Beads, Greenbrier, and George Washington

On the way home we stopped for the night at Greenbrier State Park so Beth could visit a bead store with things she can’t find in Durham. Beth enjoyed seeing the beads in person at the Hagerstown headquarters of the Potomac Bead Company. We parked in the main parking lot downtown and wouldn't recommend it. There was an altercation amongst teenagers that quickly brought police intervention. There is parking right near the bead store with enough room for a van, so we will use that in the future. The state park had big sites in loops around central bath facilities. Trails connect the loops and make it easy to reach the small lake.

Investigating other things to do in the area we found that the first monument to George Washington had been erected by local citizens nearby back in 1827.  We visited Washington Monument State Park the next morning and made a short climb to the top of a mountain where we could see Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The monument itself was closed since being hit by lightning earlier in the year. We could see where the surge exited the structure. If open, we could have stood on the top and had a 360 degree view of the area.  It was such a good vantage point that the Union army used it as a signal station during the civil war. The monument was just off the Appalachian Trail, so we hiked a very short section of this very long route that runs from Georgia to Maine. We learned that the trail marks on trees tell hikers which way to turn. Two lines are the mark; if the top line is to the right of the bottom line, you turn right. If they are aligned, you go straight. They had a big brown sign for us, but you can make out the white trail marks on the tree.

Lightning Damage

Turn Right to Head Towards Maine

On the A.T.

Camping Structure on the Appalachian Trail

An exhibit at the visitors center made us think of my dad and his love of chipmunks. I didn’t get a good photo, but it does show the underground nest and storage rooms of a chipmunk den. Now we know where they go with all those acorns.