Hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Harpers Ferry Part II

In last week's travel post I shared all about the town of Harpers Ferry and it's history, this week will be all about the hike and beautiful view from the overlook at Maryland Heights (pictured below).

Before starting our hike we stopped at this gorgeous overlook at the base of the bridge.

Next, we had to cross this bridge, which was quite scary as it is quite windy.  There were times I thought the strong wind was going to blow me off the bridge into the water below.  There is also a train track on the other side of the bridge and on our return trip, we were blessed to be on the bridge when the train went by.

The Maryland Heights Trail starts off on a beautiful bike path with level ground and views of the Potomac River.  I would love to bring my e-bike here someday and explore this path.

I love to go east in the spring because all the wildflowers and trees are in bloom weeks before I see any signs of life in my neck of the woods.  I fell in love with this field of yellow wildflowers.

Like the town below, Maryland Heights has a lot of history so there were several markers along the way highlighting that history.  The marker below explains how during the Civil War the cliff was turned into a fortress.

Once we got off the bike path and crossed the footbridge, we began our ascent up the cliff.  I will confess, I did not like this trail at all.  In fact, I would rate this in the top five worst trails I have ever hiked in my life.  The reason I give it this poor rating is because it is straight up hill!  There are no switch backs, it's just climb, climb, climb till you get to one of the most beautiful views you will ever see in your life.  Is it worth it?  Sure.  But be forewarned!

The trail is 4.5 miles round trip if you begin at the armory house, which we did.  It is rated as moderately strenuous to strenuous with an elevation gain of 1788 feet.  It takes 3-4 hours to complete.

I loved seeing all the Eastern Redbuds in bloom.  We don't have this tree in Wisconsin so I enjoy going east every spring and seeing them everywhere!

I screamed with glee when I saw this field of beautiful bluebells;  another plant I don't see in Wisconsin.

When we started to get more to the top of the cliff we saw this Naval Battery marker.  What a great spot for defense.

Here is a photo where I attempt to portray the steepness of this hike.  I don't think this photo does it justice.  It is so much steeper in real life and not just for a short stretch, but for the entire hike!  I really wish the state of Maryland would make some improvements on this trail to make it more accessible for everyone to enjoy because the view and the history is so worth it!

Perhaps they leave the trail as is because we read on another sign that we "were hiking the same mountain road" that the Civil War soldiers walked.

After a bit of difficult rock scrambling that I never would have been able to do had it not been for my hiking poles, we made it to the Maryland Heights overlook!  I was never so relieved in my life.  After that difficult time, we soaked up every inch of the view.

The beauty really is spectacular because you have the historic town below along with the river and the hills.  I can only imagine how breath-taking this view would be in the fall.

The rock is the perfect spot to sit and take photos.  It's so perfect, it made me wonder if someone put it there on purpose 😁.  We saw one gal do handstands on the rock;  that was scary.

Such a picturesque town!

The Peregrine Falcons were constantly flying around the whole time we were at Harpers Ferry.  We could see them from the town below, and now we were right next to their nesting site so we could see them really close.  They had a section of the trail/cliff roped off to protect the falcons nesting site.

The other side of the overlook wasn't quite as spectacular as the town view, but pretty nevertheless.

I was so happy I would no longer have to climb uphill on the return trip.  It was so much easier hiking down the mountain than up;  although it is harder on the knees.

Here is a view of the bike path/river once we reached the foothill of the mountain.

And here is the cliff we were on.  It doesn't look that high in this photograph, but the town is even lower so the height difference is quite something.

This is the train track on the opposite side of the bridge we crossed.  It goes right through this old tunnel.

 And that concludes my visit to Harpers Ferry.  Next week, I will share about the town of Winchester where we spent the night.  What a cute town that is!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts on Harpers Ferry check this out:

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

My Winter Devotional Coloring Book "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart": The Last Pages of the Year

I have two devotional coloring books that I alternate during the year.  One is a winter devotional called "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" and the other is a devotional on the book of Psalms called "Bless the Lord, Oh, My Soul" which I use during the spring and summer months.

Today's post features the pages I finished this winter from the book "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart".  I still have not completed all the pages in the book, so I will pick this devotional up again in the fall.

Each page comes with a short devotional and prayer and a page to color.  I read the devotional and scripture and pray and mediate as I color.  I purchased this book from Dayspring but I'm not sure if it's available anymore.  

This devotional page focused on rest and how important it is to not stress about life and situations and just trust in Him.

My next page shares how we shouldn't worry about anything but pray about everything.  Hard to do, isn't it?  I tend to not want to pray, because if I pray it brings to mind the things I don't want to think about and therefore worry about.  Silly isn't it?  But when I start praying about them, I start worrying about them so I'd rather just put them completely out of my mind and not think/pray about them at all.  Does anyone else feel this way?  But the Bible tells us not to do that.  It tells us to pray about everything and then leave it there.  But leaving it there is so hard to do!

Psalm 91 was the verse I clung to all the years of Covid.  I have a message board sitting on my desk and I had that verse on it for four years.  I finally took it down and replaced it with Psalm 17 because of something else I am going through now.  But Psalm 91 got me through the Covid time period and all the crazy things that happened during that awful time.  God was my shelter and I curled up under His mighty wings.

This devotional is a reminder for us to be kind.  I recently was hurt so brutally by a relative(s) and I'm still struggling to get over it.  He said the most unkind words to me.  It's really hard getting over cruel words from anyone, especially a relative, and to top it off a relative in Christian ministry.  I've done all I can to repair that relationship from my end, but I keep praying for him (them).  I was kind to him, when he was cruel to me.  All I have left is to let go and let God take it from here. 

I love how Colossians says  to "PRACTICE tenderhearted mercy and kindness".  That means, "on-going", "never stopping".  It is so hard to be kind when others are cruel, that's why we have to "practice" doing it. I've been learning so much about GRACE lately;  what is grace, how you give grace.  My husband said months ago he wished everyone in his family would have just given everyone a little grace.  They jumped to conclusions that were completely unfounded and untrue.  If only they would have assumed the best instead of the worst.  If only they would have just picked up the phone and talked  instead of assuming something that wasn't true.  If only they would have given some grace.

I love this photo of the coffee, multiple mugs and treats.  Doesn't this symbolize grace?  Sit down with people, talk with them.  You may find out what you think to be true isn't what the truth is after all.

Grace and Love go hand in hand.  If we love people, we give them grace.  We think the best of them.  We do what is right by them.  We care for them.  We love them as we love ourselves. 

When people hurt me, I tend to want to avoid them because I want to protect myself and not be hurt again.  Interesting that 2 Timothy tells us not to be afraid of people, but to "be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them".  I love the verse "strong" in there.  It takes strength to be around someone that has hurt you in the past.  To "be wise" is also interesting, often we can get past the hurt if we try to understand why the person said or did what they did and pray for them.

In addition to my devotionals I do each day, I also started a new coloring bible.  I completely finished my Inspire Bible, so I ordered a new Bible called Inspire Prayer.  My, this is a BEAUTIFUL Bible.  I will show more pages as the years go on, but trust me, this Bible is filled with gorgeous illustrations.

I'm working on a Bible study on Love so I started in 1 John.  I loved my new Bible so much, I wanted to be very careful with it so I decided to color it with colored pencils instead of markers or gel pens, and would you believe it got ruined right away anyway?  I was so upset I wanted to cry.  Yes, apparently even colored pencils smudge and bleed.  Lesson learned, keep a heavy piece of card stock in-between the pages for a LONG TIME after coloring.  I really did have the hindsight to use card stock between the pages, but I think I removed them too soon.  So please ignore my smudges.

Each chapter begins with two illustrations:  a big one on the opposite side of the chapter and a smaller one on the chapter page.

My Bible Study uses the "Berean" method which I really don't like at all.  They have you mark and underline so much that by the time you're done you can't even read the text anymore.  There is so much marked there is hardly anything unmarked.  So I decided after one page, that I wasn't going to mark my Bible up like they say anymore.

This page really shows the smudging;  I tried to erase it, but it didn't help much.  Does anyone have any other suggestions?

And here you can see, that even when you use pencil it still bleeds through the other side.  Ugh, it's so frustrating.  Anyway, I also wanted to point out that because this is a prayer Bible they always leave spots open like this so you can write a personal prayer too.

Here is finally a page I didn't ruin 😃.  Hopefully I can keep this up from now on.  I always say Bible Journaling is so much harder than card making because if you mess up a card you just rip it up and start again, but you can't do that with a Bible.  I have discovered craft paint helps but I don't want to use that too often as it makes your Bible really thick and sometimes warps the pages.  Painting the page with Gesso before you color also helps prevent bleeding on the opposite page, but again, it makes the pages thicker and warps slightly.

I hope you enjoyed my Bible Journaling and Devotional Coloring Pages and have been inspired by God's Word today!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts on the "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" Devotional Coloring Book, see these posts:

Back to Coloring in My Devotional Coloring Book:  Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart

Coloring Pages from "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart

More Coloring Pages from "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart"

"Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart" Devotional Coloring Book

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

I'm so excited to begin a new travel series with you!  This time we are exploring the great state of West Virginia!  My, what a gorgeous state this is, in fact, you will be hard-pressed trying to find a ugly spot in this state as it is filled with stunning vistas of mountains and green valleys and lots and lots of waterfalls!

We began our adventure at the farthest northeast corner of the state:   Harpers Ferry.  After spending Easter at my daughter's home in Indiana, we drove nine hours east until we reached the Harpers Ferry area where we would spend the night,  the following morning we went to Harpers Ferry.

Harpers Ferry is a National Historical Park.  It is a historic 1800's town.  Some buildings/homes are owned by the government and others are private residences/businesses.  What makes Harpers Ferry so unique is that it was the site of a rebellion of the abolitionist John Brown and his followers  who were determined to arm enslaved people to help free them.  George Washington's armory  was there and John Brown seized it and several other strategic points.  Ultimately the raid failed with most men killed or captured and Brown was executed.  Brown's trial and execution focused attention on the issue of slavery and propelled the nation toward Civil War.

All the buildings are original and absolutely fascinating to view.  They are constantly working on them to keep them standing;  like Europe, we saw lots of scaffolding and work being done on them.

Most of the buildings are museums and stores.  Some are B&B's, private residences, or empty.  This building (the Restoration Museum) was left empty to show the excavation and discovery process.

The old cobblestone streets are so fascinating!  My husband said it would be charming to be here at night to see the town lit up with the quaint lanterns.

Just look at this trio of homes! Oh! I just love it!  They just don't make homes like this anymore!

The town is located on the point of land where the Potomac River cuts through the Blue Ridge so you have to climb a lot of steep streets if you want to see all of this town!

We climbed upwards to see Jefferson's Rock and saw the ruins of an old Episcopal church on the way.

The original Episcopal Church was built in 1852 and served as a hospital and barracks during the Civil War.  It suffered considerable damage and was rebuilt afterwards but was abandoned in 1895 when a new Episcopal church was built in the upper town (pictured below).

This is the story of Jefferson Rock:  named after Thomas Jefferson of course.

I could see why Jefferson fell in love with this view!

And here is the rock as it looks today.  I must say, I don't care for the pillars, but I understand why they are there. 

Photo Credit

Now it was time to visit the church, which is open to the public but unfortunately was closed the day we were there 😢. I've never seen a church closed before and I have no idea what that was about.  I was so disappointed. 

The church stands high on a hill overlooking the town and the beautiful Potomac River.

We enjoyed the views walking down from Jefferson's Rock more than we did walking in town.

There are several museums in the Historic Site:  "A Place In Time" where you can view a film on the town's history, an Industry Museum, an African American History museum, the John Brown Museum (pictured below), Civil War Museum, Restoration Museum, Meriweather Lewis Exhibition,  and more.  Not all of them were open when we there as it was before the tourist season, but we saw enough.

Across the street from the John Brown Museum are some historic sites of the great battle and an armory building.

High up on a hill, near the old armory and battle sites is a monument dedicated to John Brown.

I loved the views from the opposite end of town, near the Potomac River;  the church can be seen so well.

Many of the buildings are open to the public, like the tavern below, and inside you can see views of how people lived and used the space during the time period.  Some are just informational and have museum displays inside.

And that is all I have to share about the town and history of Harper's Ferry.  There is much more to do at Harpers Ferry other than visit the town:  scenic trails, battlefields, and so many more historic sites.  Next week, I will share our experience on the Maryland Heights trail.

Until then,

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!