not a question about a low tide elevation
but an appreciation & enhancement of the allegedly ancient japanese or
possibly just fantastic art & sport & ritual of tracing rivers to their
source
as previously described in & between messages 1847 & 1855

having pondered & searched long & hard for a good act to follow that
unusually rewarding ascent of the potomac
i finally determined just this week to try next the greatest tributary &
closest kin of the potomac
the shenandoah

it is a beauty of a river & valley too & a beauty of a name
so i know already it will rock

& too excited to hold back until actually arriving at its mouth next week
precisely on the mdwv state line between harpers ferry & mdvawv
i started zooming it in on mapquest & topozone
& of course couldnt stop panning til i reached its most probable source
many entertaining hours later
since i am admittedly crazy about zooming & panning

nor was the imaginary journey so trivial or easy to make as it may sound
& indeed i highly recommend it as an armchair adventure some rainy night
whether in the form of up the shenandoah
or some other river that calls you

climbing the waters themselves in a boat
or snaking high & dry over all the bridges in a car
or actually slogging the last mile with bare feet
or just letting your fingers & mouse do the walking
many of the challenges & satisfactions are the same

& if you are doing the virtual sawanabori in preparation for an actual one
as in the present case
you will get the extra bonuses of saving gas by predetermining the shortest
routes
& of advancing the research by previewing all the critical confluences

anyway i do have a question

can anyone confirm the true source of the true shenandoah

i think i have found it on topozone
but i would like a second opinion

m