C&O Canal Trail - Today I started at Lock 10 (about mile 9) and bicycled north past Great Falls to mile 20.
This is the C&O Canal. There is a very slight flow of water. Just beyond the trees to the left is the Potomac River.
There are several ways to tell when you're getting near Great Falls: the roar of the falls, the crowds, and the portaging kayakers
The Potomac I've seen is mostly placid, but this section is white water.
This was a quiet day. After a rain the falls really roar.
To me, this evokes Chinese landscape paintings, especially the little tree at the upper left. http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/232636280/Chinese_landscape_painting/showimage.html
When I was younger, I kayaked. There's a basic maneuver called the Eskimo Roll.
When I would flip over, my head would bump along the bottom as I communed with the fish. Hence the helmet.
While I was upside down, I lifted my paddle above the water and slapped it down. This righted the boat! But...
Preferring to breath air, I tended to slap the paddle too hard. When I rolled up, I got a breath of air--and continued to roll and found myself upside down under water again. This up-down up-down paddle wheel cycle continued while the boat swung forwards, backwards and sideways in the current. Spectators were amazed. This guy did not need the Eskimo Roll. How boring.
A favorite pose is to perch your baby on the rail over the gorge above the rapids.
Great Falls Tavern is a museum of the lives of the 19th century canal lockmasters and boaters. More info at: http://www.nps.gov//archive/choh/Visitor/Centers/GFTavern.html. The exhibits were fascinating, but after biking and hiking I was disappointed that it was not really a tavern, I found a hotdog at a nearby concession stand.
Tourists can ride a short distance in a mule-drawn canal boat and experience rising eight feet in a lock.
Camping just a little northwest on the trail from Great Falls. More info on the trail and Great Falls is at: http://bikewashington.org/canal/canal_b.php
Catchin' some rays on this sunny day.
"Mom, Billy is hogging the log!"
Vigilance.
I saw several more blue herons. Here is an egret.
Let your egrets fly away. More park info at http://www.nps.gov/choh
