Outdoors Maryland; Places To Go

Outdoors Maryland just produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources DNR inspired by you. And. Me on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is an oddity in the national park system in that it commemorates a commercial venture that was something less than a success. The canal was intended to bring wealth to the mid-Atlantic region by creating a shipping route between the bustling port of Georgetown and the fertile farmland of the Ohio River Valley.

But the canals proponents failed to anticipate a key advance in transportation technology development of the railroad. And by the time the Canal opened in 1850 it was already nearly obsolete. But if it was something of a disappointment in its owner the CNO canal today has achieved the kind of glory its founders could never have imagined. It's now one of the most heavily visited national parks on the East Coast. And today it provides and incomparable pathway into our past. The reason I think this Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is it a special place to visit is home. It is the best preserved of all the canals built in the United States over 3000 miles of canals building the 200. So today it serves as a reminder of all those canals built but also. Because it follows the word of the Potomac River it's this great

natural area. Not just birds and wildlife but the wild flowers. And many other parts of the ecosystem which have been preserved because of the canal. The canal starts in Georgetown where visitors can still see many of the structures original features we have for the original lock together here and also as you walk along the canal today there are many restaurants and shops and condominiums which were knocking out buildings. Some were called warehouses. Others were Mills. To help recreate the canal area. The park service offers a mule drawn boat rides which reduce some on common sites in this congested urban area. Nobody expects to see mule standing right off a city street. On board Rangers in period dress recreate canal life in the 1800s. It's very nice and relaxing to take this trip back in time or they can sit and enjoy the beauty of the canal and hear the history at the same time.

Boat rides are also offered to Great Falls and in both locations passengers have the chance to travel through the lift blocks. A clever mechanism designed by the Italian inventor Leonardo da Vinci. Ranger rod sawder the lift block on the CNO canal. Is required because it begins down near sea level in Georgetown and then climbs up into the mountains in western Maryland. It goes up about six hundred and five feet and the lift blocks and able flatwater transportation. But also the change in elevation over a distance. If you come down to the CNO canal for a boat ride you get to experience leaving the dock and going through the lift block get the Rise up eight feet. Feel the power of the water lifting up from this. We are Narda da Vinci designed Creation. Then you're called ever so gently by mules. About a half mile or so up the towpath. Reliving the old days of now. I think this sense of travel on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is in some ways unique.

It's almost like gliding almost like you're traveling with no friction at all and it's very quiet. The only thing you might hear or that hole is the mule on the towpath or maybe the chains that gear them to the tow line that pulling the belt but no noise the sounds of engines it's it's a unique experience I think. The quiet is broken only by the occasional blast of a horn. The lot porn is one way that boatman. Would signal to the lock keeper that they were on their way into that lift block. Remember the can out can be an operation 24 hours a day. So you might actually have to wake up that lock keeper to come out and get the lock prepared so that the boat can move safely on down to the next level. In the early days of the CNO canal lalaki were paid $150 a year. They also were given a lock house for them and their family to live in. And about an acre of

land so they could tend to vegetable garden there. There are a few block houses along the canal that can be visited. One of them is Riley's lake house and we are fortunate to have Girl Scout volunteers who on weekends during much of the year interpret the life of lock keepers and their families. Lock houses armadas modest affairs the canals 11 aqueducts rankers minor engineering marvels Ranger Martin gallery. That is actually a bridge to bridge boats over water. They didn't want the major tributaries flowing into the canal for fear that if high water would wash out the canals and so they built aqueducts over them and that would carry the boat across one of the best preserved is the graceful aqueduct over Antietam Creek. You really need to appreciate it by saying it from the river from down by the river or the creek. Looking up at it. If you go over it maybe these aqueducts you don't even realize you passed over a river. The water that flowed across the aqueducts and through the entire canal system was

diverted into the canal by a series of Potomac River dams. The dams that you see along the river were built by the canal company in the 1830s. Seven were built and today only three have survived. And when it comes to engineering marvels along the now nothing compares with the pawpaw tunnel. Instead of following the Potomac two winding bends in this area engineers decided to tunnel for nearly a mile through a mountain of hard shale. It may not have been the wisest decision. Ranger Rita Naks they didn't know what they were up against the odds they were facing cutting through the mountain. Working conditions were very very hard. They worked with black powder which was very dangerous. They had a lot of injuries to employees and the BRAILEY your shale was very very loose and heavy. And it just seemed to slow things down working their way through the mountain. They thought it would be built in two years at a cost of about thirty three thousand five hundred dollars and it

actually cost over $600000 to complete and took about 14 years of total time. Yet when the tunnel finally opened in 1850 it was declared the eighth wonder of the world and it still gives visitors a thrill. Oklahoma's cyclists Bill and Sue Johnston encountered the tunnel during a four day trip down the length of the canal. Papa was awesome. It's a little bit scary right in the middle of it but it's a fascinating experience to walk through that tunnel. You can see the brickwork and the canal and have an appreciation for the time it took to construct that tunnel. In fact the delay in completing the tunnel cost the canal dearly. The holdup at Pol allowed to be an old railroad the canals chief competitor to reach Cumberland a full eight years ahead of the canal. Historian Mike hi. As it turned out the railroad was a much more economical way to to build the thoroughfare. And it was in Cumberland by the year 1842. The canal didn't make it to Cumberland till

1850. So by the time it reached its destination it was an anachronism. The canals directors abandoned their original plan to build a canal all the way to Pittsburgh. Yet the existing section managed to operate until 1924 thanks mainly to coal from western Maryland. The canal was able to survive for many years doing a small business as a coal carrier directly from Cumberland to Washington D.C. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad didn't really get into that business in a big way partly because they had a symbiotic relationship of their own. The Baltimore and Ohio wanted to preserve the canal and keep that route along the Potomac away from competitive railroads. So they do not compete very heavily with it. The canal fell into the government's hands during the Depression. Then in the 1950s the canal barely escaped being turned into a scenic highway much like Skyline Drive. That plan which was endorsed by The Washington Post was opposed by the conservation minded Supreme Court Justice William O Douglass.

But fortunately justice Douglass heard about it and challenge the Washington Post to send some of their editors to accompany them on a hike the full length of the canal to enjoy its beauty. It probably stopped the Parkway project in its tracks. The canal became a national park in 1971 and is dedicated to justice Douglas. Now history buffs share the one hundred eighty five mile long towpath with a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts. As a biking venue. The canal is unique in that it can spend four days bicycling up to Cumberland in a very scenic environment with no cars no traffic especially when you get up above the Washington area. It's very quiet and very beautiful without interruption. So you have a chance to enjoy nature and be meditative as you're also getting a nice little workout. The Waterton sections appeal to voters in the last several years the park service has been

trying to go to the most heavily visited sections of the canal and re water so people get an idea of what it was like. So Williamsport has been re water and Hancock. An old town and presently we're working on Cumberland from Georgetown to Seneca we have a 22 mile stretch that is fully restored and watered. And any non-motorized both can use it. So somebody wanted to canoe or use a rowboat. They're welcome to do that. They just have to portage around the block. George Washington who first promoted the Potomac Valley canal idea could scarcely have imagined that his navigational corridor would ultimately be transformed into a ribbon of recreation. But Mike high believes he would have approved. I think George Washington would have been amused and maybe a little pleased to find out that his idea for a canal route all the way to the Ohio Valley still survived at least in some form was a recreational trail. Sea kayaking on the Chesapeake Bay opens an astonishing new world of pristine

waters. Untouched beaches. Wildlife in the wild. Centuries old tradition. It's breathtaking adventure for anyone relished this weekend by an eclectic group of natural resources managers. They've come to the bay to seek inspiration at the source and to chart the way of discovery for others. It's almost like you're in the Caribbean when you're down here and I don't think most people know the Chesapeake Bay like this where the water. Is. The color of awful green. The pelicans are flying overhead and. The sun sets. It's really a magical place. Needed Certina is manager Intergovernmental Affairs and marketing for the Department of

Natural Resources a number of the people on this trip work in the natural resource field whether it's education conservation of land legislation like myself. And it's really important for us to get out in the resource that we're working to save every day and just have fun and enjoy it and remind ourselves why we do what we do. The trip is designed to showcase some of the bay's most unique natural and cultural environments. The plan is to explore the islands between the waterman communities of Tangier Island and Smith Island. Today is the day that we're going to prove basic like is the idea of craft in the Chesapeake because today we're going to be at a place we cannot get to. And as you have said we're going to see nobody. Shallow water grass beds birds fish essentially want to connect these islands will go north about nine miles by boat.

Drop the kayaks off and start our journey south. We're going to stop at a few miles long away. We'll pull into our campsite to get up that point we can think about fishing. ERIC ABETZ went in I think by just watching birds fly by. Don was vice president for education the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. I've grown up in the Chesapeake and I've grown up on those. But when I first went to kayaking 10 years ago all of a sudden this entire world opened up that I didn't know existed that that indeed I could drift across the grass beds or I can all of a sudden cross a rough crossing and so the ideal craft was finally in front of me. Even as the team sets off for open water ideas begin to flow. New ways to bring more people to the great outdoors. The Department of Natural Resources manages some 300 to 60000 acres of public lands and sees a real opportunity.

To do more to get people in the great outdoors. Recreating whether it's fishing hiking camping kayaking kayaking is one example of the kind of eco tourism experience the department is trying to promote. The department is looking to work with local government tourism offices the private sector whether it's fly fishing outfitters or kayak rental companies or bed and breakfast local bed and breakfast to kind of pull together packages. We are looking at developing kayaked trails around the Chesapeake Bay in particular the lower Eastern Shore where there's a lot of marsh an opportunity for that. We have a multi-day trip every tribe is director of the forest wildlife and heritage Service Department of Natural Resources one of the things that we want to do is encourage people to get out and take advantage of these diverse habitats that man has to offer. It is important to understand the

interconnectedness of these habitats with things that happen upstream. And one of the things that we really hope to do is inspire people to take action locally in a way that will protect the Chesapeake Bay and these unique types of habitats that are found throughout the day region. This kayaked Europe I've been doing for years and yet I don't know of anyone else who does it to really. See the bay like this feel it taste it and enjoy its beauty. It is a world class trip and it's only a few hours from home. After lunch on the beach it's time to plan the crossing to the evening's campsite destination a pristine island with splendid dunes wildlife fishing and snorkeling. I think you're going to see a tremendous boom in the next 20 years could

tourism of many different types in the Chesapeake Bay. Another very important benefit is jobs. We've got water men that are looking for work as the resource starts to dwindle. People are looking for alternative ways to bring income in and maintain their culture and have a stronger income stream coming in. So it's the important thing I think for job creation and a lot of these Waterman's communities. Welcome. To the Chesapeake Bay. And one wonderful camp site. Like. The. Chesapeake Bay is right really for eco tourism. That's what we've got here is a very it's very friendly to people. You know it's the bay where it's easy to swim kayak canoe could be out

here in the same time it's a day full of life and excitement of birds fish crabs and also life and the people that live in this area Crisfield Maryland and the environments right here of the water in the communities the culture because of the taste for hundreds of years. So it's a fascinating environment and it's Chesapeake for many many different ways to have people experience and see it firsthand. The Department of Natural Resources sees a real opportunity to inspire people to live in harmony with the environment and to treasure the natural resources of Maryland whether it's the Chesapeake Bay or the mountains of western Maryland. That's not something you teach people from a textbook or some fancy brochure. The best way to reach people reach them in their hearts and their minds is we believe providing them with opportunities to be in the outdoors. We come to love it. We come to care about it. You enjoy it you have fun in it and you want to protect it. And I think that that's the

most sustainable way in which people. Learn to love and care about their environment. You know. Whether she's fishing cruising on a lake swimming or just hanging out on the trail. Brittany McMahon enjoys it all. But what she loves best is not being left behind. I love my family because it makes sense and makes me my mom my dad and my brother feel like we're angry and we're stuck together. Brittany has cerebral palsy. But as you can see that doesn't stop her from enjoying the outdoors with her family. She's able to do this because many of the obstacles that would have once limited her fun have been redesigned and now allow her to play and explore

more freely. Places like this are great for our family because we can be a normal family we can do activities like other families can now Britney can participate in activities that she would never be able to participate in in 1985 making Marylands park and forest areas accessible for everyone became the mission of the Department of Natural Resource program called accessibility for all. Debbie Heller is a therapeutic recreation specialist with the DNR. Dean is very committed to it. They have a pretty strong constituency in Maryland that follows outdoor recreation and we have support from the governor's office who has provided funding to bring existing facilities into compliance with federal laws with regard to access. So it's a big focus and it's been a consistent focus over at least 15 years since the beginning of the program many renovations have been completed to improve park use for the disabled. Some of these improvements may seem

small but for Britney it means she can now go jump in a lake. We. Have a really wide range of accessible facilities within the park service from visitor centers to cabins to campgrounds to trails to boating docks fishing piers really a little bit of everything that's available in the parks is available to people who have disabilities. There may not be everything in every park but there certainly is something just about for everybody across the state. We put in accessible parking lots obviously and restrooms comfort stations but obviously people don't go to parks just to go comfort station so we began to look at things like hard packed surfaces which would take people to something like an amphitheater or to a beach or to a cabin of some kind. So we be putting hard surface trails in some cases asphalt or concrete. So really those kinds of things sometimes we did through Park ingenuities things like foot ramps on cabins just so that you could get through the doors.

In some cases widening the doors fishing piers floating docks so that people keep on to the piers and in some cases get from the pier to their boat. While improving accessibility to park facilities has made a great contribution to the state. Brittany's parents say it has also helped their daughter in other important ways. Kevin were staying out at Harrington State Park is handicap accessible which is very handy for us and for Britney especially there's plenty of things that have been done to make it better for her to use and easier for her to use and to foster her independence. There's a ramp on the sides which doesn't need our help to get in and out of she wants to go play by herself outside she can use her walker and she can go out. She doesn't need to ask her permission we don't need to help her. The bathrooms are all set up for her to use properly even more. They have a low mirror so she can see yourself in her wheelchair and get herself ready in the morning which is very helpful.

It. Raised her self confidence level. She doesn't have to depend on mommy and daddy to carry her. She can participate with other kids. In activities. At playgrounds parks. Contests anything that they have going on at the state parks. Helping individuals with disabilities. It's more than just removing stamps or widening doorways or moving architectural barriers. There are also challenges to providing meaningful experiences for people who have visual impairments or cognitive impairments or deafness and so those are programatic kinds of access issues that continue to challenge us everyday and that requires that we be very

creative. Do you remember how to get her to walk. What. Did you want done. Oh boy. Since 1971 Greenwell state park in southern Maryland St. Mary's County has placed a special emphasis on outdoor programs for the disabled. Perhaps one of its most beneficial activities is therapeutic horseback riding. Sheila Walsh is a riding instructor Therapeutic Riding is a great idea for some of these kids because it helps some of the riders relax their muscles. The warmth of the horse especially. With cress the therapeutic writing has definitely helped her self-confidence. You can tell I can tell the difference

when she first Rose who was very timid and now she's excited about our lessons. And she's much more relaxed she's having a fun time for many with disabilities who come to Greenwell or any of Maryland State Parks just having the opportunity to walk safely along the water's edge with friends or family is very rewarding. John Teron is president of the Greenwell foundation. For the disabled. It's important to have a place where they can come and be outside with everyone and be able to interact with the public here so that the public can learn from the disabled not just having programs for the disabled here it helps them integrate into life and to learn skills and experiences. Driving busy Interstate 68 motorists notice the irregular shape

of the movie. It was a massive project. An engineering marvel. It took most of 1983 and 84 to blast through the mountain and dig out 10 million tons of rock to build this pass. Maryland Department of Natural Resources geologist Ken Schwartz eagerly anticipated the exposure of 340 feet of rockface. But mankind's marvel of construction mathematics and muscle revealed an unexpected geologic surprise. A beautifully ordinary twist in the rock called a sink line and upturning or U-shape in the folds of the earth. The fact that it is a perfectly unremarkable feature to geologists yet a fascination to laymen makes it a natural scientific draw. Realizing this Ken Schwartz and fellow DENR geologists recruited the

state highway administration and the Maryland Department of Economic Development and seized the opportunity to turn the engineering marvel into an Earth history lesson with a very large open book. The classroom would be the sideling Hill exhibit's center. I would begin to show intervals there of 10 million years. They're all run together here because of them. We had to compress the scale. If we kept a scale consistent from the top of the. Spiral down the bottom the bottom of the spiral would be six hundred and ten feet below the floor. Walid Dawit is a retired geologist who volunteers at the sideling Hill exhibit's center. What I'm doing is education. Whereas today most students are avoiding science. I'm trying to encourage those people to go on and increase our scientific knowledge. Being your old grandmother though not obvious at first. The key to understanding geology is the ability to grasp the concept of hundreds

of millions of years. And almost all of the exciting things that we know about happen in the thickness of time in this range of about our postage stamp. That give you some concept of how long a man has been around. Very important today. But the cockroaches showed up about four hundred million years ago. A human lifespan is a mere proverbial wink of an eye when compared to geologic forces. These layers and folds in the earth are the actual residue of a long geologic history. The layers were deposited over a period of 20 million years beginning 350 million years ago. During those 20 million years sediments were deposited in watery environments to make the sedimentary rock that is sideling Hill.

From an Indian Ocean to rushing rivers to bombs in swamps flat layers of sediment settled here millennium after millennium the top layer being the most erosion resistant. There is a piece of carbonaceous shale and you can see from the glimpse of it that part of it is a coal layer that shows us that this is a swamp environment. This particular rock outcroppings the farthest east the call has been found in Maryland. Almost 100 million years passed after those primitive swamps bubbled up surrounded by flatlands flatlines dinosaurs were just starting to impose their rule when a collision of awesome power changed the landscape the seabed and the river deposits were laid horizontal and then when the African continent collided with a North American continent it cause the compressional force or caused the ups and downs and that's when these mountains on either side of us probably were created in an.

Incredibly syncline like sideling Hill were actually the valleys of these mountain ranges. And Andy Collines a shaped or downturned folds rose to magnificent heights between them off often the distance has a ridge called Town Hill which is the next mountain to the west and it also was a syncline. And what you have to visualize in three dimensions is a huge and decline or a shape mountain that used to be here probably thousands if not tens of thousands of feet high. Pretty much like Mt. Everest or the Andes or any other big range and we say in the world today. The reason the mountain tops or antique Kleins are gone and the syncline remain is simple. As the continental collision forced the layers upward. The tough resistant top layer was pulled apart at the peaks and fractured. Handing erosion a destructive foothold. What remains is the difference in erosion rates over 240 million years. The sideling hill cut affects the erosion

rate but it's not the only reason for the change. Another is the constant and substantial flow of water. From inside the rock. Some of the sandstone is also what they call it. They carry water and they better intercepted the water that you see it probably has tens of thousands of years. Usually it's about 55 degrees temperature. This is the temperature of the ground water here so it's a nice icy bath there in the summertime but it tastes horrible it tastes just like iron oxide. So you wouldn't want to drink much of it. And we have structural geologists from all different universities in the northeast here come just to look at things like that. Future geologists from all different schools in the northeast come to look to you know the explanation things that the geologists and the people here explain for us and it really helps

helps our problem out. It's pretty neat. I like. The way they constructed it. The way the rock changes and the different colors and forms. Stuff is pretty good about the coal. The coal is in there. Really it means to be the most is that this is the valley from the old town in the mountains on either side of this that used to be rocky mountain road completely. That's just to try to get an idea that. Is pretty magnificent. I don't think there's probably any better place around that shows the downfalls inclines like you see right through here. So it's an experience that you can talk about in class but you can't really experience it stops the visitors who do experience sideling Hill are rewarded with a better grasp of their earth. While those who assist in that process reap rewards of their own.

It gives me a way to expand my geological career. I was retired in 1990 and since then I've come out here and I've had a chance to talk with many professional people as well as the general public and therefore I have to keep up with the science. It's a been a life for me. That's what it amounts to. Geologists can translate for us the history frozen into the textbook layers and folds of sideling. But these gentle valleys and hills tell their own story of a ceaseless geologic tale. A reminder that nothing not the flora or fauna not even the solid earth below us is spared. Times March for. The state parks in Garrett County Maryland. We'll probably never make it onto anyone's list of the world's most exotic getaways. After all the accommodations aren't

exactly the Ritz. The chefs are still trying to work the bugs out of the breakfast menu. And the beach scene bears little resemblance to Club Med. But Garrett county's parks especially some of the smaller and lesser known ones have a gentle charm that's all their own and they're well worth adding to anyone's list of places to discover. Garrett County is located at the far western edge of Maryland. What sets this place apart is a mix of topography and elevation. Mike Gregory manager of new Germany's state park. When you come to western Maryland you find yourself climbing up to 3000 feet elevation. You're coming through a ridge and valley system and then up into what's known as the Appalachian plateau. The climate changes. The graphic features change the vegetation changes and you just come into a whole new world and what you've experienced in eastern portions. Towering forests and rugged terrain are some of the hallmarks of new Germany's state

park named for the area's early German immigrants. New Germany state park is what I would refer to as a mountainside park sits on the east slope of a mountain. It's about 400 acres in size. It has a 12 acre lake within a wide variety of forest types around it from very tall statuesque hemlock and spruce stands to very colorful fall scenes that you'll find in the hardwood floors in summer campers like Russell Voyt and son Matthew. Come to New Germany in search of a less stressful life matter. No phones no TV no deals. Just get away for all the Danyelle family from Pittsburgh is wowed by something as simple as a night sky undiluted by city lights. We were watching the stars and I mean there were a lot of stars but they were just it seemed to be sparkling. I saw of shooting stars just. Gorgeous.

Like. In winter new Germany gets an average of 10 feet of snow a year and the snow transforms the scene. Once the snow hits the ground and the cross-country skiers are out in full force and most of our activity here at the park deals with cross-country skiers. They make use of the cabins. They'll come up and rent them for days at a time and we groom our trails here in Germany so they have a very enjoyable experience in terms of being able to get out. Just kidding. All the trails enjoy the landscape when it's not green it's virtually white because of the heavy snow falls we sometimes feel. To the west of New Germany lies the 365 acre Harrington Manor State Park. It was named for a revolutionary war Sergeant who once owned the land and for his manor house which is no longer standing because it's a longer drive from the interstate. This park tends to draw fewer people

and it attracts those who appreciate the quiet found in this Parks Lake woods and trails. Ranger Mike Cooper. They're here to enjoy the solitude of the park which is something that I love. Whether they're gliding on Harington Manor's five miles of groom trails or enjoying it's pine edged lake. Visitors are benefiting from work done more than 60 years ago by the civilian conservation corps. A depression era public works program responsible for many park improvements across the country. The CSA says were responsible for the building of 10 cabins the dam at the 53rd predate the small pavilion that we renovated into a concession building and all of our trail. Harrington Manor has winterized the original CCC cabins built some additional ones and outfitted them all with modern conveniences and like new Germany's cabins. They're available for rent. Phyllis and Tom

Scott are cabin renters from Laurel. I think these specifically were built by the civilian conservation corps and in the late 30s and 40s. It's just need to go into something that was a part of history. If Harrington Manor is a place of subtle beauty nearby swallow falls state park is about as spectacular as a Maryland park gets swallow falls is a long narrow park that borders the Yucca Ganey river as it passes through a dramatic rocky gorge. Since the turn of the century people have come here to picnic on the rocks and marvel at the series of waterfalls that tumble through the gorge at 53 feet muddy creek is Maryland's tallest waterfall. Ranger Tim McMillan I think I think is probably the most photographed. Spot in all here. But on a hot summer day many people aren't content just to look at the falls. The younger crowd loved the challenge of the river waterfalls the swimming part of it.

The Falls create a series of natural swimming holes that can be accessed from a mile long hiking trail beside the river. The park also boasts another wonder one of the state's oldest hemlock forests. It's a cathedral like Stan that has managed to escape fire and the logger's axe for more than 300 years. But if you'd prefer human handiwork to natural wonders. Garrett County can also fill that bill. One of Maryland's smallest state parks councilman bridge celebrates an early engineering marvel. Historian John Grant at the time it was completed in 1813. It was the largest single arch bridge and all of United States when the 80 foot span was being built. Skeptics said the bridge would never stand. So the night before the dedication the bridges nervous designers secretly removed the bridge supports to test it. To his relief the bridge didn't move an inch and the next morning Robocop

knocked the scaffolding out and the bridge was still standing. The bridge was still standing in the early 1900s when cars came onto the scene traveling across the bridge on old Route 40. America's first federal highway but it wasn't an interest in history that caused the grant children to pester their father to take a drive across the bridge. An abrupt. Change in the grade on this bridge on one wayward children would always say to my father Daddy go faster go faster and he'd come up over the bridge like this and you'll be worried about going too fast in my bike this brings in the car but we always thought it was the right time for a lift that off my seat went over the top of the bread. Today the old Castleman bridge lies in the shadow of newer bridges for alternate route 40 and Interstate 68 which carry a steady stream of cars through Garrett County. But drivers who take time for a detour can discover a different place and a

slower pace. It's a place where the bridges have no backups and where the only bumper to bumper action is caused by a gentle lake breeze. It's a place where the trees tickle the heavens and serenity about. It's. The moment of absolute silence. And. Freedom. I. Guess. What you're going on a snow and if you're going off as soon as you get in the air just for a few seconds it is what's to be doing something there. Because. That's a really good feeling.

It's nailing the perfect landing that's smooth when you got to jump up and that feeling of fine grass. Up. High and when you can smooth even. Given the recognition of other spells success. And. Always there's the next trick to mask the most exciting thing in. Your. Life. Like yeah you did it. Did it. Make you feel really good. Stay with me on more and more. Every year the region's best snowboarders compete in the mid-Atlantic seaboard series gaining points to qualify for the Nationals. This week and the tour is at the resort in Garrett County Maryland. It's the second of the tour's six stops believing Gilder is owner and promoter of the mid-Atlantic snowboard series. The first

day's event is boarder cross. Speed and versatility drive this race across competition. Race is a combination of riders coming down the course at one particular time. Ultimately to see who would be the fastest down the course of which they go Cross work to do. Tabletops bank turns and steep sections and it really brings out the most all around right and not necessarily for errors and stuff like that but able to take the train at a high high rate of speed. The challenge of border crossing is just everybody's going like way faster than they're used to. Shane Bell competitor number 39 has been snowboarding for eight years this weekend he placed first in border cross in the senior men's division. That's the age class for really ancient competitors age 23 to 20. You're pushing your limits because everybody else is just going there faster. So you've got to go even faster to beat them.

And then it's so crowded. In this case I was in first and then I went down the second and then I got past I was all the way in third the two first guys piled up and crash and I was right behind. So when they fell I just went right beside him and. Went all way to the. Middle at a snowboard series begin 12 years ago I myself was veteran since graduated from a competitor and now a promoter and owner of the series. I've seen change a lot over the years the last few years it's really taking off more and more female competitors are coming out to compete and even the male kids and younger kids and older kids are getting into it. It wasn't like it was years ago where I was the only young kids getting involved. I've got guys that are in their 40s and 50s who make this a great event. Jared Mangini number 66 page 11 is this weekend's youngest

rider. It's his third year in competition. But most definitely. Not his last. I go to nationals every year. I'd like to try to go pro. Rushy the same number 63 rides in the female Jammes 18 to 22 year old division. She's ambitious and tough constantly pushing her personal limits. If people quit every time they felt they'd be done on the first day because you're always on. Right from the start you're always fun. That's how you learn. When you compete with other women it's cool to be like what everyone's doing. You see what other girls are doing and then it pushes you harder because you want to do just as well or better if you can. Abigail Shaw number 74 Jammes wants to see more women on the mound. It's up and coming more girls. Yallow a lot

lowriders out there but even if you come to a competition there's about 20 guys and five girls. So there are so few of us but there's actually been around. For some snowboarding is a family affair. John Cremer number 55 is in the legend division. That's the 40 to 49 year age cohort in that division. John is a national champion in border cross park and halfpipe in snowboarding. The fear factor is really dangerous because sometimes if you're doing a trick you're better off not thinking about it at all just reacting on the snow. And the second you get a little bit of fear your body gets real tight and your legs get stiff and that's when you get hurt. That's when I got hurt. And I'll just leave the mind behind and have a good time with it and also try to know your own limits. Everybody's got to set limits prior to getting out on the snow.

John's daughter Kylie Kramer number 54 also competes nationally. I am very proud of my dad. Definitely. Most people don't have their whole family involved in it but I do like it. It's it's fun. It's gives us something to do together. John's son Joey has gone pro in the few years since he was last seen at wiste in an outdoors Marilyns said. Many of the kids have come out of the mid-Atlantic snowboard series and gone to larger careers in snowboarding including the pro tour World Cup events and even won a silver medalist at the Lugano Olympics. The next day. Excitement runs high for the heart stopping slopestyle. It's a fierce personal skill and daring. The slopestyle that we have in the middle of the World Series here it was is

judged event which the judges judge each snowboarded based on their style amplitude Landing's basically how they attack the course which could include turtle tops some girls different obstacles to really see how good of riding each one of them are. Each rider gets two runs. There is danger particularly when the snow on the landings has been packed into ice by so many riders. Perhaps the most competitive age class is the men's Jammes age 18 to 22. Sheean number 57 a national champion won this division Z-Man.

Pretty much had pair by slow five days a week. I can go after school every day and just practice on my tricks so every weekend when I have competitions I'm pretty perfect. It is serious because you work for nationals. But everyone here really knows each other and we're all out there to have a good time. So I mean it's it's a pretty relaxed environment. It would probably be. Helpful switch. Because I'm working on switch down a lot. I'm really start when I The trick is that I can move on to the next track. Without any worries. Drop into our website. W w w dot dot o r g

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