I’m back to just letting things unfold and not trying to control the outcome, and it made for a very pleasant, interesting and calm day. Of course I have to get on the right road and get to the right hotel safely, but I’m letting the rest fall into place.
Adios West Virginia. Thanks for the 24 hours or so, most enjoyable. Unlike the entrance to WV, the exit was pretty spectacular, walking over the Potomac River on the railroad bridge into Maryland. Thankfully I’m still about 45 miles from Washington DC - close enough for me now. I love the city, just don’t like what’s happening within. If I were king, thighs would be different, but I have no interest in being king remember?
It was a very nice short walk into Harper’s Ferry, nice rolling hills, beautiful sky, and I actually did a little “touristing” while in town. First stop was the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, in essence the AT Headquarters, almost equidistant from both ends. I had a nice educative conversation with the nice attendant, learned quite a bit. It really is an impressive trail, from Georgia to Maine, roughly 2,200 miles through 14 eastern states. It’s definitely on my new radar screen, even though I’m a three state Appalachian veteran, having walked a bit in Virginia, West Virginia and now Maryland - total accumulated distance maybe a mile, but hey, it’s a start. It was nice to see other walkers along part of the trail today; walking is a good thing to do you know? The picture below is of a very pretty part of the trail alongside the Potomac River.
Then the tourist had a good burger for lunch and walked around this very cool old town seeped in all kinds of history I don’t know. I read the historical road signs, that’s about it for now, but I have a feeling I’ll be reading quite a bit about this part of the World and its history.
Harper’s Ferry Town Hall - beautiful old red brick building on the main street. Houses the hall itself, the post office, and the Olde Towne Liquor Store! Never seen that before, but I suppose it works.
And today was my last view of the Shenandoah river, at the confluence with the Potomac.
Adjacent to Harper’s Ferry is the town of Bolivar, a name that hardly fits in with Jackson, Lee, Washington, Lincoln and the boys. On my way into town, a little bust of Simon Bolivar himself! So in my mind I tried to figure out how on earth Bolivar got to West Virginia to establish this town, but the math didn’t quite work out, as many of these buildings were built before he was born, and how would he have traveled from Venezuela. Wikipedia to the rescue, see for yourself…
I can’t find much more as to the relevance of Bolivar to the town, guess they just decided, and it reminds me a little of Kodak, Tennessee, named only because the postmaster liked the word. So there ya go… things aren’t always as they may seem. And let’s be glad they only used one of his last names, for he’s fully known as Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte-Andrade y Blanco.
