Day Four (9/17) - Spying, Bouncing, and Climbing

The kids let me sleep in until after 8:00 this morning. Woo hoo! We did our regular school work, along with some extra research. We discovered that John Brown's body is buried in North Elba, up near Lake Placid, so we have another place to visit when we get back home. We also learned that black walnuts are eaten by squirrels, raccoons, deer, and bears. In case you're wondering.
Don helped the kids to make periscopes from milk cartons and old compact mirrors. We took them into the Civil War trenches in the campground to try out. They work surprisingly well. I was trying to sneak up on the kids while they were hunkered down in the trench, but Gabriella kept cheating and standing up to look. Good thing I wasn't armed.

On the way back, the kids played in the bounce house, but they discovered that it was pretty wet. Another set of clothes for the laundry! We also asked to have the giant jumping pillow inflated. I think ours are the only kids left in the campground. They had a grand time. Because I'm having trouble with my foot again, I couldn't join in, but they definitely got their PE workout today!

































I made barbecue turkey joes for a late lunch, then packed up a picnic dinner to take with us back to Harper's Ferry National Park. We visited the Information Center that we had missed last time. The kids tried on some Civil War era hats, asked the ranger some questions, and we watched a movie to complete Junior Ranger requirements.

Self-Portrait by Gavin

Gabriella wasn't happy about the gray cap, but Gavin had already taken the Union hat.

Love this one taken by Gavin!

We headed up the same tortuous stone steps that we climbed on Sunday, but this time we kept on going to follow part of the Appalachian Trail that runs through the park. We followed it up to Jefferson Rock, where Thomas Jefferson stood on top of the mountain to admire the view where he could see both the Potomac and Shenendoah Rivers. Views were incredible.

The actual Jefferson Rock where he stood. They reinforced it in the late 1800's because they were afraid it was going to tumble down the cliff. (photo by Gavin)

We also visited Harper Cemetery, where Robert Harper's (the town's founding father) family is buried. We followed the Cliff Trail (name says it all) the rest of the way up, then back down the mountain. It was definitely more challenging terrain than we had anticipated, but we made it and the kids didn't complain at all. I wish that I had taken more pictures, but I was busy not falling on my face.

These are just the steps up to the cemetery - not the super strenuous ones or the crazy treacherous ones.

Cool ivy-covered trees that I took a picture of when we took a water break.

Once we were back on level ground, we explored the ruins of an old pulp mill, sluiceways, and waterways. We followed the Virginius Island trail along the Shenandoah River. We stopped for a picnic and skipping rocks in the river. We then headed back to Lower Town where the truck was parked.

A rock skipping lesson in progress

We had to make a stop at a humongous Walmart to buy an external drive for my laptop. It has been crashing a lot lately and I was worried that I would lose all of my pictures. Then we would have to do the trip all over again :-) Next, it was back to the camper to snack, shower, and watch some tv before bed.