Potomac Popsicle

The George Washington Parkway (GW Pkwy) connects the Washington Beltway to the District of Columbia (and a bit beyond). It is a beautiful drive on the weekend (less traffic!) with gorgeous views of tree-covered hills and ravines, Georgetown and the Potomac River as well as wildlife sightings. It is one of my favorite drives in all seasons. Last weekend we stopped at a "Scenic View" area on the Parkway to look at the Potomac River.

By Arizona standards, the Potomac River is HUGE; by East Coast standards it is "pretty big." It runs 383 miles through West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia with an average flow of 10,800 feet/second. We have crossed it many times and it never ceases to capture my attention. This time it made me take a second look because it looked frozen. Did I mention it's a pretty big river?

Theodore Roosevelt Walking Bridge connects the GW Pkwy with Theodore Roosevelt Island in the middle of the Potomac River.

The closer we got to the river, the more apparent it became that it was, indeed, frozen over. The shallower water near the banks was flowing- I guess the thinner ice had melted during the "warm" (37-40 degrees!) days we had last week. But the vast majority of the river was frozen with a thick layer of ice.

Grace & Beauty

We watched a pair of egrets "ice-fish" on the frozen Potomac. They poked their beaks down into a hole in the ice and then brought their head up straightening their neck as they swallowed- or so we surmise. In between snacks they chased off the seagulls. It was quite odd to watch these graceful birds WALK on the river. 

The middle portion of the river was frozen... enough to support the weight of a log. In fact, there was a lot of debris on the ice... rocks, branches, Fido's blue ball...

We walked across the bridge to the island. There are several paths and despite the frigidly cold wind, there were several groups out walking. We followed a short trail to the Theodore Roosevelt Pavilion.

The Theodore Roosevelt Pavilion features a statue of Roosevelt, some benches and a pond (that was drained for winter) with fountains- a gorgeous spot to sit and reflect on nature, one of Teddy Roosevelt's heartfelt priorities. He is remembered for promoting conservation.

Back on the bridge, the sun was dancing on the ice as it began its descent creating sparkly areas on the river. It was then that the swirl patterns in the ice became more evident. 

Pretty Potomac Popsicle!