Upon passing a sign that looked a whole lot like the one pictured above, Rand turned to me and said, “Is there really caribou crossing for the next two miles?”

Teehee. No, but it was a genuine Elk crossing zone.

As you may or may not remember, I hail from Elk County, PA. And you can indeed see genuine Elk there. Back when I was a beat reporter, I had to cover Benezette Township, which is the heart of elk viewing. (and not much else. Believe me.) But I did once come face-to-face with a real live elk on one of my jaunts down to Benezette. I don’t know if you have any concept of how big these animals are, but let’s just say that in a showdown with my car, my car would definitely lose.

Elk are large animals, weighing from 500 to 800 pounds.

Oh, dear lord…there’s a live Elk Cam.

From About.com…Recommended elk viewing sites:

Winslow Hill – The most visited elk viewing site in Pennsylvania, with two established viewing areas, off-road parking, and portable restrooms. Other wildlife also commonly seen. Location: Winslow Hill Road, 3 miles from its intersection with Route 555 in Benezette.

An actual view from the Winslow Hill viewing area:

And here are some other links…

The Pennsylvania Elk Herd
PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

And I’m sure that’s more than you ever wanted to know about elk. 😉