January Winter Wonderland

The creek in the woods by the
"down park"

Today we got two inches of snow in Silver Spring, the snow coming down from about 11:15 AM to 3 PM. Micah and I walked through the woods by what we call the "down park," until we got to the creek. These woods in the middle of the suburbs are just like an oasis in the middle of the desert: you could think you're in West Virginia walking through them. There we took these pictures (note the silver tree branches) and then walked back up to the park, where a few younger kids were trying to sled, although I don't think that there was enough snow to sled. But, some of them had made a snowman that was 3 feet tall! I guess two inches of snow is enough to play around. Although we still haven't gotten a blizzard, wed probably will in February. We are the only Woodwards experiencing winter, so we'd better enjoy it!

Another shot of the creek, facing
upstream this time

Snow Coating in Maryland

The snow measured three
inches on the porch railing

Today we woke up in Silver Spring with two inches of snow, and to a message from MCPS saying that school will be cancelled. It's not enough snow for sledding, but the snow is still falling and is predicted to stop at noon. Even though the snow short outside, the temperature is around twenty degrees outside, and it will be like that for the rest of the week. We hope for a major blizzard this year.

Harper's Ferry

The streets of town with
Maryland Heights in the
background

Today was an amazing trip to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. After an hour-long drive from Silver Spring, we arrived at the national park's visitor center. From there, we took a shuttle bus to the town. The town, which dates back to the late 1700's, has 200 year old shops and reveals the history of the civil war. Virginia and Maryland, both slave states, were the two states that were home to the town, but during the civil war, MD refused to leave the union after Virginia left. West Virginia left Virginia, and the war broke out. We crossed the Potomac River on foot to get back to MD, and walked along the C and O Canal towpath to the beginning of our trail. We hiked up an area of high ground known as "Maryland Heights," where we hiked steeply up to 1449 ft. At the top of the mountain was a stone fort, formerly a part of a mountaintop union camp. We hiked up the steep trail thinking about how hard it must have been for the union soldiers to drag cannons and supplies up to the top. According to a book, Abraham Lincoln gave up before reaching the camp. We ate our picnic lunch and enjoyed the view east of the river and mountains. We then hiked down to 661 ft., where we enjoyed views of the town and the river from a cliff overlook. This was followed by hiking back to WV and the town. We learned the story of John Brown, who attacked the town in 1859 with hope to inspire slave revolts. His fort still stands there today, although he was hanged after the war. We also explored the shops and streets of town before riding the bus back to our car and driving home.

The town as seen from the
cliff in Maryland

The view east of Maryland and
Virginia from the fort

The Potomac River divides MD
and WV/VA

Snow in Silver Spring

The snow in our backyard and on the
rooftops

Our first snowfall in Silver Spring occurred today.Beginning at around 10:30 AM, it began to stick at around 11:15 AM. We had a half-day at school today, and up ahead we have a four-day weekend. Even though the snow was less than an inch on the ground, snow is still snow, and we got our very first snowfall of the year.We hope that we will get significant amounts of snow this winter, but not as much snow as last year. We are prepared for whatever this winter brings!

Sugarloaf Climb 2014

The view to the north

Descending the green trail

Climbing the boulders on the summit

Today was a successful climb of Sugarloaf Mountain, located in Maryland. We left the car at the west view parking lot, and hiked the blue trail to a viewpoint. We then hiked up the red trail, which is pretty steep, and that took us to the summit (1283 feet). The views were impressive.To the north and west were the mountains, and leading up to them were miles and miles of countryside. The descent was down the green trail, which at the beginning was so steep that it had steps. Sticking to tradition, we "visited" the nearby Comus Market. We bought the traditional apple cider, plus some pancake mix, jam, and hot apple cider that seemed to warm up the cold and windy day. Although we went later than we usually do in the season, the fall colors were still present, as you can probably see in the picture on the top left. The views were just as impressive as usual, and we look forward to our next climb.

At the summit

A trip to Great Falls

My parents, Marta and Mark, in front of the potomac river
on the billy goat trail.

Today our family and our grandma went on a short day trip to Great falls, Maryland. We had a very nice picnic and a great hike. Our family hike the billy goat trail, while grandma hiked along the C&O canal (Chesapeake and Ohio). Its called the billy goat trail because you hike over a ton of rocks, and you are supposed to feel like a billy goat. Us kids had fun by playing games on the trail. It was good exercise and it had great views from the view points.

Our family at great falls. 

A group of kayakers learning safety lessons.

Day Trip To Gettysburg, PA

On Thursday, my Grandma took Eli, Micah, and me to Gettysburg for a day of even more history of Abe Lincoln and the Civil War.

Us three boys at the visitors center

 In the visitors center, we saw a short film about the civil war, saw a huge cyclorama painting that showed the view of the battlefields while the battle was in full force, and saw a walk-through museum that had every bit of information that a tourist would need to know about the battle of Gettysburg. After the visitors center was a "self-guided auto tour", which led us through the battlefields. The first place we stopped at was the Gettysburg Cemetery, which had hundreds of graves of soldiers in wars, from the civil war to the Vietnam war. The cemetery was also the site of President Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address, and many monuments to soldiers who died in the war. Our next stop was the top of Little Round Top, a small hill with great views views of the battlefields. Eli and I made it to the top of the first tower in searing heat, but enjoyed the views. After the tower, we all enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade. The climb up the Pennsylvania memorial was also a highlight. Last was the second observation tower, on Culp hill. All four of us climbed this tower, and enjoyed the view. It was a great outing.

The PA
memorial

                                            

The view from the first
observation tower

The view of the town
from the top of the
second tower

On the top of the second
tower, with little round
top to the left

The graves of many
soldiers who died 
fighting to end slavery