Inspired by the nearby bookstore, Norm and Wes were sitting outside a coffee shop playing a game of Scrabble. Norm grabbed a tile, turned it over and it was an "N". Wes turned over a "W", so Norm had the first turn. They each agreed to keep their own scores, and started playing. They took turns playing words, except that Norm used his third turn and his fifth turn to exchange some tiles. They stopped the game after about a dozen plays, with Wes playing three tiles. Then they decided to go caching. If you check out the posted image of their board and score each play correctly, you can too.
Lake Barcroft has an interesting history:
In 1913, the Alexandria Water Company began construction of the Lake Barcroft Dam to create a drinking water reservoir for the city of Alexandria. Construction of the dam was completed in 1915, putting a 620 million-gallon reservoir is into service. In 1942, the company installed 24 gates at the top of the dam to raise the spillway elevation five feet, increasing the reservoir size to 800 million gallons
In 1949, the City of Alexandria began to draw its drinking water from the Occoquan Reservoir. A year later, Colonel Joseph Barger and Associates purchased the reservoir, dam, and 680 adjacent acres of land for $1 million from the Alexandria Water Company. A year later, Barger and Associates began developing the 680 acres (2.8 km²) into a residential community.
During the early 1950s, residents formed a home owners association called Lake Barcroft Community Association. In 1970, community residents purchased the lake, dam, and common grounds for $300,000. The community around the lake hosts a number of events throughout the year for the residents, including an annual fireworks show for the fourth of July.
In the Summer of 2012, the lake was also the site where a rabid beaver attacked an 83 year old woman who was swimming in the lake. The Washington Post reported that a 35-pound, 24-inch rabid beaver had bitten the woman on the back of the leg and would not let go, and the ordeal lasted more than 20 minutes because the beaver kept attacking. The Falls Church woman and a friend battled the animal with canoe paddles, a stick and bare hands as it came at them again and again. With the help of one of the first responders, the beaver was netted and restrained until Animal Control arrived and euthanized the animal. The animal tested positive for rabies, and the woman was hospitalized for her injuries and rabies exposure. Such attacks are rare in suburban Washington; it was the first in Fairfax County in at least 12 years although a second rabid beaver attack at a different pond in Fairfax County took place a few weeks later.