The Nanticoke River is the largest Chesapeake Bay tributary on the lower Delmarva Peninsula, meandering gently through marshland, forests and farmland, on its journey from southern Delaware to Tangier Sound in Maryland. The Nanticoke watershed is also the most biologically diverse watershed on the Delmarva, and is home to the highest concentration of bald eagles […]
Year: 2017
Hiking at Jerusalem Village in Gunpowder Falls State Park
Established in 1959 to protect the Gunpowder River and the Big and Little Gunpowder Falls, Gunpowder Falls State Park is now one of Maryland’s largest state parks. With more than 18,000 acres in Harford and Baltimore counties, Gunpowder’s narrow corridors host a varied topography ranging from tidal wetlands to steep and rugged slopes. My first […]
Exploring the W&OD Rail Trail
The Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad Regional Park stretches almost 45 miles between the Potomac River in Alexandria and Purcellville. The park is approximately 100 feet wide, and of course, its primary feature is the rail trail, a paved path about 10 feet wide, that closely follows the original rail bed of, and derives […]
Painting Vineyards and Vistas
Wine. Lovely weather. Friends. Beautiful scenery. Painting. Seriously, those are all the ingredients for an incredible afternoon. Paint.Local.Social aims to bring this experience to everyone, no artistic talent needed! Vineyards and Vistas is a Plein Air painting experience at a local winery in Adams County. It will include all supplies and instruction along with wine samples. Andi […]
A New Look at a Lake Revisited
I’ve been visiting Lake Elkhorn, in Columbia, MD, for longer than two decades. Years of walking dogs around the lake has made the lake familiar and comforting. It’s one of my favorite places in Columbia, and despite its local popularity, it’s restful and relaxing. Lake Elkhorn is a 37-acre reservoir located in the Owen Brown […]
Reflections on Trap Pond
Freshwater wetlands once covered a large portion of southwestern Sussex County, DE. Featuring the northernmost natural stand of bald cypress trees in the United States, Trap Pond State Park retains a part of those wetlands’ original beauty and mystery. (The bald cypress is a wetland tree adapted to areas of calm, shallow standing water.) Ironically, […]
Hike to Annapolis Rocks
“Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods. … Of all the upness accessible to mortals, there is no upness comparable to the mountains.” — John Muir, Naturalist For almost any hiker in the East, the Appalachian Trail has a curious draw. Colleagues of mine have spent […]
Smell the Lavender at Deep Creek Lavender Farm
…a magic and lavender space, unpinned from the world around it Unfortunately, this blog cannot share the scent of lavender on the breeze, the subtle aroma that surrounds the farm as the breezes sweep across the lavender fields. To experience that, you should go yourself to a lavender farm. I went to the Deep Creek […]
Getting Ready for Kayak Adventures!
Over the years of writing this blog, I’ve gone on several kayaking adventures — kayaking a sedate few miles down the Potomac River, checking out Maryland’s shipwrecked “ghost fleet” at Mallows Bay, and kayaking across the Assateague Narrows to go see the famous Assateague ponies come to mind. I’ve loved kayaking every time we go […]
Shinrin-yoku at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve
Forest bathing — essentially just being in the presence of trees — is the practice of taking a short, leisurely visit to a forest for health benefits. The practice originated in Japan where it is called shinrin-yoku (森林浴) in Japanese. The Japanese practice of forest bathing is proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure, […]
An Afternoon at the Museum
Big cities don’t have a monopoly on art and culture, and modest Hagerstown can attest to that, with its Museum of Fine Arts. What began as an initial gift from the founders has grown into an extraordinary permanent collection that includes over 7,000 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and other works of art representing a variety […]
Baltimore – Washington Area’s Best Urban Oases
When the urban jungle becomes too much for us, we naturally seek an oasis of peace and calm amidst the asphalt and pandemonium. I’ve found eight surprising urban oases offering us the promise of lovely vistas, green relief, or a pleasant walk. These are all near or in Washington DC and Baltimore. Check them out […]
7 Places in Pennsylvania You Don’t Want to Miss in 2017!
Over the four years that I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve discovered unexpected castles, rocks that sing, places of incredible beauty or incredible historical significance — and sometimes both. I’ve ridden bikes along rivers, hiked to mountain tops, and explored underground — all in the great state of Pennsylvania. Now that school is out, here […]
Afterlife Behind Bars at Moundsville Penitentiary
West Virginia Penitentiary was one of the bloodiest and deadliest prisons within the United States. It also is where the dark souls of rapists, murderers, and other criminals still may be walking, spending their afterlife imprisoned behind the same bars that held them captive when they were alive. Talk about recidivism! It was, of course, […]
Behind Bars: Touring the West Virginia Penitentiary
The West Virginia State Penitentiary is an imposing, gothic style prison located in Moundsville, WV. It operated from 1876 to 1995. Now open for tours, it stands as a monument to a bygone era, and provides ongoing testimony to man’s inhumanity to man. The town of Moundsville is interesting in its own right, having derived […]