We are consolidating and moving!!!

Hi all,

In an effort to have stuff published on a daily basis, hubby and I are combining blogs over at http://darwinbookcats.wordpress.com/

I'll be moving posts from here to over there until there are no more posts to be moved. So, you'll see repeats from me until all the content is moved. However, he'll be updating with new stuff about science, books, and cats. 

Thanks!!

Morristown National Historical Park

A good friend of mine had her bachelorette party this past weekend in Morristown, New Jersey. Well, if you know me, I seek out a National Park anywhere I go, and happily to my surprise, Morristown National Historical Park was in Morristown, New Jersey, yay!! This park is the site of the 1779-80 winter encampment of the Continental Army under General George Washington. I only had time to go to the Jockey Hollow area, but we really enjoyed our pit stop there. There was a an old farm present on the grounds, rangers dressed on period costume, and some nice trails. Hubby and I went on a little 2 mile hike to move our legs after being in the car for 4 hours. Here are some pictures for you!!

The Wick Farm

We took the Soldier Hut Trail

These little purple flowers where all over.

These flower were also all over the place.

Bug like creature.

Wild lettuce of some sort.

What the woods looked like in the area.

Apparently, a large number of Irish men served in the Continental Army.

Replica Soldier Huts

The hearths are the only original structure to the huts.

Hubby and the hut.

There were wild green onions growing all over the place.

A look at the orchard.

The well

The Jockey Hollow area has several trail options available. Check out the website for the park. There is also a museum that we unfortunately didn't have the time to visit. Overall, we had a nice little visit!! 

Occoneechee State Park

On St. Patty's Day weekend, hubby and I went camping with some dear friends of our who we hadn't seen in over a year. They are located over on the North Carolina coast, and since we are just outside of D.C., we wanted to find a place to go camping that was in between the both of us. Four hours away from both of us was Occoneechee State Park in Southern Virginia. This park is located near the John H. Kerr Reservoir, and the campsite we reserved was right near the water. I have to say, this was one of the nicest state parks I've visited. The facilities include a bath house with showers that were always clean. And the campsites themselves were very well maintained and had a picnic table and a fire ring. Some pictures from are weekend are below.

The bath house.

View of the reservoir from our campsite.

View of our campsite.

Flowers near our campsite.

They have several short trails that you combine together to hike the distance that you want.

The park is named for the Native Americans that once lived in the area.

There also used to be a plantation on the property. Unfortunately, it's not there anymore due to a fire.

Overall, we had a great time. A lot of people camping also had their boats with them so they could go fishing in the lake. We saw a wonderful variety of birds, including some beautiful eastern bluebirds, red-headed woodpeckers, and tufted titmice. This is a great state park, and I highly suggest you go if you get the chance. You can reserve camping sites online, but if tents aren't your thing, you can rent a cabin.