Martin

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

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Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

We visited Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia in late October 2025 while staying at the Hagerstown/Antietam Battlefield KOA Holiday about an hour away.

Most famous for abolitionist John Brown’s 1859 attempt to start an armed slave revolt by seizing the U.S. Army Arsenal, we came to learn during our visit that Harpers Ferry is also associated with a variety of other people and events that influenced the course of US history. Harpers Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown’s attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of formerly enslaved people in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States.

We started our visit at the park visitors center which is located about a mile outside of the main town of Harpers Ferry. There are options to take a trail along the Shenandoah River into town, or a park service shuttle bus that runs every 15-minutes or so. We chose to take the walking trail into town, and about half-way along the trail we decided to intercept the Appalachian Trail which veered away from the river and followed a hilly ridge before dropping back down into the town.There were several interesting landmarks along this short section of the Appalachian Trail including the original town graveyard where we saw the headstone of town-founder Robert Harper, and the Jefferson Rock where, during a visit in 1783 Thomas Jefferson wrote “On your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Patowmac [Potomac], in quest of a passage also. In the moment of their junction, they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder, and pass off to the sea… This scene is worth the voyage across the Atlantic.”

As our short journey along the Appalachian Trail came to an end, we descended down some stone steps into the town of Harpers Ferry, passing a number of historic buildings along the way. After having lunch at the “Almost Heaven Bar and Grill” located in a historic building across the street from the train station, we visited the John Brown Museum which presented a lot of detail about John Brown’s life as a dedicated abolitionist, and the specifics of his (ultimately failed) raid on the town armory which sought to spark a general uprising of the area slave population.

Brown was captured on October 18, 1859, by a detachment of U.S. Marines under the command of Army Colonel Robert E. Lee. Brown and six of his men were imprisoned in nearby Charles Town. Virginia seized the opportunity to try “the insurgents.” Brown was soon found guilty of treason against Virginia, conspiring with slaves to rebel and murder. He was hanged on December 2, 1859. John Brown’s last written words on the day of his execution predicted the Civil War. “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much blood shed it might be done.”

We enjoyed wandering around the town and seeing both the reconstructed buildings as well as the ruins that remain and include the foundations and footprints of a number of the original armory buildings. It was interesting to visit the building now known as John Brown’s Fort that was the Armory’s fire engine and guard house. It was in this building that John Brown and several of his followers barricaded themselves during the final hours of their ill-fated raid of October 16, 17, and 18, 1859. The building is now located just a couple of hundred feet from its original location, which is marked by a monument to John Brown.

We enjoyed visiting “The Point” where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. From this location, we could see three states – Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia – as well as the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. We walked over the rail bridge that crosses the Potomac River to the Maryland side of the river. The rail line travels through a tunnel at this point, and we returned back over the bridge to finish our visit to Harpers Ferry. Before heading back to the visitor center on the shuttle bus we stopped at a couple of interesting historic buildings.One of the buildings had partially excavated floors that showed the location of earlier building foundations and an alley-way. The other building included a display of gun making equipment that would have been used by John H. Hall, a New England gunmaker who spent several years in the mid-19th century tooling new workshops and perfecting precision machinery for producing rifles with interchangeable parts – a novel approach at the time for an industry which was traditionally based on the manual labor of skilled craftsmen. This approach known as the “uniformity principle” of interchangeable manufacture, is said to have helped lead the change from craft-based production to manufacture by machine within the US.

Our visit to Harpers Ferry offered a fascinating insight into the life and legacy of John Brown, as well as the events leading up to the Civil War. Our visit focused on the town of Harpers Ferry, and it will be interesting to return some time in the future and visit some of the other more remote areas of the park that include some 22 miles of hiking trails.

Washington DC by Bike

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Washington DC by Bike

We visited Washington DC in early November 2025 while staying at the Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia. We rode our bikes along the Mount Vernon Trail from Alexandria, about 10-miles into DC and parked at the Jefferson Memorial before continuing our tour on foot around the Tidal Basin, National Mall, and a number of other memorials and monuments, famous and less-famous.

The Mount Vernon Trail is an 18-mile paved multi-use trail that stretches from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Washington DC. The trail links Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria, to Arlington County and major Potomac River bridge crossings into the District of Columbia. The National Park Service originally constructed the Mount Vernon Trail in the 1970s and 1980s. The Mount Vernon Trail winds alongside the Potomac River with great views of the Washington DC skyline. We really enjoyed riding our bikes along this trail and were grateful we didn’t need to find parking for our F450 dually truck in DC. Allen had last been to DC on a 7th Grade School trip, and Martin had visited briefly in the early 1990’s, so it was a long time since either of us had visited, and a number of the monuments didn’t even exist during our original trips.

After parking our bikes and visiting the Jefferson Memorial we headed north on foot around the east side of the Washington Channel Tidal Basin, past the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the National Holocaust Museum, and on to the Washington Monument that sits in the center of the National Mall. To the east we had clear views of the United States Capitol Building, and to the west we could see the Lincoln Memorial beyond its iconic reflecting pool. We continued on foot west towards the Lincoln Memorial. On the way we visited the World War II Memorial that was dedicated in 2004. The memorial surrounds a large stone plaza and fountain with a ring of columns representing the U.S. states and territories, joined together by a bronze cord symbolizing their united effort.

Continuing on towards the Lincoln Memorial, we sat on a park bench near the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool to eat our picnic lunch. We were passed by a number of guided tours using a variety of transportation including segues and e-bikes. Continuing on we walked through the very poignant Vietnam Veterans Memorial with its famous black granite walls listing the names of over 58,000 servicemembers who gave their lives between 1956 and 1975 in chronological order starting and ending at the center of the wall.

Our visit to the Lincoln Memorial was all the more interesting as we had recently been to Gettysburg and visited the site of Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg address, putting his life and achievements into some context. From the Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the National Mall we continued towards the tidal basin, passing through the Korean War Veterans Memorial which features a formation of 19 stainless steel statues representing a U.S. Army patrol moving through rugged terrain. The soldiers—drawn from different branches of the armed forces—are depicted in ponchos and combat gear, evoking the harsh conditions of the Korean Peninsula.

One of the most recent (2011) and spectacular memorials is the Martin Luther King Memorial at the north side of the Tidal Basin. This memorial depicts a 30-foot carving of King on a feature called the “Stone of Hope” that is being moved out of a feature called the “Mountain of Despair,” a reference to a line in the “I Have a Dream” speech. King is represented standing firm, resolute, and thoughtful, holding a rolled stack of papers. Quotations from speeches and writings are engraved on the arced “Inscription Wall” on the flanks of the memorial.

Continuing south around the west side of the Tidal Basin we walked under some of the famous cherry trees that were originally a gift from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo in 1910. Unfortunately, these trees became diseased, but they were replaced in 1912 with over 3,000 new plants. A few dozen of the original Tidal Basin trees still bloom each year and have been supplemented with thousands more throughout the district.

On our way round the west side of the tidal basin we entered the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial that opened in 1997. The FDR Memorial is not a monolithic, white marble structure, but a flowing landscape of architectural design. The memorial is designed as a timeline starting at the northernmost end. Bronze sculptures by several artists depict the longest-serving president and the major issues he dealt with during his presidency including the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II. The memorial consists of a series of “rooms” celebrating the 4 terms of FDR’s presidency.

Continuing on around the Tidal Basin we completed our loop back to the Jefferson Memorial and returned to our bike parking spot. It was a great half-day touring around Washington DC. We got to see a lot in a couple of miles walk around the Tidal Basin and National Mall.

Okefenokee

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Okefenokee

Merry Christmas from the Okefenokee!

We spent Christmas 2025 at the campground in the Laura S. Walker State Park in Georgia, just outside Waycross near the North end of the Okefenokee. We really enjoyed the campground on the banks of a peaceful lake with a variety of scenic walking trails through the campground and surrounding woods.

During our stay we took a 90 minute guided boat trip on the Okefenokee which started at the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center at the east entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Folkston, Georgia. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is the headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Mary’s rivers.  The refuge provides habitat for threatened and endangered species, such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, indigo snake, and wood stork, along with a wide variety of other wildlife.  It is world renowned for its amphibian populations that are bio-indicators of global health. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has 353,981 acres of National Wilderness Area within the refuge boundaries. In addition, the refuge is a Wetland of International Importance because of the Okefenokee Swamp’s importance and value on an international scale. The Okefenokee NWR is currently going through the nomination process to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our boat tour through Okefenokee Adventures was let by Bobby who was extremely knowledgeable about the Okefenokee flora and fauna. We had a fairly small group on our tour, so everyone got their questions answered in depth by Bobby. We saw lots of alligators basking in the sunshine along the banks of the canal as we headed into the swamp. The canal is a former logging canal but has not been commercially active for many years. In years past, the Cypress trees were harvested and shipped along the canal, but as they’ve had close to 100 years to recover there were many mature Cypress trees in evidence. A couple of miles along the canal we headed into an open area known as the Prairie, which had been created by earlier wildfires. There were great views across this area of the swamp, and we saw many birds including Sandhill Cranes, Egrets, and Blue Heron. Here you could see the floating peat islands beginning to form and repopulate with grass and trees that will eventually fill open areas to create a denser swampland. The name Okefenokee means Land of Trembling Earth which references the floating peat islands that form the swampland.

After the boat tour we took the Swamp Island Drive motor tour just outside the visitor center. This is a self-guided auto tour “lollipop route” of a total 7.4 miles. Swamp Island Drive has 12 numbered markers that indicate walking trails, historic sites, and other interesting points of interest. Near the end of the drive we visited the Chesser Island Homestead, a recreation of a 19th Century homestead that was occupied by the Chesser family through the mid-20th Century. The main building was closed during our visit, but we were able to see through the windows and look into some of the four rooms, including an indoor kitchen. Bathroom facilities were outside, but a bathtub was located on the back porch. We walked around the outbuildings that include a smokehouse, syrup shed, chicken coop, corncrib, and hog pen. The yard retains its original character – it is free of all vegetation, as was the custom of the time to reduce fire danger and increase visibility of snakes.

A highlight of our visit was the Chesser Island Boardwalk. We took the fully accessible boardwalk to the 40-foot Owls Roost Tower for a vast view of Seagrove Lake, prairies, and the Okefenokee Wilderness. We were there during the golden hour and were able to take some spectacular pictures as the sun was setting over the swamp.

Gettysburg National Military Park

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Gettysburg National Military Park

We visited the Gettysburg National Military Park in late October 2025 while staying at the nearby Thousand Trails Hershey RV Park in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

We decided to follow the auto audio tour which includes sixteen stops that provide a comprehensive overview of the three-day battle at Gettysburg during the American Civil War. We started our visit at the Museum and Visitor Center which gave a lot of information on the background to the battle as well as the battle itself and the aftermath. The battle took place between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, is widely considered the Civil War’s turning point, leading to an ultimate victory of the Union and the preservation of the nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of both the Civil War and of any battle in American military history, claiming over 50,000 combined casualties.

The auto tour took us around many of the key locations around the battlefield, with informational displays at each stop that generally followed the chronological order of key battle elements. Some of the most noticeable features as we drove around the battlefield were the 1,320 monuments and markers that came in various shapes and sizes and have been constructed in some cases in fairly recent times.

As part of the auto tour we drove through the small town of Gettysburg as we visited the various battle sites that surrounded the town. The auto tour ended as the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. On November 19, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg to take part in the dedication ceremonies for the new Cemetery. His brief speech, the Gettysburg Address still lives across place and time, and gave meaning to the sacrifices of the men who had struggled here, and stated his belief that the war would lead to a “new birth of freedom” for the nation.

Our visit to Gettysburg was very interesting and we gained a greater understanding of the history of the American Civil War in general as well as the specific Battle of Gettysburg.

 

Hershey Gardens

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Hershey Gardens

We visited Hershey Gardens in late October 2025 while staying at the nearby Thousand Trails Hershey RV Park in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Hershey Gardens opened in 1937 with chocolatier and philanthropist Milton Hershey’s request to “create a nice garden of roses.” 88 years later, the small rose garden has blossomed into 23 acres of botanical variety and beauty. Overlooking the town of Hershey, Hershey Gardens features a breathtaking assortment of flowers and shrubs, a stately collection of rare, signature trees, and a signature butterfly atrium.

We started our visit at the Butterfly Atrium with its hundreds of butterflies from around the world in a tropical setting that features colorful plants and water features. Only one of 25 indoor, tropical butterfly atriums in the country, Hershey Gardens’ Butterfly Atrium is home to dozens of rare butterflies from South and Central America, Africa and Asia. Various exotic plants thrive in the warm tropical environment including a Cacao tree and various Plumeria among others.

The spectacular rose garden is the historical highlight of Hershey Gardens, this is where it all began in 1937. The brilliant assortment of 3,000 roses representing 115 varieties includes an interesting mix of heights, colors and flower forms of Hybrid Tea, floribunda, shrub, and miniature roses. Many of the roses were still in bloom when we visited in early fall. We really enjoyed wandering among the roses and sampling their fragrances.

There are 11 themed gardens that we wandered through as we followed the meandering paths, there were some interesting finds as we wandered through the gardens including a lone Sequoia tree. We enjoyed the spectacular colors of the chrysanthemums in the seasonal garden.

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