Walking with the Walrus
WASHINGTON DC USA VOLKSMARCH
NATIONAL TRAILS DAY - SATURDAY JUNE 7, 1997
The Walter Reed Wandervogel hosted this National Trails Day volksmarch in
Washington DC on a cloudy, cool Saturday. Ric Nauen and Jeannette Anders
were at the start table when my daughter and I got there (with Peaches and
India of course) today, and found out that they were pretty much the entire
staff of workers for this walk. It was a one day event, with a 4 hour
window. The start/finish point was in a tent on the mall downtown, as part
of an Outdoor Expo associated with National Trails Day. There were several
trails available out of this starting point, including two bike and three
walking trails. We chose the 10 km trail that hit the usual monuments along
the mall area, but also got off the beaten trail to less popular DC sites.
Also the Franklin D. Roosevelt monument, just recently opened, was on this
trail, in the Tidal Basin area.
The trail had four checkpoints, all unstaffed. They were just questions
written on the directions/map sheet, which allowed for more interaction
with Robin, to keep her interest up. The first checkpoint was at the
National Building Museum, a place I had visited before on a prior
volksmarch, but still a fascinating place to check out. And the rest rooms
were convenient too! We walked through Chinatown, past the Fords Theatre
where Lincoln was shot (I always wanted to know where that theatre was and
never knew till today), the Hotel Harrington, a place I had seen on a
billboard in PA as a prime DC tourist hotel but never had seen in person
till today. I was underwhelmed, by the way, when I actually saw this hotel.
We passed by the Treasury Dept, the White House, where the second
checkpoint was in Lafayette Park.
We had to study the statue for an answer to the question, and it took us on
a slight detour, since there were protestors blocking our way to the
statue. A long trip down 17th Street and then gradually over to the Vietnam
Memorial, where the women's statue helped answer the Checkpoint 3 question.
Before reaching the Vietnam Memorial, however, we walked around a lake,
which Peaches and India waded in a bit to cool off their feet. We also saw
some rather large fish, mostly goldfish/carp or combinations thereof in
this lake in interesting color combinations. The pooches also started
seeing squirrels on the grounds, and that always peaks their attention. One
particular squirrel was rather slow in reacting, and literally did a flip
right in front of us to get away! Robin and I really laughed!!!
Then on to the Lincoln Memorial, where my daughter so aptly remembered the
scene out of Forrest Gump when he tried speaking to thousands of protestors
out in front of the Memorial stretching way back towards the Washington
Monument. Then on to Independence Avenue and a nice quiet part of the walk,
with volleyball players to our left and polo fields to our right. We made a
turn to the right and on to the Tidal Basin.
Off of the Tidal Basin was the
Fourth Checkpoint, tied in with the brand new Franklin D. Roosevelt
Memorial. This is quite an impressive exhibit! You should all check it out
when you are in the area! Massive stone blocks, with famous quotes
inscribed, grouped in different time periods of Roosevelt's life. The last
one was used for the Checkpoint 4 question.
Back on to the Tidal Basin, completing a half loop around it, then back
onto city streets past the Holocaust Museum, then through it, on to 14th
Street, then Independence past Agriculture, other government buildings, and
the Smithsonian group of museums, and onto the finish. I took a slight
detour to put the pooches in my car, as I wanted to check out the vendors
in the outdoor expo, and possibly go inside a building or two. I got our
books stamped, thanked Ric and Jeannette for the walk, and then did check
out the vendors. There were quite a few people out on the mall today, and
lots of great information on volkssporting was out for the taking, to help
spread the word on getting around on the trails out there! Unfortunately
there were only 100 walkers/bikers there today doing this event, but with a
Race for the Cure with thousands participating in the morning in the same
area, and other volksmarches going on in the area, there was a lot of
competition going on. I will recall this walk favorably for a long time!
Thanks!
Seneca Valley Sugarloafers
AVA Walking Events and Clubs
About.com Washington DC
About.com Baltimore, MD
US National and State Parks
Previous Walking With The Walrus:
Kensington, Maryland April 12, 1997C and O Canal April 19, 1997
St. Michaels, Maryland April 26, 1997
Rockville, Maryland, Gunston Hall Plantation, Virginia, May 3-4
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, May 10
C&O Canal and Mt. Airy, May 17-18
Guy Mason Park, DC, May 24
Flower Valley/Rockville MD, May 31
