ICELAND April 2023

10 Monday Apr 2023

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, HISTORY, Iceland, nature, Road Trips, Trails, Travel

Tags

church, geysers, glacier, Hiking, HISTORY, Iceland, lighthouses, nature, photography, rainbows, sculptures, tomatoes, volcano, water falls

In April 2023 we took a trip to Iceland. Although the weather for the most part was not the best, all the beauty and wonder made the trip an unforgettable experience. Then again, the weather here on the Eastern Shore was not that great – two days before we left, tornadoes touched down just north of here. Volcanoes, blizzards and continental drifts are the norm in Iceland. We did see evidence of global warming.

We flew out of BWI Airport Sunday April 2nd on a direct flight. I do not believe I am yet awake from the time-zone differences. Our flight left BWI at 8:35pm. We arrived in Iceland April 3rd at 6:30am.

We arrive at the Keflavik airport which was about a 40 minute shuttle drive to our hotel, The Hotel Klettur (some locals say Klettur means ‘rock’, others say it means ‘cliff’).

Most walls outside the elevators had some information about local wildlife an/or ecology. Icelanders are very ecological in their thinking and doing.

Schindler’s Lift

Wonderful view outside our window.

You are given 2 keys to your room. One gets inserted into this holder. It turns on the electricity for the room. So, if you have food in your refrigerator, you have to leave one key behind.

We had a nice room. Our original hotel was overbooked so they sent us here. With an upgrade. And closer to downtown.

I don’t usually show photos of the bathroom, but something interesting here is the heating system. They use geothermal heat. Very hot water flows through that radiator. You regulate it with a valve, not a thermostat. No ac. Most people had their windows opened.

Since we could not check in right away, we took a 3 hour city tour. (The hotel has a luggage storage room to put our bags in). It was actually a really good tour. Our tour guide Dominique was very knowledgeable and took us everywhere.

First stop was the Northern Lights Center called Aurora. The guide in here filled our heads with wonderful photos, information and videos.

She also told us the best way to get a perfect shot of the Northern Lights. Nothing more than making sure the flash is off and set it for a 3-4 second exposure. Holding steady!

While waiting outside for the rest of the group, he was there in front of the Saga Museum. (The Sagas of Icelanders is supposed to be a literary classic? I bought it but haven’t read it yet – 781 pages)

He drove us to see one of the many lighthouses next. This lighthouse can only be accessed by foot during low tide.

The Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church with a statue of Leifur Eiricksson in front. The largest church in Iceland. The statue was donated by the US. There is an identical statue in Newport, Va. Here are some random photos. We went back a second day so we could go up into the tower. I grouped all the photos together here.

No sooner we walked through the tower doors, the bells started ringing! Very loud!

Misc info

Onto our next destination

Town Hall

Large relief map of Iceland

Moss may not grow on a rolling stone, but it does grow on lava rock.

Next stop, the Perlan Museum

There were photos explaining what you were viewing.

Lots of churches. They left Paganism 1,000+ years ago.

All of this on our first day! Before we checked in. Will tomorrow be a day of rest – nope!

A walk along the shoreline. They have two paths -one for pedestrians and one for cyclists.

Almost got a shot of her face in the hole. There are 100’s of statues and sculptures everywhere.

The Sun Voyager sculpture.

…is where Kathy put her foot down…

Mini lighthouse.

Performing arts center

Interesting Immersive Light Show.

Taking a walk around town.

Rainbow road with view of church.

Another statue of another famous dude (If I can’t pronounce your name, chances are I won’t remember you!)

2,082 miles from home and Kathy runs into some friends.

We all went to dinner after this. More on eating later.

Now onto day 3. This will be an 8 hour tour of the Golden Circle. Lots of riding, short stops except when money was involved (rest stop, souvenirs, food, etc.)

Green House. Mostly tomatoes.

Some people just cannot read – ooohhh look, tomatoes, snap.

Bees – imported. More thermal heating pipes and hydroponics.

Tomato soup and bread. Good stuff here!

No soup for him. There were quite a few horse farms around.

Next stop – geysers.

Our guide today was very good – Inga. But, when we got to the geysers, she neglected to tell us that the active one was up the hill some. We watched this steam up for about 15 minutes!

There she blows!

Next up – a fairly large water fall. And a woman who protested and won, the building of a new power plant on the falls. Her name was Sigriour Tomasdottir. She was the daughter of the farmer that owned the waterfall.

Walking down to the bottom was closed off.

On to the next adventure – tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia. This is the only place on earth you will see 2 tectonic plates meeting above water.

Nice paths and boardwalks all over the place.

A line of people heading to the bottom, where the land splits.

Was hard to see this bird – Rock Ptarmigan. Icelanders and snow foxes eat them.

A flag between continents.

On the ride home – long day.

We were supposed to see the Northern Lights two nights ago but the tour kept getting postponed because of weather. This night we went…

The full moon gave off a lot of light.

Lots of moonlight but an eerie beauty over the landscape.

A wisp, but a Northern Light to behold. Went out about 9, saw them about midnight.

Thursday is the South Shore Adventure. We will get to see waterfalls and glaciers. And it snowed! Some pics on the ride out.

Waterfalls everywhere.

Did we leave our heart in Iceland? Yes.

Skogafoss Waterfall.

A double rainbow and a triple dose of tourist.

Up in the cliffs, hiding from people.

More to nature than the obvious.

Riding away from one waterfall, heading to a glacier.

Peeled off parts of the Solheimajokull Glacier. The black lines are volcanic ash that were covered over again and again for thousands of years.

Another tour group on the glacier.

On to the town of Vik.

The giants – King and Queen on a ship. We will next head around that mountain to the Black Sand Beaches.

Like the Giant’s Causeway of Northern Ireland.

Our guide told us that stunt pilots love to fly through that hole in the cliff.

This is the one that got us wet.

On the way back to town we stopped at another waterfall. Seljandsfoss.

More rainbows.

It was easy to get wet here.

One of the only disappointments was not being able to go behind the waterfall. These people did, but when I am in someone else’s land, I respect their wishes. One guy who didn’t, fell on the ice (why it was closed) and cut his hand wide open.

Gnomes live in that cave.

So it is time to head back to Reykjavik. Took some miscellaneous photos on the way.

Steam vents just pop up randomly. People are told to be careful where they build their homes. The steam will heat their houses or destroy them.

Nice farm. The lava is covered in moss which decays then more moss and so on, eventually becoming dirt that will allow wheat to grow.

The driver would not pull over so Kathy and I could check out the cemetery.

Random photos.

Cant stop me..

Chinese Embassy.

They love their wrestling.

Our first dinner out. We watched a video about this place before we left and thought we should try it, except for the rancid shark!

Really a bizarre mural to look at while eating.

This was called the Baldur. Pickled herring on rye, I did not care for it. In the middle is Mashed Fish on rye, which was really good. Then rye bread ice cream. Melts in your mouth!

We then went to dinner at this place with Kathy’s friends, Donielle De and her husband Larry.

They start you off with an item new to the menu. This was salmon. OK I guess.

That is butter for your bread on that rock.

Kathy got the vegan meal.

I got pasta with cod and shrimp.

Another night we had carry-out fish and chips. Notice wood fork. Everything is recyclable. And if you want a bag, you will have to pay for it.

Baked beets.

Next morning, heading home. the bus picked us up at about 12:30. Supposed to fly out at 5pm. Due to winds the plane did not take off until about 8:35pm. Long wait in a small airport with not enough seating. We arrived at BWI at 10:20pm EST. Left the long term parking by 11:30pm. Arrived at home 1:45am.

I am so glad that we were able to take this trip. We will probably go back one day to see all the things that we missed.

God is good.

Pusey Trail and Cemeteries

15 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by Ronald Parks in Archives, Cemetery, Eastern Shore, Genealogy, Hiking, nature, Road Trips, Trails

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Cemetery, Civil War, hike, Just Walk, markers, muddy, Pusey, Research, swamp, Trails, Worcester County

A week or so ago we found a brochure called “Just Walk”. It was put out by the Worcester County Health Dept. You could sign up and receive gifts for the miles you walked on 15 different trails. Most of which we had already hiked. There were a couple we hadn’t so we decided to go ahead and do it. The first one we picked was the Pusey Branch Trail on Old Furnace Rd near Old Beech Rd.

There is a cemetery at the front of this trail, so we thought we would check it out.

Lost part of his tail and has a hole in his side.

We then see this headstone. I knew by the writing and style that it is a military grave. When I got home, I decided to do a little research on S.C. Stevens. Private Stanley C. Stevens enlisted into the Union Army (Civil War) on August 30, 1864 at 28 years old. He was in Battery E of the 6th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. He was enlisted for 1 year and mustered out June 13, 1865. I could not find his birth or death dates.

We finish looking around and head to the trail.

The trail needs some maintenance but it is well marked.

We came to a secondary trail and headed that way.

The White Trail took us to a swamp, bright green life in an otherwise old, dying forest.

A few boardwalks and busted up benches along the way.

We found another path off of the designated path and tried to take that one but there was too much water.

Informational signs along the way. This one asks what is in a cord of wood?

I don’t think so! A mound of rotted wood.

Our path. A short hike and I couldn’t wait to get back and fill out the Health Department form to start earning free gifts!! Ha!! Get to the bottom of the form and it informs me that we have to be Worcester residents to register!!

As I mentioned above, I did some research on Pvt. Stevens. Because this hike was on the Pusey Branch and there were Pusey headstones in the cemetery, I just assumed the name of the cemetery was Pusey? (Researchers NEVER assume!). I went to the Find a Grave website and saw that the Pusey Cemetery is a couple miles west on Meadow Bridge Rd. The above cemetery is called the Nazareth Cemetery, from a church and not a private one.

So, a week later we head to find the Pusey Cemetery. As we head down the road Kathy sees some headstones in the woods. This one is a private cemetery called Bounds-McAllen Cemetery.

A small cemetery and not the one we are looking for. A photo on the Find a Grave site shows it with a fence. We head further up the road and we see a gate on a trail and we think this must be the place. Walking back about 700′ we found it. Seemed odd that there was a marker on the outside of the fence.

We found another Veteran’s grave. There is more available research on him, on Google, than that on Stevens. As can be seen, he was in the Confederate Army, the cavalry. Here is a link for info. http://www.mikehitch.com/me/5062.htm Thanks Mike for the info.

And here we have a tree growing on top a dead stump.

A photo from 2013 of the cemetery, Some sites show it just as the Pusey Cemetery. On other sites I saw it called the Pusey-Maddox Cemetery.

After visiting here, we hiked some. Another story, another time.

It would be nice to know the story of the two service men. They are buried a couple miles from each other, in cemeteries with family members of the same name. Did they know each other. One item I read about Azariah was that he enlisted in the union, was captured by the rebels and joined them?? So many questions, so little time…

Oyster Fritters, Antiques, a Hike (and a bad sign)

23 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by Ronald Parks in chincoteague, Eastern Shore, Hiking, kayaking, Road Trips, Trails

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Tags

Antiques, birding, Fritters, Lighthouse, Nassawango, Nature Conservancy, stuff found, unicorns, Veterans park

This was a two day adventure. On the 20th we went to the Chincoteague VFD for a fund raiser – oyster fritter sandwich, a bottle of water and a bag of chips. Although this was my first fritter and I enjoyed it, I must say, I like a fried oyster sandwich best. We picked up our lunch and headed to the Chincoteague Veterans Memorial Park.

It was a nice place to sit and look at the water. Part of Assateague, Va. is right across the water.

Man, are you kidding me? I can see why there is no swimming, but no kayaking?

We left Chincoteague after lunch (We did stop at the bookstore and I picked up a couple local, Eastern Shore history books). Decided to check out a couple antique shops heading up Route 13. Stopping first at Chesapeake Antiques. Last time we were here they had a lot of stuff. Not so much now. It actually looks like they are going out of business. Pickers Paradise next door is closed. Headed up the road a little further and stopped here – Worcester House Antiques. Wow…

We did stop at a very nice shop in Princess Anne – Somerset Choice Station Antiques. It is part of the Somerset Historical Society. http://www.somersetcountyhistoricalsociety.org/shop.html

So, the next day, the 21st, we decided to take a short hike. Went here once again. Always nice to be along the Nassawango Creek, among the cypress.

Found this in the swamp and Kathy wanted it, soooo. We will fix the baby carriage up and place it in the garden.

Looking for frogs. We heard them but did not see them.

Possible UFO sighting.

We did find that elusive Unicorn we have been looking for.

A favorite spot to sit and daydream about kayaking.

A little confusing. After this point the trails were not marked so we stayed next to the creek.

Not sure how this ended up here. Kathy suggested that it was brought up from the creek and the person just walked away. There is a house about a half-mile from here, but they have a ramp? We hiked to about the house and then headed through the woods to the road – Creek Road.

Saw this from the water while kayaking. Like I stated above, the closest house is about a half-mile away.

Nice two days of adventures. Thanks God for these days.

(Un)Haunted Road Trip

08 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by Ronald Parks in Cemetery, Covered Bridge, Eastern Shore, engineering, HISTORY, Road Trips

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Tags

Bay, cell tower, Cemetery, Ghost, hanging tree, Haunted, historical markers, peach blossom, skipjack, Tilghman

During winter lock-down, I have been able to catch up on a lot of reading. I have always enjoyed local history books. Read quite a few of Baltimore’s History while living up there, so now I read a lot of Eastern Shore History. Right now I am reading The Rivers of the Eastern Shore while also reading The Lord’s Oysters. I mention places to Kathy that are in the books and she says, well, let’s go check them out. For this outing I referred to Haunted Eastern Shore.

First stop on the list was the White Marsh Cemetery, also known as the Hole in the Wall Cemetery. I guess a doorway could also be called a hole?

This cemetery is quite visible from Rte. 50 heading west from Trappe. Right hand side. Here is the historical marker.

A couple notable haunted stories about this place are that the wife, Hanna, of the Reverend Maynadier of this church took ill and died. People knew she wanted to be buried with her favorite (expensive) ring and she was. The night after her burial two grave robbers dug her up and tried to pull the ring off her finger with no luck. The one robber pulled out his pocket knife and as he was trying to cut her finger off, she awoke from a coma and screamed – scaring them off. She made it home where she recovered. Supposedly you can see her roaming around the cemetery. We did not. It may have been too windy. She is buried with her husband.

Another story is that of Robert Morris whose fate is described in the last paragraph of his burial stone/marker: A salute from the cannon of a ship, the wad fracturing his arm, was the means by which he departed July 12, 1750. Someone on the ship was to fire the cannon at the Captains signal – finger to nose. But a fly landed on his nose and when he shooed it off with his finger…well, you get the picture!

Next stop on our trip was Koon’s Easton Toyota about 3 miles north on Rte. 50. The Peach Blossom Creek Covered Bridge is another one of those places you see heading to and fro on Rte. 50. We tried once before to seek out a route to this bridge but ended up on private property and stopped.

I decided to go into the dealership and ask permission to park in their lot and try to find a way through the marsh/woods. They said we could park there but didn’t think it was possible to get thru the marsh. One of the guys suggested walking up to the St. Michaels bypass and look for a path. That was a little too far to go so we headed behind the store and was stopped by the marsh, headed north to an opening and headed through the woods to a clearing and to the bridge.

Spirits but no ghost.

Finally to the bridge. Looking back at Koon’s and no, we would not have made it through the marsh.

We didn’t see this going in, but this is where we came out next to Rte. 50.

Next stop on our trip was to the Tunis Mills Hanging Tree on Miles River Rd. This is near an area called “The Rest”. Wonder how long this sign will stay up?

This is what the tree is supposed to look like. Lots of people were hung here. Not sure whom, but a lot. You are supposed to sit in your car under the tree, motor off and listen for the faint screams of those hung! I couldn’t wait!!

Well, this is what the tree looks like now! And over on the side of the road is the hanging limb.

Leave there, disappointed I must add, and head back over the Miles River draw bridge. Pull off the road onto a dirt road.

And of course I had to climb under the bridge.

Kathy took this photo of an old church just over the bridge.

Unionville Historical marker – self explanatory.

Decided then to head to Tilghman Island and St. Michaels. Checked out the Lowes Wharf. Tide is out.

Looks like they are installing a new bulkhead or something.

Follow the road through St. Michaels to where you cannot go any further. I was hoping we could but the road is closed at the entrance to Black Walnut Point.

There is a naval lab here also.

The shoreline at the parking lot.

A public dock up the road.

With swans trying to do some synchronized swimming.

By this time of the day it was getting rather windy and chilly. Only a couple more stops (We gave up on the ghost hunting). This is an interesting sign. I thought Deal Island was home for the skipjacks.

Interesting info… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_T._Ruark

Roadside attraction.

And another. Anyone know what this is? We do and it was surprising.

Most telephone poles had Valentine hearts throughout TI.

Finally heading home and a quick stop at the TI Drawbridge. Constructed in 1934, it is Maryland’s only overhead counterweight bascule span and one of only fifteen moveable bridges throughout the state road network. This type of bridge a heel trunion rolling lift bridge with a counterweight suspended above the roadway was constructed at the Knapps Narrows site because of its ease and speed of operation. The bridge opened approximately 12,000 times a year, more often than most East Coast bridges.

Another wonderful road trip with so much seen and appreciated!! Always an adventure with Kathy. No ghost but lots of sights.

The Murden

15 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by Ronald Parks in Assateague, boating, Eastern Shore, engineering, Harbor, ocean city, Road Trips

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Assateague, Corps of Engineers, dredge, inlet, Murden, OC, sand, Thrashers

Headed down to Ocean City, Md. the other day. It was cold and windy but a nice day to be out. We parked at the Inlet Parking Lot after checking to see if Thrasher’s Fries was open. They were not. Off in the distance we saw some sort of ship way down near Assateague.

The ship started to head back towards the Inlet Channel – some rough seas

Suddenly he headed towards the beach adjacent to the fishing pier.

Did a u-turn and we thought he was going to hit the beach.

He straightened himself (or herself) out and then headed into the channel.

Where the seagulls and I could get a good look.

The cars lined up for lunch and the gulls waiting for some Thrashers. Disappointed.

Back in the car with a view one way…

Then the other.

Here is a stock photo of the ship and some info.

The split hull dredger Murden is currently very busy working in and around Ocean City Inlet as part of the Assateague Island Restoration project, conducted in partnership with the Assateague Island National Seashore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Baltimore District said in its latest announcement. This project involves dredging sand from in and around the Ocean City Inlet navigation channel and beneficially placing it south of the inlet just offshore of Assateague Island. The work is being done to mitigate the impacts on sediment transport and erosion caused by the the inlet and associated jetties. According to USACE, this work generally takes place twice a year. The Murden arrived at Ocean City Inlet at the end of May (2019) and is expected to continue working in the area until mid-June. The USACE’s shallow draft dredger is based out of the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Wilmington District in North Carolina.

Fourth Annual Christmas Adventure

11 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, nature, Photography, Road Trips, Trails

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Baltimore, bridges, Chesapeake Bay, Christmas, Cromwell Park, engineering, Gunpowder Falls, Hiking, Loch Raven, nature

Wasn’t sure we would make it to Baltimore this year, to decorate our favorite building in our favorite park – Cromwell Valley Park. But we did! Heading across the field towards the Greenhouse Path (Not sure when they started calling it that), up in the distance we see the little house. Many years ago it was a bath house for the family that use to live near here.

Wondering how many more years our little house will weather the storms. I wish there was a way myself or any of the park volunteers could restore it.

And here I am, decorating.

Our finished Christmas gift to the park.

Time to make a Christmas wish…

We walk the trail to the woods and then head through to the old balancing reservoir shaft.

On to the Sycamore Trail

This is new. Built in 2019 by a Scout for his Eagle Scout Badge.

Hike towards Mine Bank Run. Can still tell this run continues to overflow it’s banks. Stopped to check out what I call the Bubbling Pond. They call it Marble Spring. It bubbles up from lime underground mixing with the water. Not much bubbling today.

From Mine Bank to the Lime Kiln Trail. I am still amazed at how these were rebuilt.

View from the top looking towards Long Island Farm.

The sky was spectacular this evening. This is at the park.

This one was taken from the Eastern Shore at the Bay Bridge. We pulled off of Rte. 50 to eat and look at the water and ships.

Kathy took this one from the car, heading towards Vienna.

Beautiful day! Beautiful adventure!

North Carolina October 2020

01 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by Ronald Parks in boating, Family, Hiking, nature, Photography, Road Trips, Trails, Travel, vacation

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boating, bridges, Cape Lookout, Dismal Swamp, Fog, LSD50, North Carolina, shells, Shrimp, SpaceX, Sunset, Swansboro, Tern

Another great road trip to North Carolina. Kathy already there for a week before I headed down to pick her up. I was to stay a week also but the weather took a turn for the worse and we came back a couple days early.

It was very foggy when I left Salisbury, Md. to head south. The fog did not dissipate until well after Edenton. I missed the windmill farm, but Kathy got a photo of it.

One of my favorite stops is at the Dismal Swamp. About 1/2 way there.

Arrived at Indian Beach, N.C. and we took a walk. Shrimp boat.

The seagulls here are unlike the ones in Maryland that will hover over you waiting for food.

A Royal Tern

The next day John came down to take us out on their boat. That was very nice of him. With all this Covid stuff going on, we hardly see each other.

Heading under the Atlantic Bridge Causeway.

Easing past Sugarloaf Island, headed towards the N.C. Port. Docked there for the time being is the USS 50 (LSD-50), Carter Hall. Landing Ship Dock.

Here she is a little while later pulling out of port.

Not far from her is this interesting vessel – Go Ms Tree. Formerly named Mr. Steven. GO Ms. Tree – often shortened to Ms. Tree – is a fast, highly maneuverable vessel that was chartered by SpaceX in 2017 to support their fairing recovery program. The ship has been heavily modified by SpaceX so that it now has a large net structure designed to catch fairing halves as they descend. The name ‘Ms. Tree’ is a pun of the word ‘Mystery’. (from SpaceX website)

Pass this area of the port and ran smack dab into a fog bank.

Made it through there and we all, except John, got off onto Shackleford Banks.

Nice driftwood.

My shot of Kathy and Gail, from up on a dune.

Kathy stepped on a couple Hermit Crabs.

Left Shackleford and headed over to Beaufort. You need to swing around Rachel Carson Island. Shrimp boats everywhere.

Sea Tow is like AAA of the water.

The CaryAli. Wow! A steel and aluminum ship. Built by Alloy Yachts in 2013. For just $25m she can be yours.

Looking through the Watercraft Center at a ship painted on a wall…

Went up Taylor Creek for a bit, looking at all the boats and quaint little houses. Turned around and headed to Pivers Island Road.

We made it under the bridge but then the water started getting shallow so we headed back to the Beaufort Channel and then towards Bogue Sound. Passing NOAA on the way. There are a lot of colleges and government research centers down here.

I guess it makes a good kayak launch?

After John and Gail left, to go back home, Kathy and I went over to Swansboro to find a nice place to watch the sunset. Saturday night and the town was packed! So we left and the sun was heading west fast, so I pulled over at Dudley’s Marina on Rte. 24 and Kathy took a photo of me taking a photo of the pelican sunset.

The ‘New Norm’ I hope not for too much longer. The next day we went back to Swansboro to look around

Domestic Muscovy Duck.

Another shrimp boat. Shrimp burgers from the food truck were huge, along with their oyster burgers and soft crab sandwiches.

Love the water – when it isn’t freezing. Or knocking me on my butt!

Our next adventure was to Cape Lookout Lighthouse, via a tour boat, where everyone was practicing social distancing, for the most part.

We cut over to the beach, hoping to find some 1/2 way decent shells. No luck.

Even some of the better shells were being fought over. This guy wasn’t giving up his shell find.

We leave the ocean side of the isle and head over to Wreck Point. Trudging through the dunes and marsh.

Balancing the Light.

Heading back towards the lighthouse.

Checking out under the dock…

Boardwalk to the lighthouse area.

This guy was going close to shore and other boats blasting his horn and making all kinds of noises.

On the way back, on Shackleford Island. Scratching an itch with his food.

Another day, another adventure. Off to the side of the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium is a nice little hiking trail. About 1.2 miles.

We thought this coloration was the tree itself (Holly)

But it is lichen. Nice info signs along the trail.

One side of the trail is a marsh. The other side is the Bogue Sound.

Foot bridge to the end.

And at the end, a nice bench to rest on.

Who Dat? Go ahead Ron, stick your head in there..

To the beach one last time.

Another nice vacation, thanks to John and Gail.

Prothonotary Warbler Trail

26 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by Ronald Parks in Eastern Shore, Hiking, nature, Road Trips, State Parks, Trails

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beaver, birds, flowers, Hiking, Nassawango, nature, Pocomoke River, prothonotary, Trails, warbler

Well that is a mouthful to say! Pronunciation is Pro-ton-o-tar-y, which by itself is a Chief Clerk in a court of law, which is apropos to what I have been going through the past couple of months (another story, another time). But with the warbler attachment, it is just that – a warbler. A trail full of them. This was a 2.3 mile hike.

For whatever reason, All Trails stopped recording our trip so I used their default map, adding an extra red line at the bottom left of the trail because we walked the road back. Not much parking. You need to park on the grass along the road. The guy that lives in the house to the left of the entrance trail was cutting the grass. He does a good job maintaining it. It is turkey hunting season and he wanted to know if we seen any? Glad this property belongs to the Nature Conservancy – No Hunting! I hate ducking bullets!

Some of the plants we saw

The path goes from Creek Rd. to Nassawango Creek. A nice trail with some boardwalks. No steep hills to climb. Molly did well and there were only 3 other people on the trail. We were spaced out accordingly.

It is part of a cypress swamp and the ‘knees’ always remind me of faceless people.

Signage along the trail.

More stuff along the way…

This was interesting. One of the bottles had AA written on it and I thought how weird is that? I looked it up and and it is an Ancient Age Bourbon Bottle. I immediately saw Alcoholics Anonymous!

Well, Molly says enough of this. Although it has been a wonderful, peaceful hike, it is time to feed me! Thanks God for a wonderful hike with minimum people out there.

Quite a few of these photos were taken by Kathy. Thanks Kathy!

Blackwater Refuge to Hoopers Island

28 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by Ronald Parks in Eastern Shore, HISTORY, kayaking, nature, Road Trips

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blackwater, bridges, Cemetery, deer, Eagles, egret, fishing, heron, Hoopers, kayaking, longhouse, photography, Tubman

This was a really nice road trip. A little over-cast but nice. The first time we visited BWR a couple years ago, we followed the not too smart, smart phone that directed us to the middle of a swamp and then to Crappo. Another time we traveled to Cambridge and then south to the Refuge. This time we decided to take the scenic back roads. I saw on a map that there were a couple kayak put-in spots so we thought we’d check them out.

We took Rte 50 to Vienna and headed south on Rte 192. On the map was Bestpitch Ferry Rd., showing a launch. What wasn’t on the map was this sign:

When you see a “Bridge Closed” sign, you should heed it! Na! We thought this was the bridge they were talking about. It wasn’t.

Electric wire fishermen.

The road started to get a little hairy and we could see where it had been washed out in places. Then we came upon this.

On the other side of the barrier a wood, one lane bridge. Looks alright to me.

The kayak launch site is across the river, to the left. In the photo below it looks like a launch that has flooded out over the years.

Time to turn around. Bridge blocked, road falling apart and now a fire.

We make it thru the danger and head back to Decoursey Bridge Rd to Bucktown. On the way we came across this little, unafraid of the truck fellow.

Glad we had the detour. Some nice places to visit.

Harriet Tubman Underground Rail Road.

The Brodess Farm is where it was said HT was born. Other accounts say her mother and herself were brought (bought) here after she was born.

There is no trace of the original farm house, although this one is there. Private property, keep out.

Heading down Greenbriar Rd to Maple Dam Rd, we came across this house. It was unmarked but looking at a couple history pamphlets, we found that this was the Nause-Waiwash Longhouse. It was an abandoned church before the Indians took it over. It looks a lot nicer in the brochure.

Moving along towards the refuge, we spot our first of many eagles. (We lost count at 9-10).

This guy was hanging out on the way to the visitor center.

Kathy checking out the displays.

We leave the visitor center and head to the main entrance of the Wildlife Drive. Stopping to eat lunch at the observation deck. On the left of the road there is the Marsh Edge Trail and that was closed due to nesting eagles.

Here are some shots from the refuge.

Leaving the refuge it was time to head to Hoopers Island. Rte 335. Heading down Hoopers Island road we came across this church. Originally the “Tubman Chapel”, it moved across the street. St. Mary Star of the Sea.

First bridge onto the islands is at Tyler Cove, Fishing Creek.

Another historical marker.

And another General Store

Behind here is a cemetery, which brings me to WHY we wanted to visit Hoopers Island. We want to see all this before it is completely submerged. There is a great video on the sinking of this island. You should watch it – High Tide in Dorchester – https://www.bayjournal.com/films

Lots of fishing and sea life down here. Hard to believe it was mostly farms at one tome.

We headed south to the middle island. There are 3 islands, probably more at one time.

Pulled off the side to see what we could see – some sea glass, shells and debris.

Looks like 3 adults and one juvenile. Even with a 300mm lens, they were too far off.

Adult brought food to him.

Our map. the lower island has no access.

Great day and so grateful that Kathy likes going on these eight hour adventures with me. For too long I did all this kind of stuff by myself.

Saxis, Virginia

04 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by Ronald Parks in chincoteague, Eastern Shore, nature, Road Trips

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

hike, library, nature, saxis, sea glass

A Facebook group I follow shares information concerning Chincoteague and the surrounding areas. The other day the topic of ‘sea glass’ came up. Kathy and I very rarely find any sea glass while walking the beaches of Assateague. A couple people suggested that the best place to find any is at Saxis Island, which is about 20 miles west of Chincoteague, facing the Pocomoke Sound. So off we went.

On Route 13, right at the Maryland-Virginia border we came across this while getting gas.

As the plaque states, it is a 1/6th scale of the Union Merrimac aka the C.S.S. Virginia.

Before going into Saxis itself, a person on the Chincoteague page suggested turning onto Mathews Rd., following that to the end where a beach is. We found this fixer-upper at the turn-off. $39,000 for a 2 bedroom waterfront lot. I looked inside and there is a 240v breaker box.

If I still drank, these unopened beers would have been in my car.

At the end of Matthews Rd we found the beach. A small beach and of course it was high tide.

Molly has no respect for signs like these – when she has to go, she goes.

Walked thru the seagrass to get to another section of the beach. Found a few pieces of sea glass.

After roaming around here a bit we headed to Dennis Drive. On the right are some homes, on the left is a huge mound. Looks like a covered over landfill.

Reaching the beach there are three discharge pipes that appear to be coming from the mound. The one behind Kathy is above water. In front of her partially submerged and off in the distance, fully submerged.

They kind of remind me of the outfalls at Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant.

We did find a bunch of glass but as to whether or not it is real sea glass is debatable. Kathy brought up an interesting point – if the mound was at one time a landfill and being from the Eastern Shore, she told me that years ago people would just ride to the ends of streets like these and dump their household trash. So, possibly after a county cleanup of the area and getting people to stop dumping, the glass we found may be no more than someones trash. (But isn’t that what all sea glass is??)