"Lazy Eye" by the Silversun Pickups is just a great song and I love it. I have been listening to them a lot the past couple of days and this song is the one I fell asleep listening to last night. Great tune and good background music for today's blog.
I woke up this morning and after my normal routine found myself with a cup of tea sitting in the sun room enjoying the view. Looking out the windows you see my back yard giving way into a shallow valley (which is a former cornfield but is now being turned into a housing development) and some distant and wooded ridges beyond that. This view points north so the rising sun shines across the valley from right to left. It is such a peaceful sight with squirrels and chipmunks going about the business of collecting food, birds singing in the trees, that soft early morning glow. You can almost feel the world coming to life today. And it also reminds me of one of my favorite spots: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
I have always had a passion for American History, especially the period between the Mexican War and The turn of the century in the 1800s. A lot of people may not know this about me but I was once a very active civil war re-enactor. I recently described myself as a "closet history nerd" to someone that wasn't familiar with this side of me. I have a two very good friends who do this with me and our little trio has traveled all over to attend re-enactments and volunteer our services at historical sites for interpretation. Our highlights include Gettysburg, PA, Antietam, MD and Bentonville, NC. Most re-enactors enjoy the large scale re-enactments of famous battles, but I have always preferred doing the interpretive work at historical sites. We call this "living history" in the hobby. Teaching people about the civil war, everything from the way the soldiers fought and lived to the equipment they wore and the food they ate. My favorite was working with schools. After doing a program for a couple of 4th and 5th grade classes I decided my career path would be in Education. I have since changed my mind but that is still something I have a keen interest in. At any rate, let me stay on topic here and get to my point... of all the places I have been my favorite is Harpers Ferry, WV.
Harpers Ferry is a lovely little town tucked into the corner of West Virginia. It was the site of John Brown's raid in 1859 and was the location of an armory for the US Army before the war. Harpers Ferry saw the largest surrender of US troops during the war and changed hands between north and south eight times. It is a national historic site and the Park Service has done an excellent job of restoring a large part of the town. The entire downtown area by the river is restored to what it would have looked like in 1862. It is an impressive site when you walk down the street, it literally takes you back in time. The workers are all dressed in period attire and run the shops and offices just as they would have in the 1860's. When we volunteer down there we set up a military camp and we become the provost marshals (military police) for the town. It is a lot of fun. We ask visitors for their pass, look for Confederate sympathizers and tell people about what it was like to be a soldier in the Federal Army during the civil war.
Waking up on a Saturday or Sunday morning in Harpers Ferry dressed in period attire is a unique experience. Walking down the street early in the morning and seeing no cars or hints of the modern world is amazing. The town is located at the point where the Potomac River merges with the Shenandoah River so you can literally walk to "The Point" where the rivers meet and it is a beautiful place. The river is rocky at this point and there are railroad bridges crossing it off to your left and the trestles where one once crossed it off to your right. to your left across the Potomac is Maryland Heights towering above you and to your right across the Shenandoah is Virginia with Loudoun Heights. The Shenandoah flows into the larger Potomac in front and runs off into the distance, eventually passing into the Atlantic many miles away. I walk to this place every morning when in Harpers and I sit in peace and soak up the wonder of this picturesque landscape.
Downriver from The Point.
This aerial view gives a basic idea of what I'm talking about.
These pictures do it no justice, but its the best I could find on the web. You really need to go see it for yourself. This is what I was thinking about this morning while I enjoyed my breakfast. Another place I can slip away to in my mind and feel peace. The Point.
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