Sometimes life presents to you great opportunities for learning, the goal is to be open to them.

We had a great time camping last week but our last morning was rainy so we decided to pack up camp and have breakfast in a nearby town. While we were there our waitress showed us amazing pictures of the “tree house” she lives in and told us about a local environmental education center. We decided to make the drive and  check out the environmental center on our way home. When we got there the center was closed but the grounds were still open so we took a stroll.

The grounds of the Carbon County Environmental Center are beautiful. There is an elevated wood walkway that snakes through the woods to pens holding various kinds of birds.

They house several non release birds of prey such as the Saw-Whet Owl, Great Horned Owl, Red Tail Hawk, Broad Winged Hawk, Kestrel, Barred Owl and Barn Owl. Also along the path there are two large Eagles; Gen. George Patton, a Bald Eagle (aka Renshaw) and  Miss Charles a Golden Eagle.

We spent quite a bit of time with Renshaw (aka Gen. George Patton) trying to get him to open his wings and show us his impressive 6′ wing span, enough to notice he had two different colored eyes. He talked back with an amazing cackling noise which made it sound like he was laughing at us, which he probably was. He really was amazing to just stare at.

Back at the end of the path we spent some time comparing our “wing span” to that of various birds. I now realize that my children are the size of a Great Horned Owl and a Red Tailed Hawk.

We were fortunate to run into someone who knew about this place. We had an amazing time. It was just another reminder that learning takes place unexpectedly and that we need to be open to all of the possibilities and opportunities out there for us and our children. If you find your self in Carbon County head on over to CCEC and if you’re in a strange town don’t forget to ask the locals what interesting things there are to do near by, you just might be surprised.