Doug and I were heading back to Charlottesville after visiting Heidi in the D.C. burbs. Suddenly, in typical Doug fashion, he said, " Ya know what? We're going to do something!" and he consulted his GPS for directions to Great Falls. ( I love this about him! Spontaneity is the spice of life!)
A few twists and turns later, and we were at Great Falls National Park. The park was very crowded and I found this surprising since it was only 11:30 on a Sunday. Doug explained that it's the back yard of D.C. Makes sense.
As we walked towards the falls, we had a good laugh because I could smell something very lovely (probably Honeysuckle) but just as I said, " Wow, what smells so awesome?" we turned our head to see the most disgusting "port-o-john". Ha! I laughed and laughed! Once I stopped laughing I could hear the roar of the falls! We hurried past families and down the trail to the Potomac. The view did not disappoint! Though the river looked low, the falls/rapids were impressive. As soon as I saw it, I started thinking about white water kayaking. My first impression was that these rapids were easily class 5 or 6 rapids. I later googled to check and I was right! I used to own a white water kayak and have paddled class two and three rapids. There is NO way I'd ever paddle Great Falls. The drops, the waves, and the hazards looked spectacular but also terrifying! Kudos to those brave souls who do it (and apparently, there are plenty who do!).
Once we took in the beauty of the river, we decided it was time for our ritual jumping bean/cheek kissing photo shoot. The jumping bean photo was difficult to master this time around and it took several attempts to get a few good ones.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable little jaunt. I am very happy we went. Although, I am a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get a stamp for my NPS passport. Another time, perhaps.
For more info on Great Falls, check out http://www.nps.gov/grfa/index.htm
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