Another nature hike

Despite gray skies and a little rain, I went out hiking again this afternoon. I started my hike at the Potomac Overlook Park. Despite the name, the park no longer overlooks the Potomac, as the overlook area was removed in the 1990's. The park is fairly large given its location within Arlington County - who would have guessed that there would be something other than urban sprawl in Arlington? I picked a hiking trail that connected to Donaldson Run Park, which runs along Donaldson Run down to the Potomac River.


Donaldson Run

Once down at the Potomac River, I picked up the Potomac Heritage Trail and hiked south towards Rosslyn. I took the following picture on the trail. The sun peered through the clouds briefly to shine on the Washington Monument, and it looked beautiful. Unfortunately, this photo doesn't really do it justice.


The Potomac Flows Into DC
800x600 version

In interesting timing, this weekend's Wall Street Journal has an article titled "Gem War". Apparently, laboratory-produced diamonds are now exceeding the quality of natural diamonds, much to the dismay of De Beers. De Beers has launched a campaign to persuade consumers that natural diamonds are better, and is trying to persuade the FTC to require lab "cultured" diamonds to carry a "synthetic" label. Meanwhile, the diamond producing labs are fighting back, highlighting the fact that their products don't have the ethical baggage of most real diamonds. Most consumers are unaware of the De Beers monopoly, blood diamonds, worker exploitation, and the environmental impact of the diamond industry. As people become more aware of the issues of real diamonds, it will be interesting to see whether lab-grown diamonds will become popular.