I spent a foggy morning along the Potomac recently, watching the fishing done by men and birds near Chain Bridge. The birds seemed to be winning, both the Great Blue Herons and the Red Faced Cormorants. I also spotted a Raven and an Osprey as I crossed the historic span headed home.

A little Chain Bridge history: There have been 8 bridges in this spot beginning just before the beginning of the 1800’s. They were destroyed or deteriorated by time, floods, and fire. At one point Confederate soldiers stood on one side and Union on the other. If I’m not mistaken, the current footings for the bridge date back to the 1870s. Today, the steep, steel gray, stone cliffs along the Virginia side are decorated with luxury homes towering over the fast moving waters below that still feel wild.

Down among the heavy, jagged rocks that characterize the Potomac River Gorge, just downstream from Great Falls and Mather Gorge, I also found a lot of trash and other debris strewn and left along the rocky banks. Certainly some of it comes from the river, dumped when the water runs high, but much of it comes from those who frequent this fishing hole.