Saturday, June 22, 2019

Saturday Snapshot: First State National Historic Park

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at A Web of Stories (same host as always but with a new blog - check it out!).

Most of the past few weeks has been an exhausting blur of crises and urgencies, with new and serious issues with our son's health, suddenly needing a new car (immediately!), internet out all this week, etc. However, there was one oasis of a day in all that - last Saturday - when our family of four spent the whole day together, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. My husband left on Sunday morning for a business trip, so we spent Saturday together for an early Father's Day and enjoyed a nice picnic-style dinner that night here at home with my father-in-law. In the morning, the four of us took a hike together,  a rarity these days that we used to enjoy every week.

We decided to check out the brand-new First State National Historic Park, Delaware's first (and only) National Park! It was just designated a year or two ago and includes several historic areas, but we set our sights on the natural part of the park, the Beaver Valley area. This is just minutes from our house, so the area's not new to us, but this particular hike was. We climbed a sloping hill to gorgeous views of the surrounding valley, walked through woods, and alongside horses and neat rows of corn, just shin-high. The weather was perfect, and it was lovely to just enjoy each other's company and the beautiful surroundings. Here are some highlights:

Covered bridge near us, adjacent to the new National Park

My namesake: Brown-eyed Susans!

Gorgeous view of the valley

Horses along (and on) the trail

Brandywine Creek - VERY high compared to normal levels!

Male Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

Father & Sons

Another month and we'll have local corn!

Back home on our deck

Enjoying our newly-cleaned and spruced up screened porch!

Hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend!

4 comments:

  1. This looks like a lovely and serene walk, especially enjoyable since you shared it with your family. Thank you for sharing your photos of this area.
    I've been absent from Saturday Snapshots for a while, but I hope to get back into the swing of things in the coming weeks.

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    1. Thanks, Sandra - I've been away from Saturday Snapshot for quite a while, too. I look forward to enjoying your posts again.

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  2. Gorgeous pictures and I'm amazed it's Delaware's first and only state park, next to National Parks, I think state parks are wonderful gifts to us, glad you got out to enjoy it and found respite from the stresses in your life.

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    1. Thanks, Jane - no, we have LOTS of state parks - this is our first National Park :) It's a very small state!

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