Filed under: Pennsylvania, United States | Tags: aliens, february, fields, kecksburg, martians, Pennsylvania, rural, ufo sightings, westmoreland
replica of ufo that landed in Kecksburg on December 9, 1965
Ever since Jeff and I caught the Kecksburg episode of “Unsolved Mysteries,” we knew we had to check this out for ourselves. Kecksburg is only 30 miles outside of Pittsburgh, but pretty much anywhere outside the city limits feels like another world. We set out one very frigid February afternoon, along with our friend Bill, to see what the fuss was all about.
Kecksburg view from the car window
The last day of February was bitingly cold and damp and to make matters more frustrating, there were so many detours through PA66 that we passed Kecksburg a few times before finding it. It’s easy to miss — there isn’t a main street, just a house, an aluminum-sided shed-like building, a giant parking lot and a tiny sign pointing down a dirt road that directs visitors to a replica of the UFO that landed in this tiny patch of Pennsylvania land 44 years ago.
the road where we had to turn around and go back
On that cold winter night, Kecksburgers reported a burst of red light trailing through the sky, then landing in a field much like the ones we passed on our way into town. What they found was a UFO that was carted away by the government. The replica is a tribute to that UFO sighting.
aliencorn
At first, Jeff, Bill and I were a little disappointed about the acorn-like structure, then full of questions about its existence. Where were the windows? What did the heiroglyphs on the side mean? Was this monument to scale? Where were the aliens? Westmoreland County, where Kecksburg lies, has some of the most active UFO sightings in the country according to a recent article in Popular Science. The boys quickly got over their initial sadness so they could document our visit to Kecksburg.
Bill, frequent traveling partner, stands proudly beneath the majestic aliencorn
I think a person could fit inside that thing.
There were lots of cars parked in front of the windowless aluminum-sided building. This serves as the town’s Volunteer Fire Department/Bar/UFO store. We tried desperately to find a way into the store, but it was pretty dark inside. We weren’t feeling brave enough to interact with the locals in the BAR either.
We didn’t hear any noise coming from the Bar, nor did we see any citizens of Kecksburg. Granted, it was freaking cold as hell, and the town is a post office town, but it gave me an eerie feeling as it grew dark. My boots were caked in a strange, skin-colored mud, which I spent most of the ride to Pittsburgh trying to scrape off. Had the land been affected by alien radiation from the giant acorn? I carried that land with me as I treaded into our city home.
Westmoreland County in winter
