On Friday the 13th, while at the gym, I asked one of the trainers what was the gym going to do about the current situation – Corona-virus? He said it was the main office’s call. I told him it was a pain in the ass for Kathy and I to wipe off our equipment, not only after we use it (which we have always done) but also before, because so many idiots do not wipe theirs down. Sunday night we decided we would not be going back to the gym. Monday afternoon the Governor announced all gyms to be closed. So now we hike and luckily there are a lot of places here on the Eastern Shore to go to having very little contact with people.
First hike Monday was the Salisbury Park which includes the Zoo. Short hike of 1.8 miles but a very brisk one.
Wednesday was a hike at Chincoteague. We usually ride our bikes there but opted to hike. This hike was about 3-1/2 miles at the Woodland Loop, Bi-valve trail and then along the bay.
Woodland trailTo the Pony ObservationSnake!Pine cone slow pitchwigShortcut thru woods, nopeDelmarva Fox Squirrel
Glad to be able to hike and I wish all to be well.
In my last blog, First Hike 2020, I spoke of looking for the Paul Leifer Trail at Furnace Town and how we thought the only access was from the gift shop, which closed in October. Well I sent an email to Furnace Town asking about access to the trail and they told us to go through the gate and then head to the trail, so we did.
Through the gate and head to the right, where you will see the Iron Furnace. Go to the left and there is an information board with a map and cautions that the boardwalks are very slippery.
Some interesting signage and some not so interesting!
The boardwalks were not only very slick, some were falling apart.
Molly didn’t mind and she did a lot better on this hike.
Some of the sights along our hike. It was very quiet here.
CrabbyA favorite sight of mine!2nd Geocache in as many weeks.Happy-Happy-Happy
Heading back out after about 1-1/2 hour hike. A couple shots in the ‘town’.
Wedding arch? Or sacrificial temple at the top?Nice pic from Kathy.
Our hike, via All trails: Under a mile but very adventurous!
But the best sign was this one…
Life is full of next bends!! Thanks God for pointing the way to each and every bend, not that I am always paying attention to where you are pointing…
I hope our first hike of 2020 is not indicative of the rest of our hikes this year. This was a very non-descript hike – just a short path through the woods near Furnace Town. We were hoping to do the Paul Leifer Trail but you need to go through the Furnace Town gift shop/museum to access it. That closed on October 31st!
To access the trail we hiked, we headed down Millville Rd to an opening in the woods. The trail was marked with these little signs. Quite a few scattered every 20 yards or so.
We saw some water down the hill, away from the trail so we headed for it.
Part of the Cypress swamp.
This was probably the first hike that Molly struggled to keep up. She will be 15 soon and has not been feeling well. When I first started hiking with Kathy and Molly about 4-1/2 years ago, Molly could do 6-8 miles without any problem. Now, not so much. We end up carrying her for a good portion.
Up over the hill was this.
When deer attack!
A little green on a drab day.
So the trail heads into the woods, just this side of the canal and then back up to Millville Rd and puts you on the road for a bit.
On the map below, to the east of the yellow line is where we should have been but couldn’t. But that is ok. Any day you can get a hike in, short or long, picturesque or drab, flat or hilly, rain or shine – it is all good. We can’t think of a better way to start the new year!!
It was a beautiful day Saturday, December 28, 2019 and there is nothing better than taking a hike on a beautiful day. If we had known it was going to be as warm as it was, maybe we could have went kayaking instead! Next time. We have a lot of favorite hikes that we do, but sometimes we look for new places. Although we have been to the Assateague area many times, we saw a spot on the map we never have been to – Rackliffe House and trail:
This historic site is behind the visitor center. There are 2 trails that lead there. We chose the wooded one instead of the asphalt.
Across from where Kathy is sitting is a path to Sinepuxent Bay with the Verrazano Bridge in the distance.
A very short beach hike.
Kathy picKathy pic
Leaving the beach we head towards the house, passing the golf course.
Nice tree tunnel
This Geo-cache was hanging in plain site. At first I thought it was a wildlife camera.
Always nice to have a choice in the paths we take in life.
Historic house – from their website:
Rackliffe House, a 1740s merchant-planter’s home overlooking Assateague Island and scenic Sinepuxent Bay. Rackliffe House was constructed in the 1740s by Captain Charles Rackliffe, the merchant-planter grandson of one of the earliest English immigrants to Maryland’s seaside. The large two-story, three-bay Manor House features Flemish bond brickwork with random glazed headers, a steeply pitched gabled roof with kicked eaves, and large windows. Captain Rackliffe intended the house to be seen across the water. He built it on a prominent ridge atop a man-made terrace with expansive views of the water and island.
In its time, Rackliffe House has witnessed marauding Spanish galleons, Barbary pirate ships, and English men-of-war. The house has stood through the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. Today, thanks to the restoration efforts of the Rackliffe House Trust and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, historic Rackliffe House now serves as a coastal museum that interprets 18th-century life along Maryland’s seaside.
View through the house
The second part of the loop includes a pond and a stream
Brave Molly stepped over Kathy’s feet to cross over
I thought all the bugs died off during the last freeze. Termites.
We leave the visitors center and the Rackliffe Loop and head over to the ocean. Always a favorite. And again we sought out an area we have never hiked. North of the Youth Group Areas. We hiked behind the sand dune and saw this. Who they keeping out or in?
Rounding the corner to the beach.
Kathy pic
The beach with not a lot of shells, just this small group;
Getting ready for the new year.
Not that we run around nude on the beach a lot, but this sign makes you wonder! Kathy says this use to be an unauthorized nude beach many years ago.
Beautiful day, beautiful hike and beautiful beach! Thanks God for another beauty!
While at Indian Beach, North Carolina, we decided to visit the Cape Lookout National Park. To get there we needed to catch the ferry from Harkers Island. They have a nice visitors center there. A few blocks away is/was a museum, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum. It is still closed from the storm of a year ago.
Visitor Center, anchor from ship that sank in 1902Beach artifacts
it was about a 4-1/2 mile ferry ride, making one stop at Shackleford Banks. People like to stop there and look at the 100+ wild horses on the island. Kathy and I visited the western end of this island back in June. Nice trip. Didn’t see any horses though.
Pelicans doing pelican stuff.One of the shy horses
Arrived at our destination and stopped at the Keepers House first.
We missed being able to climb up to the top by about a month.
Black diamonds face north and south. White, east and west.. So, not only does the light shine 24/7, you can also get your bearings by the diamonds.Random black and white
Instead of taking the boardwalk to the ocean, we took a service road.
The ocean. Too many people before us so the pickings were slim for seashells.
So, Kathy decides instead of us walking back up the beach, we should cut across to the bay side. “Are you sure?” “Yes” Ok!
Sand first……and then all marsh.
Not just a marsh but also a bunch of inlets of rushing water. I didn’t know we were doing this kind of hike or I would have worn my water shoes and not my Tevas!
Spooked this guyThe lighthouse looks far awayLooking back from where we came from. It was actually a nice hike.Finally to the beachUnknown structureGetting closerAnd so we restBack to the dockRandom camera colorization of image. It does this sometimes.The ferry coming to drop off people and pick us up.The map of our trip
Although I was only at the beach for about 4 days, it was so nice to get away! Ha! Get away from what??!! Kathy and I always go to the beach! A wonderful trip. Thanks Gail and John.
Kathy and I figured we would get at least a couple days of biking and hiking in before the weather took a turn for the worse (Hurricane Dorian). Chincoteague is always a favorite spot. First we biked over to the Bivalve Trail on the bay side.
Playing in storm drainKathy’s sister Gail’s bike. Kathy likes this one better.Snails in high tideDon’t tread on me.Upside down in the grass. Grass cuts your legs up!Reading Naturalist on the Nanticoke. Full chapter on these guysKathy’s photo of the Roy Orbison bug.This was all dry last week.
Then we headed over to the ocean.
The female carries a male, digs a shallow hole for her eggs then tosses the male onto the eggs to do his thing. Then they go their separate ways. This group didn’t make it.??A bunch of trees with sea shell ornaments.
Packed up and headed through town to see if we could find a decoy carver’s shop. No luck but found this old house – Sign on left says: Capt. Timothy Hill House. Islands oldest home. 1800. Another sign says privately owned, visitors welcome.
Kathy and I cannot get enough of Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We did another bike ride through, with a small hike thrown in. As can be seen below, this was our path. According to the brochure, shown at the end of this blog, we only did about 8.3 miles, but with Google Maps we went over 9.7 miles. Either way, it was nice.
When we left the house on this adventure, our intent was to only do the Wildlife Loop and part of the Service Road, but we ended up leaving the Wildlife Loop on Black Duck Trail and headed towards the Woodland Trail. On that trail is a great trail – The Bivalve Trail. Afterwards we went back to the Wildlife Loop and the Swan Cove Trail and eventually the ocean.
Pumping-restoring the marshBlack Duck TrailPony PensWoodland TrailRoad less traveled on leftWishes in waitingOff-road bikingEnd of road – off bikes and hikeLooking leftLooking rightWhat is that?Getting closeAfter conferring with a couple of people, Merrill and Phil, This is a reflector for Wallops Island (NASA)NASA in distance
Views along this path…
The FiddlerWho am I?Long ago pufferContemplationAbandoned
Back to the bikes and onto the Woodland Trail
Pony PensPoniesSwan Cove Trail to oceanMarshes drying upMap Paths
Whenever I ride my bike, a variety of songs pop into my head – “I ride my bike, I roller skate don’t drive no car” (Brand New Key by Melanie). But we needed to drive my truck to get to ride our bikes!
Then pops in: “I’ve got a bike. You can ride it if you like It’s got a basket, a bell that rings and Things to make it look good I’d give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it.” (Bike by Pink Floyd) But we took the basket off of Kathy’s and she hasn’t got a bell yet.
So I guess we will just settle on “Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle, I want to ride my bicycle” (Bicycle Race by Queen). We headed to Chincoteague for our first outing together. I use to ride my bike around Montebello Lake when I was working. This is my first time out this year. Kathy’s co-workers gave her money to buy a bike when she retired. She picked out a cruiser.
The Wildlife Loop is a 3.2 mile adventure. We went around twice. Kathy looking for the eagles. Saw the nest. None of the eagle babies survived this year.
Next stop is the Swan Cove Trail, which is 1 mile round trip.
Nice path that takes you to the ocean.
Park the bikes…
…and walk over the dunes to this.
An old stump with seashell ornaments.
Back on the bikes to continue the loop. Saw lots of egrets, ducks and red wing blackbirds.
Another pit stop along the way. An observation platform. No bikes allowed.
Nice day out Sunday so we headed out to go hiking. Our first stop was Trap Pond State Park in Laurel Delaware. They wanted $8 to get in?? They wouldn’t accept our Maryland State Pass nor our National Park Pass. And you would think it being Memorial weekend veterans could get in free! Nope! Not that we didn’t have the money – it was the principal. Maryland has lots of parks we can go to so we headed down Rte 13 to Leonards Mill Park. Their Website says they have a hiking trail – they don’t! It’s more of a visitor information center and park.
Kathy went in to get some info brochures.
I checked out the view.
We knew there is a boat launch in here somewhere, so we looked for that. Nice little bridge. some kids fishing down stream.
Sluice gates need adjusting.
Found the boat ramp. Get in here and head under the bridge to a larger pond. Looking forward to that.
The visitor center folks said we could hike at a park on Naylor Mill Road. So we headed there next. It is called the Henry Parker Sports Complex. Lots of mens slow pitch softball going on here. It has a trail, but it looks more like a mountain bike course.
The trail(s) [multiple switch-backs] were not marked for hiking with hash marks. We just headed towards the opposite area of the ball fields. Below the hill where Kathy is, is Leonard Pond Run. Couldn’t really get to it.
There were a lot of frogs on the trail.
More of the bike course.
Short hike but enjoying nature. Old growth trees.
The layers just peal away and fall to the ground.
Back to the car and Molly now has her own Yeti Tumbler. Spoiled dog!
Lesson for today – investigate where it is you are going before you go! Still a great day to be out. Thanks God.
Water and Me 