牧羊神的午後

去年冬天到Charles Town看賽馬，經過Shanendoah River時，遠遠看到一個小鎮好漂亮，當時還想說回家要在地圖上找找看是哪裡；結果壓根兒就忘了。

今年在找離家不遠的景點賞秋時，朋友提到了「Harpers Ferry」，說喜歡攝影的人一定會很喜歡，而且從我們家開車過去不用一個小時。從地圖上一看，不就是去年經過的小鎮？真是「得來全不費工夫」啊。

Harpers Ferry 的地點剛好在Maryland,Virginia和West Virginia三州的交界，有Potomac和Shanendoah River兩條河在這裡交會。歷史上，它是「南北戰爭」的引爆點：1859年，極力主張美國廢奴運動的約翰 •布朗（John Brown）在這裡襲擊聯邦武器庫，加速了美國內戰在1861年爆發；所以在這裡會看到很多老人家望著傾頹的古牆和老屋喟嘆。

沿著Shanendoh River的鐵道至今仍然運作，夕陽穿過鐵軌下的木柵，看右邊的石房，或是左邊的仙人道河，和影子被拉的長長的蓬車，加上不時有從博物館走出來的「工作人員」，身穿內戰時期的服裝跟我們擦肩而過，感覺真像走在西部電影場景裡。

隔著鐵道，遠遠看到小丘上的St. Peter's Church，聽說以前不只這一座教堂，卻是唯一沒有被戰火摧毀的，門口有一位身著南軍制服的老伯伯，很親切的回答你的問題，還會攬著你的手臂，提醒你腳下曲拐的石階。

踏著石階往上走，就在St. Peter後方不遠處，會看到只剩下幾面石牆的St. John’s Church。讓人想到「簡愛」裡被燒毀後的Rochester舊宅；曾經是窗口，現在都成了缺口。

石階的盡頭，是欣賞Shanendoah River 和群山環繞St. Peter教堂的廣角點。因為這裡也曾是傑佛遜非常喜歡的景點，還有一塊石頭命名為「Jefferson Rock」。為了不讓天候或是時間讓這塊石頭命喪河底，後人還為它加上一塊大石鞏固它的地位。所以現在看到的不只是「Jefferson Rock」，還有它下面那塊「Jefferson’s Bodyguard」（這是我自己亂取的）。

回到Harpers Ferry的lower town，順著鐵道往東邊走，會遇見Appalachian Trail。標示牌上畫著：往北達緬因，往南到喬治亞，就兩個州名，讓人看見了一個「大」，一千四百英里左右耶。忽然想到阿甘那樣想跑就跑，想停就停的傻勁。

繼續往東，有一條footbridge帶著行人走向C & O 運河，光走這一段橋就花了我半個多小時，不是因為太長，是因為太漂亮了。橋下是Potomac River，會看到之前被洪水推倒的舊橋墩，牆頭上有花有草有小樹。從橋的這端遠眺另一端，會看到隧道和一道弧度。在橋樑上看到好多蜘蛛網，想灑點水上去製造露珠的特效，哪知這蛛網還防水的耶，一滴都不留。

到了橋尾，要下一個迴旋梯，還是鏤空的階梯，在我們前面幾位老人家頭都快昏了，扶著手把喘大氣，我剛好有理由走走停停邊照相。還發現這個迴旋梯和行人的影子印照在運河邊的石牆上時，好像山頂洞人的壁畫，也像「英倫情人」片頭裡畫出來的墨跡。

因為下雨延遲到下午才出發的我們，計畫明年秋天再找一個完整的日子來看它。

1.Information Center Start your visit here with an orientation to park stories and information.

2.Restoration Museum Explore "layers" of history and discover how a building changes over time.

3.Frankel's Clothing Store This exhibit reveals a revolution in the clothing industry tied to machines and advanced by war.

4.Industry Museum Transportation improvements and industrial innovations gave rise to Harpers Ferry. Original machines feature weapons production technology.

5.National Park Bookshop Stop here for a fine selection of books, videos and gifts of local and national interest.

6.Blacksmith Shop Experience some of the sights, sounds and stories of a 19th century working-class town. (Open seasonally).

7.Hamilton Street Building foundations and photos mark the sites of a pre-Civil War riverside neighborhood.

8.Harpers Ferry: A Place In Time Explore the growth of the town from past to present. (Video program).

9.Provost Marshal Office Learn about the Provost Marshal who served as judge, jailer and, if need be, executioner.

10.Mrs. Stipes Boarding House Visit the widow Cornelia Stipes' boarding house during the Civil War. Rooms occupied by war correspondent James Taylor and a military officer are located on the second floor.

11.Dry Goods Store Clothes, hardware, liquor, groceries and other merchandise that arrived daily by railroad and canal in the 19th century are on display.

12.Arsenal Square Arms produced at the Harpers Ferry Armory were stored in two brick buildings here - the Small Arsenal and Large Arsenal.

13.John Brown's Fort Originally the Armory's fire enginehouse and watchman's office, John Brown barricaded himself here during the final moments of his raid. 

14.The Point View the gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains as you stand at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. 

15.John Brown Museum Explore the story of John Brown and the struggle over slavery. (Video program).

16.Allies For Freedom Learn about the five African-American raiders who joined John Brown. (Located on the second floor of the John Brown Museum).

17.Harpers Ferry Wetlands Discover the history and nature of this special resource along the bottomland of the Shenandoah River.

18.Education & The Struggle For Equality Find out about one of the first schools in the New South for former slaves, and learn about the struggle for equality in the 20th century.

19.Alfred Burton Jewlery Store This frame building, reconstructed from original historic fabric, displays the wares and tools of this local businessman.

20.Confectionery Learn a tragic story of a family touched by war.

21.Civil War Museum Discover the twists and turns of four years of civil war in Harpers Ferry.

22.Black Voices Listen to human stories of struggle and triumph.

23.Harper House This is the oldest surviving building in Harpers Ferry. The lower level, halfway up the Stone Steps, exhibits an armory worker's apartment.

24.Jefferson Rock Here in 1783, Thomas Jefferson described this view as "worth a voyage across the Atlantic."