Rock Creek Ramble

September 20, 2014 – Rock Creek Ramble

More than 25 years living in the DC area, and I’d never set foot in Rock Creek Park until earlier today.  Elliott, of course, has visited the park on numerous occasions.  In fact, in the 1950s, he and Marie-Claude would go horseback riding there.  However, my only view of the park had been from a car traveling along Rock Creek Parkway. 

Then I discovered an easy way to get an up-close look at the park.  I signed up for a free guided nature walk, part of the annual Walking Town DC event sponsored by the DC Cultural Tourism organization.  At ten this morning, I met up with a dozen other urban trekkers and our guide at the Cleveland Park Metro station.  We walked north a couple of blocks on Connecticut Avenue to the start of the Melvin Hazen trail, which would bring us to Rock Creek Park.  Within a couple of steps on the trail, we were in another world, a world of natural wildness right in the heart of DC.  All the noises of the city receded, replaced by bird song and the gurgling of Rock Creek.  Surrounded by dense foliage, earthy smells, and the chatter of cicadas, we made our way down a steep trail.  And this wasn’t a tame, well-groomed trail, but a rugged path strewn with rocks, roots, and fallen tree limbs.  Needless to say, it took a lot of concentration to keep my footing.  And trying to take notes on my iPhone as I walked was quite challenging.  

We crossed the creek several times.

Periodically, our guide paused to give us a mini-lesson on the history of the park.  At 1700 acres, Rock Creek Park is the largest urban park in the country.  It’s also part of the National Park system.  Originally, the land was home to Native Americans, but Europeans who arrived in the 1600s and 1700s started tobacco plantations, complete with slaves.  Once the soil had been exhausted from the tobacco, the landowners switched to corn and wheat, and built mills along the river.  The ruins of one early stone mill are still standing.  In the early 1900s, Rock Creek Park was a favorite getaway for President Theodore Roosevelt, who enjoyed bird watching and skinny-dipping there. 

At the point where the Hazen trail meets the boundary of the federal parkland, we encountered civilization again, in the form of picnic tables, restrooms, and cars whizzing past on nearby Rock Creek Parkway.  A wide asphalt path was filled with bikers and runners out enjoying the fine September morning.  But we turned off onto the Western Ridge Trail to continue our exploration.  It was on this part of our hike that I earned my klutz badge – not from tripping over a root or a rock, but from misjudging the height of a wooden step that was set into the steep section of the path.  No serious injury, just lots of dirt all over my hands and my clothes.  Anyway, now that I’m an expert Rock Creek hiker, I’ll be happy to guide anyone who wants a personal guided tour of the park. 

Getting back to nature was a great way to end a busy week.  And speaking of nature, I noticed this interesting looking plant growing in my garden.  I wonder, is it a plant or a weed?  Any gardeners out there, I’d welcome your opinion.  

Plant or weed?

I subbed at Annandale High School on Monday and Tuesday.  Getting up at 5 am wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, and I really enjoyed my time at school, but when I came home, I was exhausted and totally useless for the rest of the day.  Maybe it’s time to consider re-retiring. 

On days I didn’t sub, I had plenty to keep me busy.  Elliott and I are continuing to work on the downstairs cleanup.  I’ve been concentrating on Matt’s former room, which was filled to the brim with stuffed animals, toys, Pokemon cards, baseball cards, swim team ribbons, math team trophies, elementary school projects, notebooks from high school, etc.  Of course, he didn’t want to get rid of anything.  Finally, I convinced him that it would be okay to discard things if I took photos of them first.  As I sorted, Elliott packed up the things we're donating and hauled out trash. 

Now that I’ve finished going through all of Matt’s belongings and cleared out his old room, Elliott can get in there and tear up some more carpet.  When he isn’t working on our project, he’s either listening to an audio book on his iPad, napping, or actively worrying.  Yes, worrying occupies a great deal of his time.  He’s always been a worrier, and this tendency has increased in recent years.  In fact, I don’t have to worry anymore, because Elliott worries for me.