The Sand Run Metro Park is in Summit County, close to Akron. On our way there, one mild almost-spring day, we were fortunate enough to drive right past the glorious Summit Mall and all of its neighboring big boxes and almost-big boxes. That was practically enough to make us change our minds and just shop all afternoon, but after much soul-searching, we decided instead to continue into the Valley, technically the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, to enjoy the great outdoors.

Admiring a hawk overhead, we parked the car, stuffed some drinks in our bags, and wandered up the first hill we came to. Definitely not following the marked path, we found our way led to a sharp and steep descent into a small, slowly moving stream. We traipsed through the leaves down a more gradual way to said water, and found a few "No Trespassing / Dangerous Area" signs. Debating over the immediate relevance of these signs, we decided to sit nearby on a nice big log to drink and chat and generally enjoy the trees for a bit. The stream seemed like it might be a little more dangerous if it were slightly fuller. Thus began a discussion of flash floods, The Onion, car-share programs, and the merits of Great Lakes'  Burning River pale ale. The stillness of our found log was broken twice, once quietly by a hiking couple and once loudly by two kids riding a motorbike on the closest trail.

On our way back to the car, we passed two guys with a tiny, leash-less chihuahua in tow, and we found a smashed computer monitor sitting in the middle of a trail. A pretty random finding, but maybe we weren't the only ones looking to escape from the trappings of civilization that day. We just did it in a less violent way, maybe. Thinking along those lines, we also realized the tragic hilarity that would've arisen had the large, wild hawk spotted the small, tame and defenseless dog. Yet one more reason to fully utilize the enormous park system in the area. Just leave the small dogs at home.