WatershedEvents

Kayaks on the Potomac River

An intrepid kayaker (Jared Petersen) works the wash below some of the larger rapids in Great Falls National Park.

I've spent most of my adult life in areas west of the Rockies. As a result I'm a little bit of a snob when it comes to appreciating rugged scenic vistas. I got my comeupance last month, however, when Kitty and I visited her sister in McClean, Virginia. A very short drive from her home in suburban McClean lies the Great Falls of the Potomac. What a beautifully rugged place! It must have been absolutely breathtaking when George Washington strode its banks over 250 years ago. It is also a very dangerous place - an average of 7 souls lose their lives along this stretch of the river. Not a few of them are outdoor folk such as the kayakers shown in this small collection of photos. 

A pair of kayakers work their way through a maze of rapids as they head for the largest drops in the run.

Can you spot the second kayaker in this shot?

There he is!

The last of the big drops

Postscript - Just a few days after I took these photos a highly skilled kayaker lost her life in one of the drops along this treacherous reach. Details.

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DC Visit

From Peter Coffin's exhibition at the Hershhorn Museum in Washington, DC. What a wonderfully eclectic place!

As I mentioned in the previous post, in September Kitty and I visited her sister in McClean, Virginia. Ann and her husband Steve were wonderful hosts. Among the highlights of our visit were (1) a hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals; (2) a hike along the banks of the O&C Canal; (3) a visit to the National Mall and (4) a hike along the Virginia side of the Great Falls National Park. Here are some snaps from the visit:

Ann and Steve in front of one of the panels in an exhibition by Barbara Kreuger / Hershhorn Museum.

Kitty and me in front of another panel from Kruger's exhibit.

Juan Munoz's "Last Convdersation" in the sculpture garden at the Hershhorn. 

One of the exhibits outside the Smithsonian Castle.

I visited this powerful memorial in 1997. It reduced me to tears in less than five minutes. Made it to ten this time 'round.

This memorial has a far greater effect on me than the one across the mall that commemorates the war I actually fought in.

Remnants of the O&C Canal, a grand old artifact that testifies to the audacity of post colonial Americans.

Ann and Kitty stand atop the buttress that supports a large portion of the canal - 70 feet above the actual river bed.

A paddler on one of the Potomac RIver's quieter side channels, 70 feet below the O&C Canal pathway.

 

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