Before we said goodbye to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park, we took a small hike and saw a few thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail, including an old John Muir-ish looking fellow, armed with an oversized backpack and a sturdy walking stick. He looked to be in his 60s or 70s and yelled out to us that he started in May and is hoping to finish in November. How admirable and cool.
So we left one national park and set our sights on yet another, historic Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. Only this park is a little different. It's actually a preserved town located on the mountainous point where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers converge. It is a place of countless historic incidents, most notably in 1859, when radical (probably an understatement) abolitionist John Brown attempted a raid to free slaves being held there, which went ridiculously, absurdly wrong. In short, he and his band of liberators were captured, tried, and hanged. This incident was more or less the "straw that broke the camel's back"--thus, the Civil War erupted shortly thereafter.
The park service has managed to maintain the town's buildings since Civil War time, recreating their insides, and decorating others with museums. It's a one of a kind place, said to be the birth of America's first railroad, canal, and large factory.
The town is sort of one big hill, offering marvelous views of both rivers and their surrounding mountains. One viewpoint we stood on is Jefferson's Rock, so named because Thomas Jefferson once stood on it and dramatically uttered something along the lines of: "This sight is worth crossing the Atlantic for." Although the view is pretty spectacular, Franco and I both agreed he was just trolling the American history books. The real sights are on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and T.J. knew it.
We left Harpers Ferry and headed into Maryland, or what I would call "The Misty State," for everywhere we looked, there sat a thin layer of mist. It was literally everywhere--over endless fields, on streets, in our car...
Anyway, we traveled through four states that day: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and, finally, Pennsylvania, where we checked into a hotel at hallowed ground, Gettysburg.
So we left one national park and set our sights on yet another, historic Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. Only this park is a little different. It's actually a preserved town located on the mountainous point where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers converge. It is a place of countless historic incidents, most notably in 1859, when radical (probably an understatement) abolitionist John Brown attempted a raid to free slaves being held there, which went ridiculously, absurdly wrong. In short, he and his band of liberators were captured, tried, and hanged. This incident was more or less the "straw that broke the camel's back"--thus, the Civil War erupted shortly thereafter.
The park service has managed to maintain the town's buildings since Civil War time, recreating their insides, and decorating others with museums. It's a one of a kind place, said to be the birth of America's first railroad, canal, and large factory.
The town is sort of one big hill, offering marvelous views of both rivers and their surrounding mountains. One viewpoint we stood on is Jefferson's Rock, so named because Thomas Jefferson once stood on it and dramatically uttered something along the lines of: "This sight is worth crossing the Atlantic for." Although the view is pretty spectacular, Franco and I both agreed he was just trolling the American history books. The real sights are on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and T.J. knew it.
We left Harpers Ferry and headed into Maryland, or what I would call "The Misty State," for everywhere we looked, there sat a thin layer of mist. It was literally everywhere--over endless fields, on streets, in our car...
Anyway, we traveled through four states that day: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and, finally, Pennsylvania, where we checked into a hotel at hallowed ground, Gettysburg.
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