Perfect Fall Day
Nov. 3rd, 2008 06:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
isabelladangeloAround 11 am yesterday, I decided that it would be a great day to go check out the foliage in the mountains. So, I got Miss Ginise, her travel bowl (a very useful thing if anyone else has pups/cats that they like to take with them on trips), a bottle of water and left. I am so glad I did. It was breathtaking.
At first, I was worried because the closer I got to Harper's Ferry, the more the trees looked like they had all lost their leaves. I figured if there was nothing to see up there, I could always turn around and go check out one of the parks closer to home. However, once I crossed the Potomac, you could tell that plenty of the trees still had their leaves and it was going to be gorgeous.
I went to the National Parks parking lot first. It costs $6 to get in that way. You *might* be able to find parking down in Harper's Ferry itself but it really isn't worth the hassle. If you don't bring your pet, you can take the shuttle down. Since I brought Ginsie, I went around on one little hike around a farm where one of the Civil War battles took place. It was well worth the 2.2 mile walk. (They called it a hike but only one part of it wasn't flat and even that was graded to the point it was a beginners hike if anything.) Ginsie, of course, loved it. She had no problem taking me down the steep side of the hill that went into the raging waters. Okay, so there was a trail going down and I was trying to get a better picture but I still think that four legs gives you better balance than two. :-) The hill/cliff was at an angle and then the river was flowing down hill so it gives you serious vertigo. It wasn't part of the "real" trail and I wouldn't recommend it for non-experianced hikers/climbers because it was narrow and did give you vertigo.
After that, we went back to the car and I went to see if I could find parking in town. I was extremely lucky. There is one small (20 cars) parking lot outside of town. One car had just left so the park ranger let me in to the lot. It's a little less than a 1/2 mile walk into the town from the parking lot but it's a very easy walk (stroller accessible). You just walk along the canal, over the bridge to the island, and then across another small bridge to get into Harper's Ferry.
There were a lot of people. And a lot of other people, as many children commented to me, brought their dogs. I think every 7-9 year old that was there asked to pet Ginsie. :-) a lot of the "seasoned" citizens laughed at the pup because Ginsie was going up these steep carved out stairs without a second thought. The stairs were carved out of the rock on the side of the mountain during the 19th c. They are a bit worn but there are guide rails to hold on to if you need them. (You do need them going down!) So Ginsie and I went up and looked around. Right as I got to the top, Mom called. :-) She was jealous because she's just as bad as I am when it comes to pretty leaves. (COLORS!!!!!!)
By the time I started to go back down, at least three people had asked me questions about Harper's Ferry. I guess I looked like I belonged there? The funny thing was, I knew the answers. Yes, those are Tiffany glass windows in the church. There is a bridge on the other side of the hill to get to the other side of the river. Yes, there are two different ways to get back around to the stores...
I wasn't really able to go inside anywhere because I had the pup. However, that didn't really stop me from being able to sit down and eat. There are plenty of outdoor establishments which was really nice. I got a chocolate peanut butter ice cream (Ginsie got the cone) and sat out side at one of the tables. Ginsie just hid beneath the table waiting for me to drop something. Then I went a couple of stores down and they had a walk up line for hot cider and many many other yummy things. There is nothing more perfect to me on a fall day than having a nice yummy hot cider and looking at the leaves. I also got a jar of apple butter.
It was getting late by that point so I walked back to the car and left around 4:30. I got to watch the sunset right over the river as I was crossing one of the bridges. It was just perfect. Unfortunately, by that point, my camera's battery was dead. :-)
If you would like to see more pictures, I have them up at :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jubileel/sets/72157608614648540/
At first, I was worried because the closer I got to Harper's Ferry, the more the trees looked like they had all lost their leaves. I figured if there was nothing to see up there, I could always turn around and go check out one of the parks closer to home. However, once I crossed the Potomac, you could tell that plenty of the trees still had their leaves and it was going to be gorgeous.
I went to the National Parks parking lot first. It costs $6 to get in that way. You *might* be able to find parking down in Harper's Ferry itself but it really isn't worth the hassle. If you don't bring your pet, you can take the shuttle down. Since I brought Ginsie, I went around on one little hike around a farm where one of the Civil War battles took place. It was well worth the 2.2 mile walk. (They called it a hike but only one part of it wasn't flat and even that was graded to the point it was a beginners hike if anything.) Ginsie, of course, loved it. She had no problem taking me down the steep side of the hill that went into the raging waters. Okay, so there was a trail going down and I was trying to get a better picture but I still think that four legs gives you better balance than two. :-) The hill/cliff was at an angle and then the river was flowing down hill so it gives you serious vertigo. It wasn't part of the "real" trail and I wouldn't recommend it for non-experianced hikers/climbers because it was narrow and did give you vertigo.
After that, we went back to the car and I went to see if I could find parking in town. I was extremely lucky. There is one small (20 cars) parking lot outside of town. One car had just left so the park ranger let me in to the lot. It's a little less than a 1/2 mile walk into the town from the parking lot but it's a very easy walk (stroller accessible). You just walk along the canal, over the bridge to the island, and then across another small bridge to get into Harper's Ferry.
There were a lot of people. And a lot of other people, as many children commented to me, brought their dogs. I think every 7-9 year old that was there asked to pet Ginsie. :-) a lot of the "seasoned" citizens laughed at the pup because Ginsie was going up these steep carved out stairs without a second thought. The stairs were carved out of the rock on the side of the mountain during the 19th c. They are a bit worn but there are guide rails to hold on to if you need them. (You do need them going down!) So Ginsie and I went up and looked around. Right as I got to the top, Mom called. :-) She was jealous because she's just as bad as I am when it comes to pretty leaves. (COLORS!!!!!!)
By the time I started to go back down, at least three people had asked me questions about Harper's Ferry. I guess I looked like I belonged there? The funny thing was, I knew the answers. Yes, those are Tiffany glass windows in the church. There is a bridge on the other side of the hill to get to the other side of the river. Yes, there are two different ways to get back around to the stores...
I wasn't really able to go inside anywhere because I had the pup. However, that didn't really stop me from being able to sit down and eat. There are plenty of outdoor establishments which was really nice. I got a chocolate peanut butter ice cream (Ginsie got the cone) and sat out side at one of the tables. Ginsie just hid beneath the table waiting for me to drop something. Then I went a couple of stores down and they had a walk up line for hot cider and many many other yummy things. There is nothing more perfect to me on a fall day than having a nice yummy hot cider and looking at the leaves. I also got a jar of apple butter.
It was getting late by that point so I walked back to the car and left around 4:30. I got to watch the sunset right over the river as I was crossing one of the bridges. It was just perfect. Unfortunately, by that point, my camera's battery was dead. :-)
If you would like to see more pictures, I have them up at :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jubileel/sets/72157608614648540/