Maryland Daily PhotoEvery Week Day a New Picture from MD

Here’s a picture of Baltimore St.  in Cumberland.  This street has been closed off from traffic and serves as sort of a pedestrian mall.  

Here’s another picture from Cumberland.  I don’t know how to describe the arcitecture in the picture any better than the picture itself can do.  However, I can say that this was taken on Baltimore St. in Cumberland, one of the prettiest historic districts in the state.

Just a bench from inside the WM train station in Cumberland.  I really like these old benches.  I was taking a train from Baltimore last week and as I sat in the station, in a nice, but not too comfortable bench, I was reminded of this picture. 

The PawPaw tunnel. 
Well yesterday’s picture came from above this tunnel.  You might not know about the PawPaw tunnel, so I’ll tell you about it.  The C&O canal stretches from Washington DC to Cumberland, MD.  It pretty much follows the Potomac river the entire way. However, the canal builders had a problem when they reached the mountain from which yesterday’s picture was taken.   The solution to their problem was to build this tunnel through it.  The tunnel goes on for half a mile.  There’s never been car or buggy or any other kind of traffic throguh it.  There’s just the canal and the towpath, which was used by the mules dragging the canal boats.  You can walk through the canal, but there are a few things to consider when doing this.  The most important thing to consider is if you want to bring a flashlight.  The answer is yes. 
You see that tiny speck of light at the end of the tunnel?  It stays a little speck for 90% of the trip.   A speck of light half a mile away or a quarter mile on either side actually, offers you NO assistance.   There’s no asphault and there are puddles and mud and drips. 
So, yes you should go through the tunnel.  However, you should be prepared.  Otherwise you might find yourself climbing back over the mountain to get to your car. 

Here’s the Potomac river as seen from the top of a small, but very inconveniently placed, mountain.  This mountain wasn’t just a nuisance to me, but has been a nuisance for more than a century.  Why is this such a nuisance?  Well I’ll tell you tomorrow because I have a great picture to go with the story.  However, I need to scan the picture, and I’m hoping that if I create a deadline for myself by writing this today, that I’ll force myself to scan the picture today.  

I was about to post a picture of a lamppost in frostburg, but I’m holding off.   Instead here’s a cool fountain in downtown Cumberland.  In downtown Cumberland, Baltimore Street has become a bit of a pedestrian mall with this fountain a few shops, and weekend musical attractions.

The scenenic railway drops you off in Frostburg where you can have a delicious chicken parmesean sandwich, see some train memorabilia, go to a carriage museum, or walk to the University.   In true Maryland fashion, frostburg state with its brick archetecture is much like college park in miniature.   

Well one of the things you can do in Cumberland is ride the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.  It’s not often that you get to ride a steam train on a historic railway, especially not in your own state.  For $175 you can ride with the engineer.  You can see where I sat. 

Off the highway and 3 miles up a hill, or 3 miles along a road that goes up a hill, you will find Dan’s rock.  The rock, which is actually a collection of rocks that creep out of the mountain like a jetty into the ocean, affords its visitor one of the greatest views imaginable.   It’s really quite unbelievable.  At the top of the hill you will find a parking space, lots of antennas, and then a bunch of graffiti.  At first I wondered where the rock was, but then realized it was right there, just covered in years of graffiti.  There are also carvings.  While they haven’t quite been tested by scientists for accuracy, the carvings claim to have been made as far as 100 or so years ago.  Carvings and spray-paint will also tell you the stories of infidelity by the acquaintances of past visitors.  I’ve learned not to talk to Britney, because she just can’t be trusted.   The whole thing is just surreal, and the view is amazing.    

To continue yesterday’s story. The ending destination was Cumberland.   I think that Cumberland is a very nice town and is certainly very beautiful.   A little trivia, the top employers include the health system, the county government, CSX, and Allegany (proper spelling) college. 

The skyline is riddled with churches, making it quite a site.   Here however, you see a church on the site of the original Ft. Cumberland, and behind it the red County administration building.