Moving south

Howdy Campers!

We started the day today in the hills of Western Pennsylvania and now we're in Maryland.

I haven't talked much about geography. Today is a good day to remedy that. If you have ever been to central Pennsylvania you may have noticed long mountain ridges running generally from the southwest to northwest direction. One of those -- Mt. Nittany -- is the reason the local college mascot is the Nittany Lions. These mountains are the reason most roads in that part of the state don't go where you wish they would. Any that cross those peaks and valleys have the dual displeasure of trucks moving slowly up the mountains because they are so steep followed by trucks moving slowly down the mountains because they are so steep they might lose control if they go any faster. We experienced both phenomena yesterday.

These are not ordinary mountains. They are some of the world's best examples of a place where the earth's crust was squeezed together (from the northwest to southeast) until it buckled and formed the shape of a corrugated panel (think the middle layer of a cardboard box... or the wavy panels of a piece of fiberglass roofing... or a ridged potato chip). To geologists, these are syncline (peak) and anticline (valley) mountains. To a traveler in a truck and Airstream they are a.) beautiful examples of the wonders of nature to be witnessed and appreciated and b.) a pain in the ass if you would like to cross Pennsylvania from northwest to southeast to get into Maryland. Oh... and to make matters worse, the guiding hand that shaped the surface of Pennsylvania this way slipped a bit and smeared a few synclines and a couple of anticlines into Maryland.

The forces that shaped this portion of our trip also helped to position coal, oil and natural gas near the earth's surface where humans have been extracting it for about 200 years now. All three forms of energy are in view of travelers such as ourselves today. The first oil well in the US was in northwest Pennsylvania. Oil is still moved there (by rail mostly nowadays) and refined in Bradford, PA.

Enough about geography. We came to Maryland to visit our daughter and three grandkids who are here and visit we did. Our day included delivery of a truckload of treasures acquired in Florida and elsewhere to the tribe in Maryland, visiting two schools. The first visit was to pick up our granddaughter -- who is the youngest of the three -- upon dismissal from first grade at the end of the day. The second was to watch the oldest practice with the high school marching band where he carries and plays the largest drum in the band. I feel like Mrs. C' and I had an easier time than any other grandparents who might watch the band practice or perform. While other grandparents looking for... oh... say.... the third piccolo player might struggle to first find the piccolo section then determine which player is first and count two more, we have no such challenge. When one of us asks "Where is he... can you see him?" the other simply says "Of course... he's behind that giant drum in the back... what's up with you? Do you need stronger bifocals?" So we watched and enjoyed. And we felt envious of youth. If I carry too many groceries from the store I risk throwing my back out. Our grandson carries and plays a musical instrument the size of a kiddie pool and then runs for fun during the breaks in the practice session. Youth!!! We saw a reminder and confirmation that it's wasted on the young by watching marching band practice... and appreciated every minute our bony butts spent sitting on a concrete curb in the practice parking lot.

A couple of thoughts about Maryland before I call it a night. This is an interesting place. Mrs. C' and I lived here for 18 years including 5 in the neighborhood where our daughter and grandkids now live. I was taking some pics during a break in the band practice and took one that is a real clunker (ok... I actually took a ton that were clunkers, but I'm only admitting to one in this story.) I looked at it later and said to myself "Wait a minute... this pic tells the story of Maryland... I'll use it." Here's the story....

Places like Buffalo paid a high price for economic stagnation in the second half of the 20th century and now have the charm of large segments of their city being lovingly preserved and only slightly spoiled by the worst innovations of urban life in the 20the century. Places like downtown Atlanta and portions of Chattanooga that I've written about before are pure modern and lack both charm and ease. Maryland is different. It has visible traces of the old ways of life and abundant modernity (some well done... some not so much). The closer one gets to Washington or Baltimore the less old charm and the more modernity. Here in Frederick County residents looks almost equally at Baltimore and Washington as the nearest city. History oozes out of this place but is steadily being overtaken by modern development. Frederick County is close to two of the Civil War's most noteworthy places -- Gettysburg, PA and Antietam (Sharpsburg), MD. It has at least one Civil War battlefield of its own just 4 miles north at Monacacy Junction where Confederate troops marching south out of Pennsylvania towards Washington DC were stopped from advancing by Union troops moving north to intercept them. Try to find another battle where the southerners were coming out of the north into battle!

Anyway...history. The hills and woodlots of Maryland seem alive to me with ghosts of Union and Confederate troops who crisscrossed this land on foot for year after year. I can't see a clearing adjecent to a farmer's field here without imagining hundreds of soldiers who at one point came from those woods and across that field before disappearing as they moved forward. So what about the clunker of a picture? Take a look:

That's really bad... eh? Yes, I agree. But its not the quality of the pic I want to show you (we agree on that). Its the content. At the top of the hill in that picture, among the trees highlighted in the sunset is a three story building. You can see the gable end clearly and the roof and some chimneys. That's "Landon House". It's listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It has stood on that site since about 1850 (having been moved here from Virginia) which means it saw the Civil War and the soldiers I mentioned above. It saw a lot of Civil War including training cadets before the war and falling into the hands of both sides at various points. The Condederate General J.E.B. Stuart hosted a ball there. Union troops rested there en route to Antietam. Rebel wounded were cared for there when it served as a field hospital. In the foreground are modern buildings including the recently opened Royal Farms which describes itself as "Your go-to place day or night for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner." and I would add "gas" (for your car!). If I had included a panorama with that in the center, you would have been able to see the Catoctin Mountains (yes... more syncline/anticline geography) to the right and 30 miles distant. That's where US Presidents since Eisenhower have slipped away to Camp David.

That is the story of Maryland in a picture... a really, really clunky picture.. Amazing history, beautiful nature and encroaching urbanity.

Before I sign off, let me show you the real pic taken from the same spot as the clunker. A Maryland sunset (I left Royal Farms and Landon House in this one when I cropped it... they are in the gap between the two largest trees on the horizon on the left :

That's it from Maryland for tonight.

Later...

SC'