A River Runs Through It

One of Dennis' interests is weather. Since we had a great deal of rain over the previous 24 hours, yesterday he checked the Potomac River water levels throughout the day. He often goes down to the river to observe. Last evening he asked if I'd like to go up to Great Falls and see the river. Last Spring we went to the Maryland side of the park. Today we to the Virginia side. It's a pretty spectacular place, as you can see from this picture in the National Park Service brochure. At least until it rains.

We could hear the river as soon as we got out of the car, and this is the falls looked like when we got to the overlooks. You read descriptions of raging rivers, and you see the video that accompanies news reports, but nothing really prepares you for actually seeing it in person.

And this is about as close as I care to get to a raging river!

The walkway you can see across the river is on Olmstead Island on the Maryland side of the park. Since we saw no people on it, we think they must have closed the bridge that gets you to it.

The Potomac watershed is the second largest emptying into the Chesapeake Bay. It includes the Shenandoah, which joins it at Harpers Ferry. We saw a lot of debris--mostly trees, but occasionally things like this barrel.

 

Further down the trail you can get a little closer to where the cliffs usually are.











While we were there one of the Park Police helicopters made several passes over the area. I also saw a Coast Guard helicopter fly by at one point.









A small oasis of calm in the rocks of one of the observation areas.

 










After an early lunch we drove back to Theodore Roosevelt Island to see how things were there. As we drove through Georgetown along the river we could see that the Potomac was high and running swiftly, though not as raging as further upstream. The lower path was flooded on the Roslyn side of the island.

On the DC side the river was literally running over the lower path.

Reminders of the power of nature.

Spring Returns to Alexandria

This evening we went down to Old Town for dinner without a specific plan in mind. We drove down, parked, and started walking. We eventually settled on O'Connell's on the lower end of King Street. In spite of the fact that we had no reservations on a Friday evening, they seated us in less than 5 minutes. It was loud, even on the third level, but the food was good, including dessert. I don't often eat dessert when I eat out these days, but we'd eaten fairly lightly. Besides, we went walking after dinner.

As we often do when we go down to Old Town, we walked to the river front. The water was high and browner than usual due to the heavy rains last night. The forecasters expect it to rise a bit more, perhaps higher than it has been in four years. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to know for sure. We didn't walk along the river as much as we usually do, since we had a couple of stops to make on the way back to the car. Plus Dennis found it a bit chilly with the slight breeze, even though it was close to 70 degrees. After the heat and humidity earlier this week and last night's rain, it felt good to me.

It was the first nice evening--the first nice SPRING evening--that I've been down to Old Town this year. The fountain in front of City Hall was on. People filled the sidewalk dining areas. Street performers were out in force. Familiar ones were in their usual spots--the balloon man, the hammer dulcimer player, and the sketch artist, among others. We also saw some new ones. The most interesting was a trio of young Irish step dancers who set up a dance floor near the entrance to the Torpedo Factory. They wore the most gaudy, even garish, Irish step costumes I've ever seen. Then again, I'm sure the traditional Irish step garb has evolved over the years. And if you're going to dance on the street...

Now if we could just figure out how to cleanse the pollen from the air!

Walking the Trails

Even after living here for two years, I am still learning about what's around Alexandria. I did know about the Mount Vernon Trail, which runs from Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon in the green space between the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the Potomac River. I've driven past the Belle Haven Park several times, but I went there for the first time this afternoon. Dennis and I went down after lunch to walk the trail.

Lots of bicyclists ride the trail, which was designed with them in mind., but joggers and walkers also use it. For the most part everyone is respectful of everyone else on the trail. Cyclists are supposed to warn people on foot as they approach from behind. About half of those that passed us today either called out "On your left," or used a bell. Some did both. Many did not. Most of the time I could hear them coming, but once in a while one would come whizzing by unexpectedly and startle me. I'm a once and future cyclist, so I understand the issues of riding in urban areas. However, you need to respect others who use the same trails.

As we neared the Alexandria/Fairfax line we passed a piece of concrete. Or pieces. When I see things like that I wonder what was once there. An old sidewalk that once accessed the river front? Part of a front or back yard? What might be left for an archeologist to find in another two hundred years? It's also a reminder of how quickly nature retakes its ground when we abandon it. Or work with it to restore important environments.

Adjacent to the park sits the Dyke Marsh Preserve. During the early 1800s farmers tried to create grazing land by building retaining walls. Because the resulting land proved unsuitable for grazing, the marsh reclaimed the area. But that was not the end of  human impact on the marsh. For many decades in the last century companies dredged the marsh for sand and gravel, and even after the dredging stopped, erosion has continued. For 40 years federal agencies and organizations have worked to develop a plan to restore the marshlands. One of the factors that has focused renewed attention on the restoration process is the number of coastal storms that have hit the area over the past few years. Marshes serve as natural protection for coastlines.

To see the marsh you walk on the old Haul Road, which now serves as a walking trail into the area. Bicycles are prohibited, and pets must be leashed. We passed several folks with binoculars engaged in bird watching. We also saw some of the non-native invasive plants that the National Park Service and the Friends of Dyke Marsh are working to remove from the area. Lots of English Ivy, which I know first hand how difficult it is to eradicate.

At times it is hard to believe how close this is to a major urban area. Then you walk around a bend in the trail, and there's the Woodrow Wilson Bridge crossing the Potomac.

One day I hope to bike from my apartment to this area and even all the way down to Mount Vernon itself. For now, however, it's a short drive to a beautiful area for walking. I logged over 11,000 steps this afternoon.

And there's still a lot to explore.