Paddle Log #32 and 35 - Keep Loudoun Beautiful Potomac River Cleanup

It occurs to me that I never posted about last year's Keep Loudoun Beautiful cleanup event on the Potomac River, and here it is time for me to write about this year's cleanup.  So this post is a dual paddle log entry for both excursions.

Last year (2013) all geared-up and ready to go

Each summer, Keep Loudoun Beautiful hosts a couple of cleanup events on the local waterways.  The great guys at River and Trail Outfitters provide the canoes, paddles, and PFDs, and KLB provides trash bags, recycle bags, and long-arm grabbing tools.

2014 Washington Post photo by Lisa Bolton

They always have more people interested than they have boats, so you have to sign up in advance.  They won't even tell you where they're going to get in the water or get out of the water until you are a registered participant.  They don't want a lot of extra people showing up to participate and not have boats for them to use.

Safety brief before boarding the bus.

Our guide telling us some history of the river and reminding 

us of some safety rules before heading out. (2013)

Although KLB provided pizza at the take-out both years now, it's important to bring some snacks (or lunch) along.  Both times, we've met up at the take-out location at 8:30 a.m., turned in our liability waiver forms, had a safety brief from the River and Trail Outfitter guides, and boarded River and Trail Outfitter buses that take us up stream to the put-in location.  By the time we get up there and get in the water, it's about 10:30 a.m., and both times it has taken about 4 hours to get down to the take-out.  After arriving about 2:30 p.m., there's another 30 minutes or so of work unloading the trash from the canoes into the dumpsters, so it's 3 p.m. by the time you're getting in the car to go home. 

It's a beautiful stretch of the Potomac River here in Loudoun County.  Both times, we had beautiful days on the water and saw bald eagles, great blue herons, fish, and dragonflies.

My youngest son passing a can back for the recycle bag.

Last year, we were picking up every piece of trash we found as soon as we got on the water.  An hour later, we were only 1 mile into our 7 mile journey, and I said, "Alright boys, we're done picking up trash for today.  If we keep this pace, we won't make it home for dinner."  We just paddled onward to the takeout point.

This year, the guide said in previous years they get a lot of the trash at the upper stretch of the river, then everyone gets tired and just starts paddling for home.  So this year, he asked us not to pick up trash in the first mile so that we could focus some of our attention on the later miles of the trip.  We did.  It worked out well, but again, there came a point where we said "enough" because our canoes were pretty full and because we needed to paddle onward to the take-out point.

2014 Washington Post photo by Lisa Bolton

It amazes me how many tires we find in the river.  This year, we set a new KLB record for the number of tires pulled out of the river on a cleanup event - 90 tires!  The bin in the picture above was empty when we started.

We pulled 45 bags of recyclable material out of the river this year, plus filled up a 8 cubic yard dumpster with trash.

My silly boys describing this foreign concept 

of "land" after being on the water for so long.

Overall, the KLB cleanup events are a great way to get out on the water for the day, experience the beauty of the Potomac River, and provide a service to our community cleaning up the trash and preserving the beauty of the river.  Both years now, I have enjoyed the day with my boys on the river, and I hope we'll be able to do it again next summer, too.

If you're interested, please visit the Keep Loudoun Beautiful website.  Of note, they recently lost their funding from Loudoun County due to budget-crunch and belt-tightening, so they're relying on donations to keep them in operation.

GPS Stats:
Paddle Log #32:  7.1 miles, 3 hours 59 min, average speed 1.8 mph
Paddle Log #35:  6.9 miles, 3 hours 48 min, average speed 1.8 mph

Paddle Log #33: Potomac River from White's Ford to Goose Creek

Catching up...

After a long, cold, snowy winter, the weather finally turned around, but I wasn't able to get out on the water until the end of June. It wasn't for a lack of trying, mind you. There have been three aborted attempts before this.

First, for Spring Break, we went down to Hilton Head, South Carolina. It was a wonderful vacation, but I wasn't able to get out on the water. I had reservations for a guided paddling excursion in the Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge, but that day there were very high winds and some significant chop on the water. The tour guide company cancelled the trip due to hazardous weather conditions.

Next, I was scheduled to do the Keep Loudoun Beautiful cleanup event on Goose Creek in May, but the crazy heavy rains we had the week before resulted in some local flooding and hazardous conditions on the creek, so the cleanup event got cancelled.

Then, I was scheduled to go with the Monocacy Canoe Club on a trip down Antietam Creek, but there were severe thunderstorms and rain forecast for that day, so we cancelled.

Plus, it seems like just about every Saturday we have SOMETHING going on, and Sunday we're normally pretty busy with church stuff.

Finally, this weekend we had the rare confluence of both an open schedule on Saturday combined with favorable weather reports, so we finally made it out onto the water.

 * * * * * * * * * * *

I was excited to see in the local news that the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) opened a new park with water access for canoes and kayaks at White's Ford.  Because it's a new park and new access point to the river, I wanted to provide some details of the logistics here for others who may be looking to try it.

DIRECTIONS!  Now, I didn't realize when I was on the White's Ford Park page, if you click on "hours and directions" it gives you directions how to find it.  I just plugged the address (43646 Hibler Rd, Leesburg, VA 20176) into my GPS and followed the navigation system, but it turns out that isn't the best way to get there.  My GPS had me go north of Leesburg on Rt. 15 and turn off on Rt. 661, which resulted in about 3 miles of bumpy dirt and gravel roads.  Fast forward to the END of the day when I was leaving White's Ford, there is a big sign at the park exit that tells you a better way to get back to Rt. 15.

For those of you looking to go to White's Ford, stay on Rt. 15 north until just before Lucketts, then turn right on Spinks Ferry Road.  That will keep you on pavement and get you much closer to the park.  You'll turn right on Limestone School Road and left on Hibler.  

Facilities:
There is enough parking for about a dozen or so cars.  There is no boat ramp.  There is no restroom or water or other facilities.  There are nice new wood steps and a wood ADA ramp from the parking lot down to the river.

White's Ford Parking

Steps from the parking area down toward the water.

The rail is there to slide your kayak down.

The steps don't go all the way to the water though.

For reference, here's how close the water is 

to the path at a Point of Rocks USGS gage height of 2.35 feet.

Trip Planning:
I foolishly thought I was going to park here, get on the river and paddle upstream aways, then come back and get out at the same spot.

Not so much.

Note this is a ford.  In other words, the water is shallow enough for General Lee and his army to walk across the river here.  So it's shallow, but must still accommodate the much larger volume of water in the deeper parts of the river, so here in the shallow part of the river, the water has to go faster to keep up with the overall flow of the river.  

As I arrived there on the river, a guy was taking his kayak out of the water.  I asked where he went.  He said he tried paddling upstream, but he just couldn't do it.  The water was smooth, but noticeably moving.  So we changed plans to go downstream and have my wonderful wife pick us up someplace.

Right after we got in our kayaks and pushed away from the shore, my GPS said we were moving downstream at 2 mph without any paddling.  (For reference, this was at 5,500 cfs flow rate and 2.35 feet guage height at Point of Rocks USGS station.)  I typically paddle solo around 3 mph, so I suppose I could have paddled upstream at a 1 mph over ground pace, but not with my two sons with me.

Heading out from White's Ford, 

looking downstream on the Potomac

IN HINDSIGHT, I see two options for using this White's Ford Park:

1.  Put-in upstream at either Point of Rocks 9.5 miles upstream or at the Monocacy River Aqueduct 3.5 miles upstream and get OUT at White's Ford.  The challenge would be the finding White's Ford.  You'll be moving through the area pretty quick on the current and there's not a lot on the shore to alert you to the location of the take-out.

2.  Put-in at White's Ford and get OUT downstream... but where? 
- White's Ferry 3 miles downstream will charge you a fee to use their facilities, and only river LEFT on the Maryland side.  They won't let you use their ramp on the Virginia side.
- Kephart Bridge Landing on Goose Creek 9 miles downstream.  This is what we did, and it worked out well until about the last hundred yards.  Goose Creek was at 200 cfs flow rate and 1.95 feet gage height at the Leesburg Goose Creek USGS station, and the water was very calm and easy to paddle upstream.  However, about a hundred yards from the take-out, the water got too shallow and there were too many small rocks and ripples for us to paddle any farther.  We had to get out and walk on slippery rocks pulling our kayaks behind us to get to the take-out where my wife was waiting.  I slipped pretty bad and landed pretty hard with a big rock in the middle of my lower back.  I'm lucky I didn't break anything.  In hindsight... not so smart.
- Note:  There is a very nice dock for taking canoes and kayaks out right at the mouth of Goose Creek, but that is part of a private gated community.  You won't be able to use that unless you have access to the gated community.
- Algonkian Regional Park 14 miles downstream, which makes for a pretty long day on the water.
- I'm not very familiar with the Maryland side of the river, so I'm not sure if there are any other opportunities to take-out on that side.

All that being said, we had a very nice trip (except for the part where I slipped and banged my lower back on a rock on Goose Creek).  It was a gorgeous sunny day in the low 80s, and the water was fantastically warm at 81F.

We dragged our feet in the water for a while, and got out a few times to stretch our legs.  Most places the water was only a few feet deep and you could see the bottom.  When we stood up in the water, the fish were nibbling at our ankles and toes.  It tickled and it was fun to watch.

We saw bald eagles, great blue herons, white egrets, deer, butterflies, and dragonflies, and then...

...I suddenly had an urge to eat more chikin.

Thankfully, my awesome wife came and met us at White's Ferry and brought us lunch from Chick-fil-a.  We sat on the side of the river and ate lunch together before continuing our trek toward Goose Creek.

 

This is where the water got too shallow on Goose Creek for us to paddle any farther and we had to get out and walk to the take-out ahead on the left of this picture.



Stats for the paddle log:

• Date: Saturday, 28 June 2014
• Time In: 11:17 a.m.
• Time Out: 4:10 p.m. (based on time-stamp on my camera)
• Elapsed:  4 hrs 40 min (based on GPS)
• Moving Time (GPS): 3 hours 33 min
• Stopped Time (GPS):  1 hour 7 min
• Mileage (GPS): 10.12 miles
• Sea State: 0
• Winds: 0 kts
• Air Temp:  78F on the car when we parked climbing to the low 80s
• Water Temp: 81F
• Current:  2 mph at White's Ford, nearly still in deeper / wider parts of the river.
• Tides: N/A
• Avg Speed (GPS):  2.9 mph
  
• Max Speed by (GPS):  5.3 mph
• Rapids?  None. 
• Hazards?  Not much.
  
• Kit: My youngest son and I in our Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL, and my eldest son in his Perception Acadia Scout.  He's almost too big for it.  Flop hat, NRS paddling gloves, short sleeve shirt, swim trunks, Keen Newport sandals.
• Configuration:
• Route:  Put-in at the White's Ford Regional Park and paddled 9 miles downstream to Goose Creek.  Took a right and paddled a mile upstream on Goose Creek to the Kephart Bridge take-out.  
• Other comments (such as wildlife spotted): Bald eagles, Great Blue Herons, white egrets, deer, cows, butterflies, dragonflies, fish.

Mark your calendars: Nat'l Wildlife Federation Geocaching Event

For folks in the DC area, here's another thing to get you out of your house next Saturday, 15 May.  (Don't worry, the Loudoun County Farm Tour is 15 AND 16 May, so you CAN do BOTH events).

Buccaneer Anna's Treasure Chest, 

a geocache we found in 2006. 

(YB is making an "Argh!" pirate face.)

Ever heard of geocaching?  If you're not sure what geocaching is and/or you would like to learn more, here are two ways to find out:

1.  Watch this simple introduction video from the geocaching website.



2.  Come out and give it a try next Saturday in Reston.  (Note - volunteers will bring their own GPS receivers next Saturday, you DON'T have to go buy a GPS receiver to attend the event.)

Cross-posted from the NoVAGO forum:

The National Wildlife Federation is beginning a new educational geocache program. They are beginning on May 15th with an event in Reston, VA.

Geocache with the whole family on May 15th!

Grab your GPS, and venture out for a fun day of WILD treasure hunting in Reston with Ranger Rick® and his pals.

Where: Walker Nature Education Center

When:  11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
(Cachers will set out every 15 min., starting at 11:15)

Who: Families with kids, ages 6-14
or anyone interested in helping and/or loaning a GPS unit to
those new to geocaching (pairing up is welcome)

Why: National Wildlife Federation is working on a new initiative to get families outdoors through geocaching. And we need your help!

Please join us Saturday, May 15th, as we embark on this adventure.
We greatly value your participation and feedback.

Please RSVP to sign up for a start time or lend a GPS:
Contact Megan Isom: phone 908-797-2561 or email isomm (at) nwf.org
Or Danielle Brigida: brigidad (at) nwf.org

Please RSVP with the number in your party and a preferred start time.

NOTE: The event cache is posted on geocaching.com and NoVAGO.
Traditional geocaching rules will apply, including bringing items to trade (with the
exception of trackables). CITO is also encouraged. (CITO = Cache-In-Trash-Out)

The boys with the Stonedam Island geocache in New Hampshire.

Mark your calendars: Loudoun County Farm Tour

Twice each year, in the fall and the spring, Loudoun farms open their doors for the general public to visit thanks to the Loudoun Farms Fall and Spring Farm Tour.  The Spring Farm Tour is great for seeing all the newborn baby pigs, lambs, calves, horses, and other animals.  It's also a great excuse to visit some of the awesome Loudoun County vineyards and do a little wine-tasting.

LW and our good friend LS wine-tasting 

at Loudoun Valley Vinyards 

during the Spring Farm Tour

 
Well, it's that time of year again!  Here's the basics, reposted from the Loudoun Farms website:

2010 Spring Farm Tour

Spend a Weekend in the Country!

Join us for Loudoun's 2010 Spring Farm Tour
May 15 & 16, 2010 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.(Click here for photos from past Spring Farm Tours)

Scroll down to link to participating farms!
 

Download a Word document of Farm Tour participants
Download a 2010 Spring Farm Tour Map!

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16, 2010 enjoy this SELF-GUIDED TOUR down country roads to participating Loudoun County farms. Buy spring seedlings and plants for your home; say hello to farm animals and greet spring babies; tour a winery; learn how food gets from the farm to your table; and much more. There are new farms on the tour this year! Bring the whole family for a day or two of fun, education, and agritainment!

Visit the Loudoun Farms website for more information on participating farms and events.

Pentagon Gouge Extra Edition

First, lest we forget, tomorrow (10 April) is the 47th anniversary of the tragic loss of USS THRESHER (SSN-593). Here is a short article about the loss. The wikipedia page has a detailed description and computer-graphic animation of what happened to the THRESHER. In the wake of the loss of the THRESHER, the submarine force implemented a robust Quality Assurance (QA) program, in addition to some important design and procedural modifications. The submarine QA program is what ensures that we have the same number of surfaces as we have dives.

To the officers, crew and families of THRESHER and all the other submariners on eternal patrol, God bless you and may you rest in peace.


BT BT

Blessing of the Fleets Ceremony is TOMORROW!

I wish I had known about this sooner, but the Blessing of the Fleets Ceremony is tomorrow (Saturday, 10 April 2010) at the Navy Memorial in downtown DC. Click on the link for a timeline of events. If I didn't already have other plans, then I would have liked to attend.

BT BT

SnowTraffic-mageddon is coming!!!

Due to the Nuclear Security Summit meetings bringing 40 heads of state (and resultant security forces) to Washington, D.C. on Monday and Tuesday (12 & 13 April 2010), experts are predicting apocalyptic traffic jams.

Loudoun County has already announced they're not even going to provide commuter bus service into the city on Monday and Tuesday. LC buses will only go as far as Rosslyn, the Pentagon, and Crystal City in the morning. In the afternoon, they will ONLY run buses from Rosslyn every 15 minutes, NOWHERE ELSE / NO REGULAR SCHEDULE.

Plan ahead!

Mark your calendars: Loudoun County Farm Tour

For folks in the DC area: Mark you calendars for the Loudoun County Farm Color Tour on Oct 17 & 18. We have really enjoyed the Loudoun County Farm Tours in the fall and spring. Hopefully it'll be warmer this year - last year it was frigid outside, so we didn't do much on the tour.


Here's a repost of the announcement I received:

Loudoun’s Farm Color Tour October 17 and 18 - Spend a Weekend in the Country!

Fall is a beautiful time of year in the Loudoun Valleys, with views of the Blue Ridge, Short Hill and Sugarloaf Mountains. From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, enjoy this free self-guided driving tour down tree-lined country roads to privately owned Loudoun County farms. Thirty-one sites, including 13 wineries, are participating in this year’s tour. Visit horses, chickens, sheep and alpacas in their natural environment. Take a hayride or have lunch by a scenic pond. Pick your own apples and pumpkins. Tour a winery or a nursery and talk with the proprietors about their specialty products. Enjoy the colors, people and products of the Loudoun Valleys!

Three news stops are included in this year’s Farm Color Tour. At Ballentine Farm in Waterford, visitors can take a hayride, visit the pumpkin patch, dig potatoes, and learn about the lifecycles and basic care of the farm’s cows, horses, chickens, and turkeys while enjoying fresh-pressed cider and home-churned ice cream. Edgegrove Farm in Purcellville will be offering pony rides and horsemanship demonstrations, and visitors will be able to pet many different breeds of horses. And at Rock Hill Farm in Leesburg, visitors can see the collection of late 18th and 19th century brick and stone buildings, tour one of the few pre-Civil War bank barns remaining in Loudoun County, and enjoy a glass of lemonade while watching horsemanship demonstrations at Rock Hill’s new indoor arena.

Returning farms include Ayrshire, Alpacas of Middleburg, Butterfly Hill Alpacas, Chicama Run, Crooked Run Orchard, Equine Rescue League, Grandale Farm Restaurant, Heritage Farm Museum, Ivandale Nursery, Loudoun Nursery, Master Gardeners, Northgate Vineyards, Sunny’s Corner, Sweet Home Alpacas, Temple Hall, Wegmeyer’s, Willow Hawk, and Zephaniah Farm Vineyards. In addition, several wineries and country stores will have special events throughout the weekend.

Brochures for the Farm Color Tour, including a map and directions to all participating farms, are available at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, Loudoun County libraries and community centers, and the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association. Up-to-date tour information is also available at www.LoudounFarms.org, or request to have a brochure mailed to you by calling 703-777-0426 or email info@loudounfarms.org.

Save the Date: Dulles Day Plane Pull

Dulles Day Plane Pull is 3 October.

Think you can pull together 25 of your closest friends or coworkers and pull a big FEDEX jumbo-jet across the Dulles tarmac? Sign your team up for the Dulles Plane Pull on 3 October!

It's for a good cause!

Even if you aren't entering a team, it's kinda fun to watch, and they have lots of static aircraft displays and antique cars to check out. Last time I took my boys, we became local celebrities by virtue of the fact our picture was in the newspaper and coworkers of mine noticed. (Yes, yes, I'm famous. Sorry, no autographs.)

Or better yet, lend a hand! Special Olympics needs volunteers of all ages to help out the day of the event.

Kayaking Goose Creek

The main reason I wanted to take the kayak out on the reservoir on Saturday (besides New Toy Syndrome) was to test it out and make sure the boys were comfortable in it before going on a longer trip on Sunday.

After we bought the kayak, I went online in search of where we should go first. I did a Google search for kayaking in Loudoun County, and I happened upon Ben's Kayak Site. I liked all the great info that Ben had on his website, especially the maps showing where you can put kayaks into the water. I wrote Ben an email to ask a few questions about where to go for our first time out on the water. He just so happened to have a group going out for a trip on Goose Creek on Sunday afternoon and he invited us to join them.

We did, and I'm very glad we went. We had a great time.

We met up at Ben's house in Purcelville and then caravaned down to the creek. We dropped a van off at our take-out point and then headed down to the put-in point.

We got in the water by the old Goose Creek Bridge in Middleburg, VA. It's a beautiful old stone bridge and the site of a Civil War battle.

Self portrait at the old Goose Creek Bridge.

Gearing-up.

My wife was a little apprehensive about me going out with a bunch of strangers, but I figured it would be safer to go with other people who had done the trip before than to go alone. I was very pleased with what a quality group of people we had. There were several kids in the group, and they were all very polite, courteous, responsible, and well-behaved. Come to find out our new kayaking friends are also Christians, and we said a group prayer before getting in the water. I wasn't really worried to begin with, but it sure made me feel more comfortable with our group.

I took this shot right after we got in the water and then spun around to wait for the rest of the group to get in the water.

Ben took this pic of us in our kayak.

(I didn't have a very good feel for how limited YB's field of view from the back seat was until I scrolled through these pictures).

Panorama shot looking back at a sand-bar we had to portage across to avoid a downed tree (on the right side of the picture - click on image to enlarge).

After another portage across a sand-bar, the boys decided to swap seats. YB thought the view from the front seat was considerably better than the view of his Daddy's back.

I also found that it was a lot easier for us to synchronize our paddling with YB in the front. He doesn't do a very good job of paddling in sync with us when he's in the back, but with him in the front, ES and I were able to just follow YB's lead.

Overall, most of the water was very flat and calm. There were a few brief sections with very light rapids. Each time we zipped through those rapid sections, the boys had a blast saying "wheeeeeee!" I'm sorry I didn't get any video or photos of the rapids (to sooth my wife and reassure her we didn't do anything dangerous :-) ), but I was concentrating on steering the boat through the fast parts. Most of the trip was more like this pace...

Lest you think we just floated the whole way down the creek, here's a video snip with ES leading our paddling efforts.

We stopped once to get out and stretch our legs a bit, and YB did a little swimming around. The water was about 2-3 feet deep for the majority of the trip. There were several brief sand-bars that I had to get out of the boat and pull the boat across (with the boys still riding along inside).

For example, in this picture Ben took, you can see me standing next to the boat, pulling the boys across the sand-bar. I'll share one more video just because I like YB's commentary on me getting us across the gravel and sand-bar...

Finally we got out of those rocks.

This was the end of the line for the day. We got out of the water just past this bridge.

Ben took this group photo after we were were all out of the water.

Many thanks, Ben, Vic, Tim, and kids for a fun trip down Goose Creek. We appreciate you allowing us to join your group.

Trip Stats from handheld GPS:
Distance: 7.4 miles
Time: 2 hours 8 min moving / 59 min stopped
Moving average speed: 3.5 mph
Max speed: 9.1 mph

Kayaking on Beaver Creek Dam Reservoir

This morning the boys and I took our new kayak out for the first time, and it was AWESOME.

Since it was our first time, I wanted someplace fairly flat and calm, so we went to the Beaver Creek Dam Reservoir off of Belmont Ridge Road. There is a small parking area at the end of Mount Hope Road, and a small, muddy put-in area with a short floating wooden dock.

It was pretty windy out. The wind stirred up some chop in the middle of the reservoir and ES got a little wet from the spray as the waves hit the bow. Near the shoreline, the water was pretty calm.

We saw some fish jumping out of the water and we saw a turtle. We saw four other kayaks out on the water, and one guy in a small boat flying a kite.

Panorama shot near the western side of the reservoir.

ES sat in the front, I sat in the middle, and YB sat in the back. ES and I did pretty well and synchronizing our paddling strokes. I spent about half the time knocking paddles with YB behind me because he didn't understand the whole syncrhonization thing. The other half of the time, YB thought it was great fun to use his paddle as a water brake and see if he could make the boat stop. It made for a good workout for ES and I paddling against his resistance.

ES in the front seat taking a picture
of his new Mickey Mouse crocs.

Self portrait with YB in the back.

I managed to distract YB for a little while and take his paddle away and put the camera in his hands. Here was the perspective from YB's seat in the back of the kayak (you might not wanna watch this if you are susceptible to motion sickness):

I also wanted our first trip on the kayak to be fairly short so as not to exhaust the boys' patience or attention span. According to the GPS, we paddled almost exactly 1 mile (across the reservoir and back to the dock) in approximately 45 minutes. Then the boys said they were hungry, so we loaded up the car and headed home.

Luckily, when YB dropped the camera in the water, we were right next to the dock and the water was only 3 feet deep. The camera is waterproof, but it doesn't float. The water was clear enough I could see the camera laying on the bottom next to the dock, and I hopped in to retrieve it. Also luckily, the water was surprisingly warm. It was like bath water.

Notes to self:
1) Buy some sort of flotation device to attach to the camera.
2) Flip-flops don't stay on your feet when you step in thick gooey mud. The mud keeps them.
3) Just like when you go scuba diving, bring jugs of water next time to wash muddy feet off before getting in the car.

Overall, I rate our first trip out in the kayak as a great success. I hope to go again tomorrow on a 2 hour trip down Goose Creek with a few other local paddlers.

Goose Creek hike

There are several great parks in Loudoun County, and I keep finding new parks that Loudoun County Parks, Recreation, and Community Services (PRCS) have created for our enjoyment.

One of the nice Loudoun County parks in our area is the Keep Loudoun Beautiful Park that is located along Goose Creek between Route 7 and the Potomac River. If you park at the small parking lot just off the south side of Rt. 7 next to the old iron bridge, it's about a 2.5 mile hike from there out to the Potomac River (one way), and there is a series of about half a dozen or so geocaches along the trail.

Back in December 2006, I participated in a NoVAGO (Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization) park cleanup event there. YB went with me and we had a good time, but he couldn't make it all the way out to the Potomac and back. It's been on my geocaching "to do" list ever since then.

YB on the Goose Creek Trail during the NoVAGO park cleanup event in December 2006. I think that trash bag is bigger than he was back then.

I'm happy to report we finally knocked this series of geocaches off the "to do" list yesterday. It had warmed up to a balmy 52 degrees outside, and I was bound and determined to do SOMETHING OUTSIDE and not involving video games.

Unfortunately, in the amount of time it took me to eat lunch, get the boys suited up, gear packed up in the car, and ready to go, a cold front moved through and the temperature dropped to 38 degrees. Accuweather said the "real feel" was 30 degrees with the wind chill. My wife asked the boys if they still wanted to go, and I was afraid they were going to chicken out on me. I was pleasantly surprised that they still wanted to go.

Traditional Blunoz self portrait, this time with a trail marker.

We didn't do the whole trek from Rt. 7. We started at Riverside Parkway this time, about 1.5 miles from the Potomac. My friend Woods and his kids came along, too, and I owe Woods a tremendous debt of gratitude. After we had been hiking for a while, we found another Loudoun County PRCS parking area along the trail. Woods graciously went back and got his car and drove it up to the closer parking lot so we wouldn't have to hike ALL the way back.

We ended up hiking about 3.5 miles by my GPS trip odometer, and the kids did a great job. Much to my surprise, I didn't hear a single complaint about the cold. ES started complaining his feet hurt during the last half mile or so, but I couldn't really fault him for that. I think it was a genuine complaint, not just a "I'm tired and bored and making up excuses for you to carry me on your shoulders" gripe.

We found three geocaches along the way, and I was glad a different kid was the first to find each geocache, so it sorta spread the wealth as far as that honor was concerned.

Kids on the trail.

Woods teaching the kids to skip rocks on the water.

Group photo at the first geocache.

ES signs the log at the last geocache. In the background, that's Goose Creek coming in from the left and the Potomac River off on the right. This is where we turned around and headed back.

I feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction that we successfully broke suction on the TV and video games and got outside to do something this weekend. I hope you all enjoyed your President's Day holiday, too.