Great Falls Park

We've been cooped up for much of the summer helping the little guy recover from major back and leg surgeries, but we were finally able to make an excursion to an amazing national park everyone has been telling us about that's only about 15 miles from our house!

Great Falls Park is where the wide and mighty Potomac River chokes down and flows through a narrow gorge as it heads toward Washington DC and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.



The result is a breathtaking stretch of whitewater and waterfalls that meanders through the jagged rocky outcroppings of Mather Gorge, on the border between Virginia and Maryland.

The rapids vary from Class II to Class V and higher.  I don't know if my Dad ever saw this on any of his many trips out to DC for work, but I know he would have enjoyed looking at and "scouting" the river to find the best and safest route through and around the hazards.  This stretch of the river is definitely not navigable in a drift boat, but the kayakers downriver were playing around in the rapids and having a great time.

Other "Fun Facts":  

-  Washington D.C. and the surrounding area relies on the Potomac watershed for the majority of its water.  

-  The park ranger at one of the overlooks was telling tales of the various high water marks (see photo below) that have occurred over the years due to quick melts of particularly large snow falls, massive rainfall, and the like.  Apparently the river will back up and flood here very quickly because it's narrowing down from about 1000 feet wide upriver to about 75 feet wide as it makes its way through the gorge. 

-  George Washington surveyed and spent much of his life in and around the Potomac Basin, and he led an effort to construct a canal system on the Virginia side of the river to facilitate trade and commerce upriver.  

-  The first canal system only operated about 30 years, but it was replaced by a canal system on the Maryland side of the river that still exists today.

We'll definitely be back to this beautiful place before winter sets in, and next time we'll bring our picnic basket!  

Giving It A Shot

Our oldest air rifle shooter has had an opportunity this summer to do some practicing with the local precision air rifle shooting club that the high school rifle team kids participate in during the "off season."

[Note:  We would be remiss if we didn't send a shout out and thank you to our awesome and dedicated 4-H leaders and shooting sports coaches back home for giving him the solid foundation and shooting skills to make this even possible for him--you know who you are!]

In contrast to the 4-H "sporter" class shooting he has done previously, this is "precision" air rifle, which is more competitive and serious and is challenging him to take his game up a notch.  In the high schools out here, it is a varsity sport kids can compete in, and many kids continue competing and shooting in college and beyond.

It's also "cha-ching" (i.e., more expensive, requiring much nicer guns and lots of other equipment--shooting jackets, shooting pants, special shoes, rifle scopes and more--in addition to the usual prone pads, slings, gloves, spotting scopes, stands, sand bags, kneeling rolls, shooting glasses, ear protection and the like).

Shooting prone

Thankfully, the club has equipment that new kids can use when they first start out, but there will definitely be an investment in the sport if he is given an opportunity to seriously pursue it at a competitive level.

Coaching and making adjustments for his "lefty" form

In the meantime, he is getting some excellent coaching . . .

Resting in between targets

having some early success . . . and having a great time doing it!  

Not bad for a new kid!

It doesn't get much better than that.  :)

IceKid!

Introducing . . . ICEKID . . . the latest superhero to join the Marvel Universe, whose namesake is the legendary IceMan of X-Men fame!  

His superhuman power is staying icy "cool" in extremely stressful and scary situations.  

The other superheroes have had to pick up the slack in the universe somewhat recently as . . . almost two months to the day after a major spine surgery . . . IceKid underwent his SECOND major orthopedic surgery of the summer at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Children's Hospital in Baltimore, MD.  

In the capable hands of his amazing surgeon, this kid recently had the first of what will be several planned procedures on his legs and feet to help straighten them out and provide a better base of support for his wiry superhero frame.  

Most teenagers would lament the summer lost to either having surgeries or recovering from them, but true to form this kid has been upbeat and uncomplaining throughout.

To speed up his recovery, IceKid has been using the latest technology to keep his legs at a cool 45 degrees.  This "IceMan" machine (see photo below) is a unique "cold therapy" system that recirculates cold ice water from the cooler through thin pads that are ace bandaged around his knees.  No more leaky ziploc bags of ice water!  

Special message from IceKid himself:  "Carpe diem, and enjoy the last month of summer!!!"