A walk through Difficult Run Stream in Great Falls, VA in the middle of our second blast of real cold this winter. This stream feeds into Great Falls National Park, and offers a not so secret on-foot backdoor entrance to the park. Its trail connects to many of the Great Falls trail hikes within the park.
I will admit, I love DC in the spring the most, but I also enjoy the unique sights of an icy Potomac and C&O canal.
Hope you enjoy the sights, as well.
A total coincidence and complete aside, I write this as I learn that a majority of the members of the advisory board for the National Park Service have resigned out of frustration with Secretary Zinke. Hard to believe we, as a country, don’t universally want to protect and support the stewardship of the natural places of beauty in our country, which, in most cases, took millions of years to create. I couldn’t help but think the cairn photo in this post is a perfect metaphor for the delicate balance between protecting these priceless places that nature has created against the backdrop of today’s conflicted U.S.
The circumstances certainly give me pause following my December commitment to donate a portion of my holiday sales to the National Park Foundation, as it’s not clear what the Department of the Interior’s commitment is to the National Parks. Not that it’s a tremendous amount, but it sure would be nice to know a donation isn’t a waste of time. And, if we can’t give to the National Parks without trepidation, we’ll lose them, I fear. #FindYourPark? Maybe not. Have they heard about this thing called the Outdoor Recreation Industry employing 7.6 million people, and consumers to the tune of $887 billion spent annually (Outdoor Industry Association, “Outdoor Industry Economy Report”, Outdoorindustry.org, 4/25/2017)?
Amy Linn Doherty 
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