Rock State Park

We have amazing State Parks in Maryland.  Each one of them has something that makes it a unique destination.  Years ago when I was teaching the girl how to drive, we drove past this place called "Rock State Park".  We didn't stop - we were very lost, and the thought of pulling over somewhere and potentially getting more lost was something that the freaked her out beyond words.  (Yes, I did have a cell phone with GPS, which I was following in an attempt to get to Belcamp.  I'm still not certain how it ended up directing us to Rock State Park from the Baltimore area...)  But I digress..

One beautiful day last year, husband and I set out to go see the park.  We packed our lunch and a picnic blanket and our thermos of water.

The day did not disappoint.  We started early, hoping to beat the worst of the crowds and be able to keep as much distance between us and other people as possible.  

We began with a hike up to the King and Queen Seats.  I don't know how we stumbled onto the easy hike, but we did, somehow hiking down less than half a mile from the parking lot.  The views are stunning.  It made me think of the Lord of the Rings - you know, the spot where Frodo goes and is attacked by Boromir just before the Fellowship falls apart?  It felt like you could see forever and a day.

 

As this particular spot in the park began to fill up with people, we hiked back to the car and pulled over by the side of the road by a scenic pull off.  We walked down to the water and what did we see?  This amazing, beautiful area full of butterflies puddling in the shallow water.  It was magical.  There were so many more butterflies than this photo captures.

 

We finally stopped in a picnic area for lunch around 11.  We pulled out our blanket and our basket and watched the river flow by and kids playing.  What a wonderful way to spend a day!

What a beautiful view!