Daryl, until you have hunted in the only National Forest in a state with more than a million deer hunters and hunting regs which did nothing to spread them out for the one and only opening day you could not understand. PA used to kill half a million bucks in the regular (and only season) and something like 40% of them in the first three hours opening morning, 90% in the first two days. It was truly warfare! Exciting and frightening at the same time. By the way, if you didn't get there early on Sunday for the Monday opener you probably wouldn't find a place to park your vehicle until after the first wave pulled out.
The local towns leading into this area made about 75% of their annual funding for volunteer fire departments and other town projects with pancake breakfasts, lunches, and the merchants selling things forgotten when packing. An army dressed in Red and Black Woolrich (Pennsylvania tuxedos) filled the highways from all directions for two days getting there.
Many stayed in motels/farms. Some had hunting cabins/shacks, we tent camped or even slept in our cars for several days in some very cold and nasty weather. Loved it - it was like an army deployment in the winter. Wusses need not attend!
