Catoctin Mountain To Fort Fredrick

I tried to book two more nights at Owens Creek campground but it was leaf peeping season and the weekend. The entire campsite was booked Saturday night. Their season ended on November 1st. So, I made oatmeal to warm me up and started to pack up the campsite.

During my packing, I started talking to my camp neighbors, Shanna and John. They had camped at Catoctin Mountain before. They had also done a lot of camping in many different parts, evidenced by all stickers on their camper. I took notes on some places to visit and stay in Florida. I would have talked to them longer, but they had to go pick up their teenagers. We wished each other safe travels and I continued with my packing.

One of the mountain trails runs close to the campsite and on it is a replica of a water powered saw mill. I parked the car, grabbed the camera and went off to explore. The sky had a deep, rich blue color which added an interesting tint to everything. There were many plaques describing the history of water powered saw mills in the area, the design of this saw mill, and some history of saw mills in this area. This was a labor intensive industry and the ones that could make a living hired a lot of help to be able to bring the lumber to market.

There’s a walking bridge that avoids any water between the sawmill and the parking lot on the main road through the campground. It looked like a fun walkway and I needed a little exercise. The foot bridge isn’t even a quarter of a mile long but the angles of the bridge are fun to look at.

One of the things I’m learning about landscape photography is look all around as you walk. I looked up and thought the trees were making an interesting pattern which might be interesting with the 14-24mm lens.

As I left the park, I notice a church on a hill. It looked like it had been built in the 19th century. I couldn’t find a plaque, but the grave stones I saw went back to at least the 1870’s. It is a simple church but the stone fits nicely into the landscape.

I found a Planet Fitness in Fredrick and had my shower. I learned that my black membership allowed me to use some special perks, which included the tanning booth, hot sauna and a few different massage machines in a special part of the studio. After my shower, I noticed the Penn State / Ohio State game was on one of the TVs. I grabbed one of the cycles and watched for 15 minutes. This was one of those games that Penn State lost but could have won.

I searched for a library where I could relax and do some online work. There were libraries open in Fredrick, but either very little parking or restricted parking because of a parade that was going to happen after lunch.

I finally found a library that was open later in Martinsburg, WV about 45 miles away. I tried to find the quietest place in the library. Some people were in the library to just keep warm. There were others playing video games and some doing puzzles and laughing. I didn’t see much studying or reading going on. I stayed there until 5pm when it closed.

Leaving the library, the Berkley County Court House was directly in front of me. The late afternoon sun was hitting it and the dome was lit up. The architecture was a little strange for me, part colonial, part Byzantine Empire, part office building and throw in some Greek Doric columns for the fun of it. The plaque at the bottom reads, “Montani Semper Liberi, 1772”, which means Mountaineers are Always Free. I read that this is the West Virginia moto. I’m not sure of the significance of 1772. It might be related to the land grant by Governor Lord Dunmore to John Savage and 59 of his men for their service in the French and Indian war. West Virginia was once a part of Virginia.

Fort Fredrick Campgrounds

I made a reservation at the Fort Fredrick Campgrounds with the intention of visiting the fort the next day. I practiced setting up my new canopy over the campsite table. There weren’t many amenities at that site, but I did have 5G cell service.

I made something to eat and crawled into the tent around 9:30. It was getting colder quickly. Behind the campsite was a river, a part of the old C&O Canal and on the other side were railroad tracks. The trains ran until about mid-night. The conductors used the horn liberally throughout the valley. I was surprised by the number of trains that passed. I didn’t count them, but it seemed as though there was one every 20 minutes.

The trains brought back fond memories of staying at my grandparents house in Pennsylvania. In the day, there were many trains, day and night, and I found myself lulled to sleep by their rhythmic, humming sound.