David D in DC: Episode 7: The Ruins

I kinda like the idea of urban exploring. I can't say I like urban exploring, since I have never done it before. But, the idea of it sounds thrilling. I heard rumors of remains (not human) of something in Rock Creek Park. An expedition is to be had.

In 1958, the East Portico of the US Capitol had begun to decay. It was, after all, about 150 years old. Around that time, some thought the Capitol needed an expansion of the East side. So, the East Portico was dismantled, and a new, expanded one built in it's place.

In the 1980's, the columns were re-erected in the National Arboretum, but the rest of the structure has remained in Rock Creek Park for 56 years. I set out to find it.

My research indicated it would lay just southeast of the maintenance facility, an easy walk on a trail from the Horse Center.

Now, not being in possession of a printer for the summer, and needing to customize my directions to the facility, I drew a map (naturally).

Alright, so I get on my way. I get on the right bus, and took it north to the right stop, on Military Rd NW. So far, so good.

I didn't plan on Military Rd not being walkable. That's OK, there's another bus that runs along Military Rd. No big deal. I got this. #LikeABoss

Without too much effort, I locate the park and find the nature center, which has maps. I take a map and correspond the landmarks with my own map. With a refill of the water bottle (Noteworthy: but without an emptying of the bladder), I set out on my journey.

Scratch that. I'm already on my journey. I set out on the next leg of my journey.

Determined to do this without the aid of my iPhone GPS, I head south across the parking lot, where I run across some horse pens. Great! Found the Horse Center.

There's a clearly marked trail that appears to be following the contours of the map I drew and the path indicated on the park map, so I start down it.

Finally, I reach the end of the trail. It looks like there's something down there. Could it be...

Nope. It was Ross Dr NW and Military Rd NW.

Oops.

So, I backtrack, through piles and piles of horse poop (seriously, people don't at least pull their horses to the side of the trail?). I make a left turn at a sign marked "No Horses" (thank goodness) and continued down that trail, keeping a weather eye out for any signs of ruins to my right.

And then I saw a bear. I froze... I really hadn't thought of such an encounter. And I had nothing with which to defend myself. Could I hit it with my water bottle? Dazzle it with my previous-generation iPhone? Tell it a joke?

The bear steadily approached, and revealed itself to be a woman's large dog. So I did what any reasonable person would do when trying not to appear stupid... I told the woman her dog looked like a bear. She responded with some sort of joke I wasn't ready to get at that time.

After she passed, I fashioned myself a walking stick that could double as a weapon. Should I encounter a wild and dangerous animal (more dangerous than my own incompetence), I was going to be prepared this time.

Look, I'm really not a nature person, alright? I want my computer lab back.

(In my natural habitat).

Finally, I reach Ross Dr again. Remember that whole thing about no GPS? I left that rule in the dust a long time ago. I now knew exactly where I was. I had made it clear across the park, with not one sign of any ruins.

Alright, so I head back. My trail was kind of along the top of a ridge, so on my way back I start wandering off to both sides of the trail, looking downhill for any signs of ruins or anything man-made, tapping my stick on the ground in front of me as I walked through the brush, just in case anything was living under there. I stopped along the way to empty my bladder behind a tree, au natural.

The situation was perplexing. The ruins were around here. They had to be. My research was good. What was I doing wrong (besides taking the wrong trails)?

Finally, I make it back to the original "No Horses Allowed" sign, and decide maybe I need to do more research and venture back another day. I had been wandering for probably an hour and a half at this point.

But, on a hunch, I walk just a bit further the other direction past the sign. This isn't on my map, but I don't care any more. I walk a little more down that trail, and I see something...

And there it was, in all it's glory... the ruins!

Out of the woods, forgotten.

Each one carefully numbered and indexed, like someone was going to come back for them.

Endless piles of rock.

These woods have grown up around the stone. It is nothing new to them.

Under these very stones, every U.S. President from Andrew Jackson to Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated. And now, in the middle of the woods, I can walk up and touch them. So I did.

Turns out, the ruins were exactly where I thought they would be. My intel was good. After wandering around Rock Creek Park for almost two hours, the ruins were within 10 minutes of my starting point.

And there you have it. I made my way back, used up the entire battery life on my phone, and lived to tell about it. I'm fortunate enough to get off the beaten path of Washington, D.C. and find something not a lot of people get to see.

Next weekend, I plan to find the columns.