boxes at Hemlock Lake. Each winter the boxes are cleaned out and a fresh layer of sawdust is placed inside for nesting material.

Landscape Study in Black and White

Blue Spruce Lake

Winter Sun at Blacklick Valley Natural Area

The David and Penny Russell Memorial Shelter is a good place to stop on a winter hike to enjoy the winter sunshine. The Russells donated 675 acres of land which comprise the now 719 acre site.

Snake Catchers at Sun Cliff

This photo appeared in a 1915 edition of a Philadelphia newspaper in a section called Images Across America. R.W. who was Indiana County's master naturalist appears with Fred Prosser and Raymond Smith. The caption reads, "the only weapons they use are fast legs and a forked stick". Sun Cliff is located outside the boundary of Yellow Creek State Park. The property is now private property but for many years was used by IUP classes as a field trip site.

Winter View at Blue Spruce Lake

Shadow Tree

The winter sun casts the shadow of a Sugar Maple tree onto the spillway of Cummings Dam.

Winter Bloom

Inside the Blue Spruce Lakeside Center the geraniums bloom year-round adding a touch of color, even in January when this photo was taken.

Lacy Ice

Wind and wave action creates a lacy edge to the ice formation on Blue Spruce Lake. On January 11, 2019 when this photo was taken ice was just beginning to form on the lake.

The Proud Chickadee

Buttermilk Falls - January 2, 2019

It's been a mild winter so far, usually by now the falls are beginning to be coated in ice. In 2018 Indiana County has it highest rainfall total of all time since records have been kept, nearly 22 inches above normal rain of 48 inches for the year.

Hand Feeding Chickadees

A popular winter activity at Blue Spruce Park is to hand feed our flocks of Chickadees. Sunflower seeds are especially liked as well as peanut kernels.

Ice Accumulates

The constant trickling of water slowly adds the buildup of ice at Buttermilk Falls.

Under the Falls Panorama

Winter has returned to Buttermilk Falls and with it the changing conditions at the falls. If you visit the falls in the winter please exercise extra caution while navigating the steps and platforms in snowy and icy conditions.

Mudpuppy Gills

Mudpuppies retain their external gills their entire life and as referred to as the "Peter Pan" of salamanders because "they never grow up". The gills also serve as the host site for the larvae of the Salamander Mussel, its the only mussel that uses another animal as its host.

Mudpuppy

One of the most unique salamander species that lives in Indiana County is the Common Mudpuppy. This adult was about 12 inches in length. Mudpuppies have more DNA in their cells than any living organism on Earth, a truly unique species that is worth protecting for that reason alone.