Moon Rocks

Our nation's capitol holds many wonders that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. Well, since I'm out in this area for a couple weeks, I've been able to do a little exploring of my own to see some of my favorite wonders. It's difficult to know how you may react emotionally to some of these places and objects until you see them for yourself, and although photographs can never completely recreate these experiences fully, perhaps you'll get an idea of what it might be like to spend a day in DC. So, here are a couple of the highlights that I was lucky enough to capture on film...er, well, on microchip at least.

No visit to Washington is complete without a visit to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum to experience their display of this otherworldly object. Transcending reality is not out of the question after slowly sliding your finger across its slick metallic surface, as demonstrated by the poor lady pictured here.

After petting the moon rock for a while, I opted for a little bit of history over checking out a full-sized replica of C-3PO. So I headed over to the National Archives. Believe it or not, this is a close-up of the Bill of Rights. What you don't see here are all of the sentences that have been crossed out as irrelevant by Dubya. Although he didn't sign his work, the crayon scribbles sort of gave it away.


I also stopped for a look at the Magna Carta, which, by the way, is in a much cooler display than either the Declaration of Independance or the Constitution. Although it lacked the burly and oh-so-cheerful guards standing at either end. It also kept moving, so my picture came out a little blurry.

There wasn't really much else of note. I would have taken more pictures of my day in DC, but honestly, what more is there? I did see an elephant, though, which is always rewarding. Seriously, how often do you get to say that you saw an elephant?



You probably heard about the snowstorm we had out here this weekend, too. It didn't really amount to much out here at Harper's Ferry, but it did make things awful purty. So below I've included a picture of a snowy Potomac River.


Finally, this is where I've been spending most of my time while in West Virginia. It's the main building of the National Park Service's Mather Training Center. It's located on Camp Hill, above the town of Harper's Ferry. During the Civil War this town changed hands a dozen times as the Union and Confederacy fought for control of the region. After the war it became the nation's first African American college before being donated to the National Park Service in the 1950's. There are a lot of really smart people who have lived and worked here. It's really cool to be able to spend time here and interact with many of the leaders of the park service. Makes me feel special. Not as special as this guy, but you get the idea.