Hawk Mountain

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For years Jay has told me about his family's trips to Hawk Mountain to see migrating birds of prey. We finally went this weekend, along with Eve, Ryan, and Lindsey. It was a sparkling autumn day, fantastic weather. We did more hiking than birdwatching, but the kids saw a demonstration with a bald eagle and a red-tailed hawk before we arrived. Vistas were gorgeous, and we hiked for hours. Ryan and Lindsey carried their own backpacks and were real troopers.

We also had a horrible experience at the local Cracker Barrel, which I only mention because we waited something like two hours for food from the time we arrived to the time we were served, despite being told their was only a 25-minute wait. And despite having hiked literally miles that day on just breakfast and a snack, Ryan and Lindsey were very patient and no tantrums ensued. I was probably more of a tantrum risk than they were at that point.

Jay and I ended up staying the night at a bed and breakfast, and on Sunday morning we went to Cabela's---a huge outdoor supply store that I had never heard of but apparently is a big chain. The store in PA is their largest, and I estimated it had about 5 acres of floor space. They also had lots of animal displays and a fish pond. It was pretty cool.