Sunday, October 11, 2015

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2003. Mattie was 13 months old and in one of his favorite forms of transport..... in a back carrier, sitting high above the ground with a bird's eye view. That weekend we took Mattie to Great Falls, on the Maryland side. As you can see, Mattie was smiling and enjoying the adventure. 


Quote of the day: Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. ~  Rachel Carson

We had a slow start to the day. On weekends it isn't unusual for us to get into a funk. It would have been just as easy to remain in that funk and not to have left our home. However, we decided to go for a walk instead! Not just any walk, we wanted to go on a trail we had never been on before. Peter found several trails along Great Falls, on the Virginia side for us to explore. We did much more than we set out to do.... because we did not actually walk but we went on a hike. A 5.5 mile one, up and down inclines, that made for a much more vigorous journey than we expected. But we did it and got to see some incredible views of the Potomac River.  

Along our hike today, we saw all sorts of things. People of all ages and plenty of dogs! However, managing across the path was also a Woolly Bear Caterpillar. Mattie loved these caterpillars, and naturally as soon as I saw it, I thought of Mattie. A boy who was fascinated by bugs. 

One of the trails we went on was called the Difficult Run Trail. This water body is "Difficult Run" and the pathway along this stream was absolutely beautiful and serene. 

We also came along a Katydid. These bugs absolutely fascinate me since they look SO much like a green leaf. I would have completely missed it, if I hadn't seen it jump out of the corner of my eye. 

I am hoping this photo gives you a feeling for the trails. Most of them weren't flat and easy to walk. Instead they have tree roots everywhere and inclines and declines! It was a real work out on these trails.  

Then of course along the trails were rocks! Rocks that you had to climb through along the pathway. 

But once we did all that climbing we got to several lookouts with amazing vistas. This being one of them. We were standing in Virginia, but across the way in the background was Maryland. 

The beauty of the Potomac River!

A close up of the Potomac River. You can even see a person kayaking in the water. 

Peter snapped this photo of me. We were in Virginia and the people on the rocks across the way (in the background) were in Maryland (the Maryland side of Great Falls).