All is Well

 Ward and I are completely well after our bouts with COVID, and according to the CDC, today, I am free to move about without a mask on. After the first positive test, the game changes to days and symptoms- no negative test is needed as long as you've been without a fever for 24 hours and symptoms are improving. Current guidelines have you isolating for 5 days and wearing a mask for 5 days after that. I am on day 11 but will continue to wear a mask as I did before. We are both very thankful that we had mild cases, probably because we are fully vaccinated and boosted. And very grateful for the technology and researchers that made them possible.

I haven't been out of the house much for the last two weeks, so I had the Go-fever, as we used to call it as kids. To treat my Go-fever, Ward and I set off on a drive to look at the fall leaves, which are in all of their glory. But a funny thing happened on the way, we passed a sign for Gathland State Park, and I decided that was where we needed to be. 

Gathland belonged to George Alfred Townsend and was the site of the Civil War Battle of South Mountain. Townsend was a reporter during the Civil war and decided he liked the area while working there. Rumor has it that he got 100 acres cheap because people didn't like former battle sites. His penname was Gath, thus the name Gathland State Park.

Gathland is popular with hikers because the Appalachian Trail runs through it. In fact, Ward had been there several times on backpacking trips, but I had only been there once for a drop-off for one of those trips. We had a nice hike and saw some interesting history. And I was oh so happy to be out again. 

Below are a few more details of our outing.

The arch in the back is a memorial to journalists who lost their lives in the Civil War. Townsend built it in 1896 and it was the first of its kind. In the foreground are a few of the numerous signs describing the battle that took place there.

There were tributes to other journalists as well as those from the Civil War.

This was his wife Bessie's house. It housed a kitchen and meeting rooms. Today it is a museum about being a reporter during the Civil War.

The floor inside the museum was covered with an annotated carpet map of the area - a first for me.

Townsend had a total of nine buildings on his property. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything identifying this ruin, although it might have been a barn.

After exploring the central area, we hiked. The trail was nice, although rocky.

In fact, the whole area was rocky, and there was a prevalence of stone walls on the farms in the area. This was one of Townsend's.

An overnight shelter for through hikers on the Appalachian Trail. According to Ward, this was a nice one.

The park has many more places to explore, and we will definitely be making a return trip.

Until next time...