Fallingwater

After Antietam, I had decided to take a little detour to western Pennsylvania to visit Fallingwater, a Frank Lloyd Wright house. I was curious and didn't think I'd have another opportunity. You couldn't take pictures in the house at all, only outside. And you could only take a couple and they all started looking the same.

The house was built late in his career and was for the Kauffman family, who I believe owned Kauffman Department Store in Pittsburgh. They found some property they loved with a creek and they wanted the house near a certain spot to enjoy nature and the water. They imagined a house overlooking where the creek made a waterfall and pool over some boulders. FLW instead integrated the house with the water, placing the house essentially in the waterfall, utilizing the boulders in the foundation (and as part of the hearth) and the living area had steps down into the creek through a beatiful set of glass doors in the living room floor.

To be honest, at first glance I wasn't too impressed. But then the tour revealed all the little things that were just marvelous and I think made the house. The house is currently an ongoing restoration project as parts of the whole house seem to have been rebuilt at certain points.  

There was no air conditioning, but the glass panel "doors" in the floor of the living room opened along with many windows to provide great cross ventilation. The corners of the rooms looked out over the creek and had windows spanning the length of the room, no walls and corner supports to interrupt the view. The corner windows that ran vertical in the kitchen and bedrooms opened and you had the gentle sound of flowing water to fall asleep to. There were even cutouts in the desks to allow the windows to swing open, so you always has access to the outdoors and fresh air. 

The bedroom doors were beveled to keep out light around the cracks in the door. Closet shelves were thatched to keep clothes ventilated as well. Bathrooms had cork all over, walls and ceilings. The bedrooms each had terraces double or triple the size of the room to coax you outside rather than sitting indoors. There was also a guest house and a spring fed pool in case you tired of the creek. 

There was so much thought put into it, I really enjoyed it. If you find yourself in southwest Pennsylvania, I definitely recommend the house tour although in summer I hear the tickets sell out well in advance, so you may need to plan a little in advance depending on the time of year. I luckily was able to get a ticket the same day. 

Driving the backroads in PA was fun too. I found this super tiny community (like 50) that had cute shops and cafes. It was near a state park and seemed to cater to outdoor enthusiasts. It seemed like southwest PA may be a good place to head for kayaking, hiking, biking, etc. Unfortunately I didn't have too much time because I was headed east to Gettysburg and needed to get there before sunset to set up camp. 

On to Gettysburg!

Great Falls National Park, Antietam Battlefield and Family

I was on my way to Alexandria VA where a college friend lives with her husband and kids. The last time I was there, they had a recent addition to the family. Now she was two and a half and a big sister. I actually ended up staying with them two weekends in a row and am just amazed how they handle it all.  I'll post more on our weekends together later. 

Monday after the first weekend (September 22), I was headed towards New Jersey to see some other friends and needed to get my plan together. It's usually only a day or two beforehand that I look at the maps to determine my route, and then it always seems to change a little along the way. Thank goodness for my car's navigation! I decided on Great Falls National Park and then heading to Antietam, my first battlefield visit. 

It was Monday, so I waited for morning traffic to clear and was still one of the first to the park in northern Virginia. All over were these signs about danger and not to go into the water. I feel like a lot of people must drown in this area. The water was very clear and looked pretty deep in places. There are three viewing platforms to see the falls and rapids which are just amazing to see the force of water. Then there are plenty of trails to walk as well. I went down one that takes you along the bluffs/canyon, high above the Potomac. You could see people on the other side as well, just sitting in the sun, enjoying a beautiful view. On the return trip, I hiked along the old canal. There use to be a system of locks to move boats down the river while sidetracking the rapids. It was really neat. 

During this time, I was texting my aunt and uncle from Milwaukee. I had talked to them at the wedding and they were going to be on vacation in the same area. I let them know I planned to visit Antietam later in the day (targeting 1pm) but it looked like I would just miss them as they were headed there that morning and then were off to other places. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't work out to meet them. 

I kept walking around - the weather was perfect, beautiful, sunny, cool breeze, not too hot. I probably didn't end up leaving until almost 1pm. 

I got on the road and it of course took a little longer than planned, so I probably arrived to Antietam around 2:30. I actually headed for Antietam Creek as there were suppose to be some campgrounds nearby and easily accessible. I wanted to head there first to check it out so that I wasn't pressed for daylight after visiting the battlefield. I found the campgrounds. Looked pretty nice and completely empty. It was not manned, but there were reservation slips that work on the honors system and it was $10/night. Perfect :). I figured I had plenty of time and options since it was empty and headed into town (Sharpsburg, MD) to tour the battlefield. I was stopped at a light and saw a car coming from my right and they made a left turn in front of me. Hmmm...that driver looked like my uncle. The plates were Wisconsin. Could it be? I called my aunt and asked if they were at Antietam. She said they were on their way and I told her that I thought she was in front of me! Turns out she had texted me their change in plans but I hadn't seen it and just happened upon them. Sort of a planned, yet unplanned meeting :). 

We watched the movie inside that set up the history of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest two day battle of the Civil War. We also went around the museum area and the viewing area that tries to point out key landmarks. The battlefields were quite large, so the parks program also has a self guided driving tour that helps you move around, get closer and get a better field for the battle. There are also lots of monuments along the way for those that fought and died in the battle. My aunt and uncle had been to Gettysburg before and mentioned how this was a smaller battlefield and made it easier to conceive what really happened. So I was glad to have started here and left Gettysburg for a later day. Although it still is not the easiest thing to picture cornfields as battlefields. :)

Here's a good map from HyperBear.com:

We went for dinner in town and they got on the road to Baltimore and I headed back to the campground. 

This was about a month ago. It was nice to meet family and have someone to tour with rather than doing it on my own. It was especially nice because my uncle was what I would consider a history buff. He had added info and provided some perspective on what was going on. In recent years he had gotten into battle reenactments and was part of a medical team. I've forgotten the official name/title, but he shared lots of stories that afternoon from those events. There were some medical instruments in the museum he showed me. He talked about some of the differences between the Confederate and Union groups (he had uniforms to act in either role). Over dinner he shared some of the tactics to demonstrate wounds and caring for them, even how they simulated a limb amputation. Their next engagement was down in Georgia, right around the time I'd be travelling from Florida to Texas. 

Today I'm flying home for his funeral. While in Georgia, he suddenly passed away. It has been such a shock to my dad's family and me.  I haven't spoken with my aunt or my cousin but I can't imagine what they are going through. He was always full of energy, had lots of smiles and would try to get a good laugh from whoever was around. He will be greatly missed. 

http://www.betzerfuneralhome.com/book-of-memories/

Back in the USA - Shenandoah National Park

I had about 10 days once I was back in the US before my brother's wedding. I spent a weekend in Peoria catching up with friends and had a little party that was lots of fun. I even took my bike for my first street ride...8 miles! I was pretty nervous and had some issues stalling it a few times, but overall a success. 

Then it was wedding time and we got all did up for our first traditional family wedding (we had one elopement!). The photographer releases pictures later this month and I'm excited to see them all. It was a beautiful day and everything went wonderfully. I took a day or two to recover and then got on the road. I was headed towards DC to visit friends and went via Shenandoah National Park in western Virginia. 

This was my first camping outing since back in the US and it was bear country. Gladly I didn't see any bears as I was a little nervous. I did however have two deer right next to me in the brush as I put my tent up. They were not phased. I also saw one rabbit in the morning, but that was the extent of my wildlife sightings. I did use the bear box to stow my food and scented gear so as not to attract unwanted visitors. You have to stick your hand up in the handle area to release the doors and my biggest concern was a spider :). 

The deer and my bear box

The spider in my bear box

There were no other campers in my loop of sites although there were plenty of other campers nearby in the campground. Mostly RVs and trailers. I built my first small campfire with collected wood, twigs, etc. I did have to use some paper garbage to get it started though. And then my clothes reeked of campfire smoke. Oops :). The temps were down in the 40s but I stayed plenty warm and comfortable.

Campfire!

Home for the night

I arrived late in the day, driving south to north through the park. The next morning I drove to the visitor center and got a good recommendation on a hike that would take me to early afternoon. The trail  followed the river/creek and I had lunch on some big boulders in the cascades. It wasn't very crowded but was very tranquil cascades (mini rapids), waterfalls and some pools of water. I purchased a Fitbit as I thought it would be fun to track (my friend Mary had the stats from the Inca Trail and that was pretty neat). 

Good morning!

My hike plan

Waterfall

Fitbit daily stats: 15,440 steps, 6.53 miles, 107 floors

There are tons of hiked here and the leaves were just staring to change. If I had more time, I would have loved to stay longer. But on to DC (Alexandria VA actually) to see friends and their new six month old twins!

A preview of the twins and their big sis :)