A Two Goof Day
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Day 4: August 12, 2024 A Two Goof Day Comment via blog |
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I was able to pull into the closed park enough to get one picture of the
big arched bridge as I continued east.
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The toll house in Vale was the first in the state on the the National
Road, and the gate posts still stand.
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The trip's second big goof occurred here, in Cumberland, MD. It was a
dozen years in the making, and the closest thing I have to an excuse is
that closures on my plotted route, including the Baltimore Street bridge,
frustrated me. I eventually worked my way to the small "BEG. OF
NATIONAL PIKE" marker and grabbed some pictures. I considered walking
over to the Washington' HQ cabin but decided not to and simply snapped an
unplanned photo of it and left. Just out of frame to the left is a
National Road Zero Mile Marker erected in 2012.
I had read about the marker and at one time looked forward to seeing it someday but had completely forgotten its existence until I left town, posted a picture of the older and smaller marker, and had a friend ask a question about the newer and bigger one. Dumb, dumb, dumb. |
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I paused at Town Hill Overlook to look it over.
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A few miles later, I was able to look over some more from a roadside park.
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This toll house neat Fort Tonoloway State Park was built around 1822. It's
not clear how that jives with the "first in state" clain for the
octagon shaped building in Vale.
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I hastily snapped the picture of the tree shrouded Madonna as I drove by
and it turned out to be the only frontal view I got. I circled around
with the idea of stopping briefly at the hotel next door but that did not
work out. I bare squeezed through and had no opportunity to stop at all.
The profile shot was the only clear view I got. There was no place to park
on the street and seeking a paid spot did not seek worth while since I've
photographed this statue in the past. I got
this shot at this spot in
2011, and in 2006 I got the best
Madonna of the Trail selfie ever while she waited off site for repairs
to be made to the foundation.
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I considered turning around after the failure in Bethesda but talked
myself into continuing to one of the NOTR's eastern termini in Washington,
DC, at the Zero Mile Marker. I assumed I would not get close and was
proven even more correct than I feared. I'm pretty sure the Zero Mile
Marker (seen here in 2006) is
in that first picture somewhere. Instead of a new Mile Marker photo, I
grabbed one of the Washington Monument.
And now I made my third big goof. Instead of backtracking to the point where I had started for DC, I decided to head directly to my Motel in Catonsville, MD. It wasn't until the next day that I realized I had bypassed Ellicott City, one of the cooler towns on the route. |
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