Historic Harpers Ferry: RV Adventure on the East Coast

It’s official – we are on the road again! We left just after the semester finished. Now, our 2024 trip is much shorter than the 8-month odyssey we embarked on last year – we’ll only be traveling for three and a half months, and we have two retreats in there that eat up about two weeks each. We decided that this year, we’d be sticking to the mid-Atlantic states. We always drive through them, but our stays are often short there as we’re on our way to somewhere else. So this year, our first stop was…

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

John Harper settled in Harpers Ferry in 1732, starting a ferry business. The town quickly became a crucial site for westward expansion. In 1796, the US government built a U.S. Armory in Harpers Ferry, and the area became a major center for the production of weapons – even more so when the railroad came to town.

In 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist, tried to spark a slave rebellion in the area. The rebellion never grew, but the events – and lack thereof – started turning the tide in the tension that ultimately led to the Civil War. During the war, both sides fought multiple times over control of Harpers Ferry – because, again, weapons. In 1862, the area saw the largest surrender of U.S. Troops during the entire war.

Ultimately, the armory was destroyed. It took some time, but the town did rebound, focusing on tourism and manufacturing. Now, people visit to see the history – the Armory ruins, John Brown’s fort, and several other Civil War landmarks are preserved in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park – but also to take advantage of the fairly untouched nature spots nearby.

The Drive

We were thrilled to head out. The campground in Pennsylvania had sponger moth caterpillars – those fuzzy black ones that drop down on you from the trees and give you a rash – so we hit the road and left them far behind. We always take driving days easy because towing is a very active-mind task for me. Between following directions and watching for on-ramps and signs and turns, watching for deer, navigating trailer-sway as massive trucks fly past us, and those people who don’t know how to YIELD!, driving can be exhausting. Add in hitching in the morning, and unhitching/set-up in the evening at the new campground, I always limit driving to about three hours a day. RV-ing is supposed to be fun, not more stressful!

In our mad escape from the caterpillars, when hitching, we’d actually forgotten to plug the trailer into the truck and then when unhitching, we left the ball-hitch connected until the sway bars were removed. Duh! It could have been a HUGE deal, but fortunately everything turned out fine. It’s just humbling to learn that even after nearly a decade of RV life, we can still forget the basics.

We arrived at the campground, set up, and in a complete surrender, opted for frozen dinners and relaxing rather than venturing out right away.

A Bit Of RV Life

While we love to explore, regular life happens, even on the road. The next day, we spent some time dealing with that. I solved a few camper issues that couldn’t wait, and M did some schoolwork. Fortunately, we know to avoid strict travel schedules because – hey! Things happen, issues pop up.

Harpers Ferry National Park

We stopped for lunch at the Coach House. The restaurant is nicely decorated with some gorgeous paintings on the wall. M ordered spaghetti and meatballs, but felt the sauce was a bit too spicy – in truly amazing customer service, the waitress refunded the pasta and brought out a cheesy grilled cheese that hit the spot. I kept things light with a nice Greek salad with shrimp, and it was a nice mid-day break.

After, we went to a candy store True Treats that has candy dating back to the 1880s! In fact, they have different candies to highlight the tastes of each decade from the 1880s until now, and it was interesting to see how popular tastes evolved.

One thing we’ve done since early RV days was sign M up for the Junior Rangers program at the National Parks. Now we both fill out the books, so, of course, we became Harpers Ferry Junior Rangers.

Monocacy Battlefield

Now we’re getting ready to head to Natural Bridge, Virginia and can’t wait to see what we find there. So far, this RV trip is off to a good start!