This sight-seeing excursion and easy 2-mile hike will take place at Bald Eagle State Park near Howard, PA, north of I-80. However, due to the ease of getting lost, we will meet at, carpool, and convoy from the State College parking lot of the strip mall where the popular restaurants Rey Azteca and Quaker Steak and Lube are located (485 Benner Pike).
Let's meet at 10 a.m. at the top of this large parking lot. Look for Leon's bright orange Honda Fit. (We met in the same place for our recent outing to Poe Paddy State Park.)
Arriving at our destinations, we will first pay our respects at a memorial to a local hero: Foster Joseph Sayers of nearby Blanchard. Sayers was a Private First Class (PFC) in the United States Army in the European Theater of World War II. Reading the account of the last moments of his life on the plaque on-site is like reading an excerpt from the script for Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers.
In November 1944, near the city of Thionville, France, Sayers’ infantry regiment was pinned down for hours at a key enemy stronghold in the Nazi German-held Maginot Line. Then, in a selfless act of courage, Sayers undertook a “solitary determined assault upon the enemy, breached the barbed wire barricade and fired his machine gun into the enemy trenches. In the heavy return fire he lost his life.”
However, “Private Sayers’ act enabled his company to overtake the enemy position with minimal casualties. For his fearless bravery and commitment to his mission, Private Sayers was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.”
At this same location, we will have a good view of the impressive Foster Joseph Sayers Dam, which impounds 1,730-acre Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir up against the long-running rampart of Bald Eagle Mountain. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the reservoir was dedicated in 1969 to provide flood control along Bald Eagle Creek, a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. Bald Eagle State Park was opened in 1971.
Next we will proceed to a brief visit to the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle. I would like to introduce Centre Day Hikers to these lovely lodgings with scenic views in the heart of the park.
Last but not least, we will do the easy 2-mile hike along the Butterfly Trail. This runs out and back, on a mostly grassy surface, through a mix of meadows and woodlands. It may be wet or a bit muddy in places. At this season it is teeming with many species of loquacious songbirds, so expect to use our Merlin apps to identify those merry songsters.
