Peace and Beauty Behind the Strip Malls

There's a hidden gem in my area. I want to tell you about it, but I want to keep it a secret because I don't want to see it spoiled.

Sunrise over the Potomac River with a roaring campfire

Not that I think it ever will be spoiled. It's a private plot of land on a cliff overlooking the Potomac River, an absolutely gorgeous place to go camping, especially when leaves are changing in the fall.

I was there with a group over the weekend. Our campfire was only a few yards away from the cliff. We saw all sorts of animals. We went orienteering. The stars were brilliant at night. And the sunrise over the river was spectacular in the morning.

The untold story is that the owners of this property have been offered millions many times over by developers who would love to put hotels, restaurants and anything else you can imagine on this prime piece of real estate. The owners keep saying no. They've even put it in their will that the land can never be developed in perpetuity.

Less than a half-mile away, there's a Target, a Home Depot and literally hundreds of other stores as you work your way toward the sprawling area around Leesburg, Virginia. We don't need more of that stuff. We need more people like the family who own this farm, people who can actually say no.

It was a great weekend. I glad they let us camp there. To pay our way, so to speak, we cleared some dead trees and picked up a whole lot of trash that had washed up a stream. I'm sure we'll be back.

Meanwhile, don't forget to sign up for one of our hiking trips in 2014. Click here to visit our website and find out more.

See you on the trails.

Joseph