Holy Bat Cave Batman

16 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Baltimore, Dams, engineering, water history

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Baltimore, batman, bats, Cromwell Park, Dams, engineering, Gunpowder Falls, Hiking, HISTORY, nature, photography, Public Works, Research, water history

The other day I received an email with the following photograph. It asked if I knew what this ‘tunnel’ was for? It was holding up progress on the construction of some new buildings. In the email there was an attached drawing of the building site with the location of the tunnel circled in red. Holy crap! The drawing, to scale, would mean that this tunnel was about 30′ wide! After researching drawings from 1873 onwards, not finding it in any, I went up to look.

What I found was an opening of about 18″ x 24″. Talk about a let down! Below is the contractor’s foot, for size reference.

So, since I was there I stuck my camera into the hole to get some pics – glad I didn’t climb in there. Do you see what I see on the left, dangling from a crevice in the rocks??

Well so much for finding part of the Underground Railroad or an Indian Burial Ground or a secret cache of moonshine (yes, that was suggested). After about 2 hours of meetings and investigations, I took a walk.

Looking across the construction site to the upper dam.

The lower, older dam is my favorite. The inspector told me that since it is marble, someone should pressure spray it clean. Ok, I’ll get right on that!

First, get someone to remove that log, which has been on there since the storm of 2010!

This dam has held up pretty good since 1880

The valves which were inside the old gate house.

Sorry Batman – the only bat cave I could find…

Hiking at CVP

13 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, Photography

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Baltimore, Cromwell Park, engineering, Gunpowder Falls, Hiking, Loch Raven, nature, photography

The guys I use to volunteer with up at Cromwell Valley Park asked me to join them for a hike the other day. They wanted to show me something. That something was the house I wrote about a few weeks ago up at Loch Raven. It is now gone. Making way for a new maintenance facility. They also wanted to show me the tree grinder and another surprise…

This is the site of the old house and barn. The house was where the yellow excavator is to the left, the barn was the hole in the foreground. Loch Raven is a little frozen between the dams.

The tree grinder. What a machine that is! Unlike a regular wood chipper, this thing you drop the trees in the bowl (tub) on top.

After watching that for a while, we hiked the old fire road. It was a nice day out and the path was muddy from the warmer weather we were having, but some things take longer to thaw.

The surprise…

Wow, this took some time to build! Two rooms and an outdoor fire pit!

The next day I took Kathy to see it.

A nice two afternoons, walking in the park!

Last Hike – First Hike

02 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, HISTORY, Photography

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Baltimore, Cromwell Park, engineering, Gunpowder Falls, Hiking, HISTORY, lime kiln, Loch Raven, nature, photography, Public Works, water history

The state parks around Maryland promote the First Hike of the year. The way Kathy and I look at it – any day is a good day to hike! And the weather couldn’t have been better! Last day of the year and the first day of the year hikes.

On Saturday we did a small hike at a park we never hiked before. Kathy came up with the idea to hike somewhere we never have for the last hike of the year and somewhere we have hiked for the first hike of the new year. Louis Krause Memorial Park was the last of 2016

When trees hunt no hunting signs

Small park wit a couple roundabout paths

After a complete circuit, leaving the woods we came upon these steps.

The top of a lime kiln

A kissing bench. (If you have been paying attention to my post, most hikes have benches)

An old kiln. This one is a lot smaller than the ones at Cromwell Valley Park.

Some history on the kiln

The next day, New Year’s, we took a hike at our favorite place to hike – Cromwell Valley Park. Lots of first day hikers there – it was crowded.

First stop – the big sycamore tree.

Kathy told me to lie down on the picnic table and take one straight up – ok, I’m easy!

Another type of view of the tree, using a filter.

A smaller kiln at CVP. A lot of people don’t even know this one is here. Can’t find any history on it.

Marble Spring. I’ve always called it bubbling brook. Usually there is some movement in here from the lime stone underneath meeting up with the spring. Watercress floating on top.