A few weeks before most of the United States went into its deep freeze, we in the Philadelphia area were blessed with a nice day in November. I took advantage of the opportunity to take a short foray into Valley Forge Park, which I'm convinced has some of the best views in the entire region. Autumn in particular is a great time to visit with the foliage, if you can time it right. By the time I had arrived, some of the trees had already shed their leaves, but in this case it became an advantage because it cleared the view of the covered bridge in the background. The bridge sits at an odd spot which makes taking a good picture a challenge (unless you want to play chicken with the cars).
A few details about Valley Forge park: the visitors' center is excellent and indispensable in my view to get the most out of a visit, because attractions such as the soldiers' log cabins and Washington's headquarters are scattered in different locations and easy to miss if you don't have the map handy. The park is a fantastic place to take advantage of walking trails or see the local flora and fauna, but the downside is that there is a severe overpopulation of deer, who spill out into neighbors' yards and eat the foliage, or fall victim to the nearby highways. Efforts to control the deer population with either hunting or sterilization have met with controversy.
If you are from out of town and plan to spend time in Philadelphia, be sure not to miss the park!
