I’m sure you’ve all heard about Punxsutawney Phil, the weather-predicting groundhog who emerges from his den on February 2nd each year and prognosticates the length of winter. This year Brad and I decided to check out the event! We had a blast in Punxsy (their nickname for Punxsutawney). We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast in nearby DuBois (the locals pronounce it DOO-boys), since accommodations in Punxsy are booked solid for years in advance. The Notter House looked like an old converted church, though there was evidence that it used to be a funeral home. So comfy and well-appointed – we’d stay there again, given the opportunity.

We spent February 1st getting our bearings and checking out the area. After breakfast at a cute local diner called the Bobbette, we made our way over to Punxsy. We walked around the downtown park to check out the vendors and take pics with the seemingly countless statues of Phil around town. We stumbled onto a talent show taking place at the local community center, and really enjoyed it. People of all ages, skill levels and from a far as Long Island, Illinois and such sang and told jokes. We even took a carriage ride around the town square that was provided, free of charge, by the Chamber of Commerce. Then we drove up the hill to Gobbler’s Knob to see where The Event would take place the next day, and were surprised by how small the area was.

That night, on Groundhog Eve, we went to the Punxsy Area Community Foundation Dance, where Brad totally commanded the dance floor. The band’s name was Almost Mulberry – there’s a senior living center in town called Mulberry – and they were awesome. We danced like…well, like teenagers! Then home to get a few hours’ sleep before The Big Event.

Private cars aren’t allowed on Gobbler’s Knob, so we were told to go to one of the pickup points to catch a bus up to the Knob. And that we should get there around 3:00 am if we wanted to get a place right in front of the stage. We decided we didn’t have to be up front, so we got up at 4:00 and were on the road by 4:30 a.m. Mistake. The first pickup place was packed and the bus line was hundreds of people long. We went to the second place and the parking lot was completely full. We heard on the news that there were over 40,000 people there this year!!! (Punxsy’s population is only 5,600!) After an hour driving around looking for a parking place we conceded defeat and went back to the B&B and watched the whole thing on livestream. We figure we got a better view than about 39,650 of them.

But that’s okay. We had bought tickets to a private event – “lunch with Phil.” So we got to get pictures with the groundhog! Then we walked around the square a bit before taking off for the 8 hour drive home.