USA: Great Falls, Virginia

December 2021

Great Falls of the Potomac is one of those places whose name outsizes what actually exists. The falls are absolutely beautiful, but they are more a series of rapids than a classic waterfall. In the past, they also created a serious barrier to small boats navigating the Potomac. The name came from the difficulty in getting by them - not from being some "Niagara-like" cataract.

When I lived in Washington in younger days, I rode my bicycle to the falls from the city. The C&O Towpath trail was in good shape and it made for a great day trip. The only problem was that on the Maryland side, the best view of the falls is far from the main trail. To "easily" see Great Falls is to view it from the Virginia side - something Brian and I did several years later.

The place remains one of my favorites (in spite of the inherent "name disappointment") in the area.

Fast forward to Matt looking at retirement and being of an age where he could start to benefit from discounts. During one of my many long-stays at the Perry Place Refuge in DC, PM expressed interest in getting a lifetime national park pass for seniors. My parents had bought them when they travelled west and visited several national parks. My father loved having one. Since Great Falls was the only place that sold them close to DC, we made a day trip there to buy them. I had no idea when I would use it, but considering they continually climbed in price, I figured it was about time to do it. The added bonus was buying one before the design was changed to feature the current president rather than a nature scene. I certainly did not want a card with the face of someone who was slashing the National Parks budget.

We actually bought our passes from the "toll both" entry to the parking lot! It was fast and painless - we handed over credit cards and driver licenses and then printed our names on the cards. For some reason I felt elated to have a pass that gave me free entry to all sites under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. I have a Bighorn Sheep on my card - I love it.

As for Great Falls - it has not changed. The place is wildly beautiful and amazingly pristine given its proximity to Washington. The only thing that was different was the drive to the park - we passed mega-mansion after mega-mansion in the formerly undeveloped forest nearby. Who would want to live in such huge houses built literally next to each other?

I felt happy to recapture some old memories while looking optimistically at a future of visiting more national parks in the US.