Hiking at Balls Bluff Park

Two weekends ago, despite the recent snow fall we'd had and the brisk temperatures, we bundled up the kids and headed over to Balls Bluff Park. It's about a 5 minute drive from our house, and right on the Potomac River. There was a Civil War battle there, so the "main" point of the park is as a historical site (including a small cemetery to commemorate the fallen), but there are also beautiful hiking trails and views. I was scheduled to do a photo shoot there a couple of weeks later (so that was just yesterday), and I wanted to get the "lay of the land" before shooting another family!

The weather was not too terribly cold, and the paths were pretty easy to see. The light was absolutely beautiful for taking gorgeous shots of my family and the surroundings! On this post I'm including just photos of Evan and the kids; on the photography blog I will show the more "artistic" shots that I took.




I love this view of Evan and Henry walking.

How cute is this kid? I mean, really?!!








We went to the right of the parking lot initially, and found that while we could fairly readily hike that part, it was tough for the kids. Natalie did pretty well, and Henry was even able to hike more than I anticipated. We did have to carry him over a small stream, but I was able to show Natalie how to step over it herself so she was excited at learning her new "skill".







Various logs, steps, etc provided for some great photo opportunities, like the shots here!

 

 More photos of Evan and Henry walking...there were a lot of great opportunities for this shot, so I couldn't resist.

 Henry thoroughly enjoyed eating some snow. Not to worry, it was white :)

 And on our last part of the hike (back in the other direction, across the parking lot, where the paths were wider and easier), I got this shot of Natalie helping Henry get up towards the river. Sibling love!