Archive for the ‘C&O Canal’ Category

Ferry Hill Plantation: C&O Canal Motorcycle Ride

Posted: August 24, 2018 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Location – Ferry Hill Plantation

Mile Mark – 72 (as it is not on the tow path it does not seem to have an actual mile marker)

Historical Comment – A 19th Century Plantation Ferry Hill overlooks the C&O Canal and the Potomac River. Prior to the civil war the slaves of this plantation were some of those that John Brown hoped to inspire to revolt when he attacked the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. This was the home of an officer in Stonewall Jackson’s army and was used during the Civil war by both sides to secure the river. The plantation is only a short distance from Antietam, the bloodiest battle in American History. Currently operating as a Visitor’s Center and as a Headquarters for the C&O Canal National Park Service.

Ride to the Site – Very easy. Directly of the main road.

Amenities – Restrooms and picnic area.

Road Conditions (from main road) – Paved

Railway Situation – no railroad tracks or crossing.

Parking Lot Condition – Mix of paved and gravel with about 20 parking spots.

Main Attraction – The visitor’s center and the view of the river, and Shepherdstown, WV.

My Thoughts – Interesting stop when you put it into historical context. Hundreds of slaves were used to farm the 700+ acre farm, who were targets of John Browns raid and the Civil War.

 

The view of Shepherdstown from Ferry Hill

Dam #5: C and O Canal Motorcycle Ride

Posted: August 13, 2018 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring, Uncategorized
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ijustwant2ride

Location – Dam #5

Mile Mark – 106.6

Historical Comment – Originally constructed of timber in 1835, Dam No. 5 was an important source of hydro power for millworks on the river. As soon as the dam was built, Edward Colston paid $100 a year for water rights and began the area’s long history of milling and hydro-electricity.

Unfortunately, the dam’s timber construction was no match for the many floods that swelled the Potomac River. The canal company decided a masonry dam would be stronger, but completion of the new 700-foot “high rock” dam was delayed by more floods and the Civil War. In fact, the dam was a target for destruction on several occasions but was successfully defended by local Union militia each time. [Taken from the C&O Trust website.]

Ride to the Site – Very easy. Not far off of I-70 access to Dam #5 is an easy ride.

Amenities – There is a picnic area but no rest rooms.

Road Conditions (from main road) – This lock is directly off the main road.

Railway Situation – no railroad tracks or crossing.

Parking Lot Condition – Gravel with about 10 parking spots. Pick your spot as a few have a drainage slope.

Main Attraction – The Dam, fishing and the view.

My Thoughts – As you exit the road you go down a shot but somewhat steep hill (gravel).

On the road to Dam #5
Hydro-electric plant on the other side

Lock 6: C and O Canal Motorcycle Ride

Posted: September 19, 2017 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle, motorcycle touring
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Location – Lock 6  

Milepost– 5.4 

Historical Comment – After the canal was closed by flood in 1924 this building was used a Civilian Conservation Corp local headquarters.

Ride to the Site – Very easy.  This point on the canal is near Washington D.C.  Traffic might be an issue during the “rush hour” phases of the work day.

Amenities – There were no restrooms or picnic tables.

Road Conditions (from main road) – This lock is directly off the main road.  But there is steep, rocky trail down to the lock area itself.  

Railway Situation – no railroad tracks or crossing.

Parking Lot Condition – All paved with about 10 parking spots.  

Main Attraction – This is one of the lock houses that can be rented for overnight stays.

Lock 8: C and O Canal Motorcycle Ride

Posted: August 16, 2017 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle Rides
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Location – Lock 8 

Milepost – 8.4

Historical Comment – The lock house has been converted in to a mini-museum called the “River Center”.

Ride to the Site – Very easy.  This point on the canal is near Washington D.C.  Although traffic might be an issue during the “rush hour” phases of the work day.

Amenities – There is a picnic area but no rest rooms. At the time of our visit there were no trash cans in the picnic area.

Road Conditions (from main road) – This lock is directly off the main road.  But there is steep, rocky trail down to the lock area itself.  

Railway Situation – no railroad tracks or crossing.

Parking Lot Condition – All paved with about 10 parking spots.  

Main Attraction – The River Center open weekends May to October

Motorcycle Ride: 3 National Parks in 5 Hours

Posted: August 12, 2017 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Debbie and I decided to take a quick Sunday morning motorcycle ride this past weekend.  Our ride took us to three national parks in about 5 hours!

Leaving home about 8AM we headed out to the George Washington Parkway (a national park). It took us about an hour to get to the southern terminus which is also Mount Vernon home of George Washington. Riding north on the parkway gives the rider a wonderful, at times panoramic, views of the Potomac River and surrounding country.

Coming abreast of Washington D.C. the view is remains panoramic as well as breath taking. The Washington and Lincoln Monuments clearly in view, the Kennedy Center and the spires of Georgetown make the few minutes you ride past the city quite awe inspiring.  Just past those sites you come across Theodore Roosevelt Island.  This is an often a much under looked memorial to a great president.  Take the time to walk across to the island and view this memorial. We did not stop this time…the parking lot was full, otherwise it would have been 4 national parks in 5 ½ hours.

The second park of this motorcycle ride was the C&O Canal National Park.  If you follow this blog you will see that I am attempting to get to all the motorcycle accessible stops along the canal.  I have knocked out a few but there is a lot of stops remaining.

Lastly we stopped in and took a look at Glen Echo National Park.  Just a short distance from the Clara Barton Parkway (named after the founder of the American Red Cross) this National Park started life in 1891 as a school and in 1911 transformed in to the premier amusement park of the great D.C area.  In 1971, shortly after the amusement park closed the Park Service took over and it is now a national park!  The park is an easy motorcycle ride coming out of or into Washington D.C.

Leaving Glen Echo we returned to the Clara Barton Parkway and headed west towards home.  All in all…a great day for a motorcycle ride!

Lock 10: C and O Canal Motorcycle Ride

Posted: August 7, 2017 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Location – Lock 10

Mile Mark – 8.8

Historical Comment – One of the few locks to use the Drop Gate Lock system.  See the picture below for details.

Ride to the Site – Very easy.  This point on the canal is near Washington D.C.  Although traffic might be an issue during the “rush hour” phases of the work day.

Amenities – There is a picnic area but no rest rooms.

Road Conditions (from main road) – This lock is directly off the main road. 

Railway Situation – no railroad tracks or crossing. 

Parking Lot Condition – All paved with about 10 parking spots.

 Main Attraction – The Drop Gate Lock system.

Hancock Visitor Center: C and O Canal Motorcycle Ride

Posted: June 11, 2015 in C&O Canal, motorcycle touring
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ijustwant2ride.com

Location – Hancock Visitor Center

Mile Marker –123

Historical Comments – The Hancock Visitors Center is located in the Bowles House.  Construction of the home began in the mid 1700s and thus pre-dates construction of the canal. The house sits near Lock 52 and after this part of the canal was opened the residents would sell/trade with the canal boats as they transited through the lock.  Passing through several hands over the next century it remained private property until the 1980s.

Hancock is one of the oldest settlements in western Maryland.  George Washington stayed here several times while he was surveying the area as a young man.  During the Civil War Hancock was held for ransom by the Confederate Army, but no one paid ransom.

Ride to Site – The Hancock Visitors Center is not easy to find and is poorly signed. If you are approaching from the east you are riding on I70, the visitor’s center is almost immediately on the left side of road (Main Street/MD 144) as you reach the bottom of the exit.  It is hidden between guardrails and trees as you ride down the interstate exit. I rode past the entrance, the fact it was there never registered.

Coming from the west you might see the sign for the visitor’s center if it is not hidden by tree branches.  It is located between the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building and the ramp to I70.

Amenities – Visitors Center, public restrooms, parking, all normal amenities in the town of Hancock.

Road Conditions (from main road) – rough pavement with loose gravel.  The entrance/exit is on a somewhat sharp incline please pay attention to your line of travel for the gravel that has been kicked onto the pavement.

Railway Situation – none

Parking Lot Conditions –Pea gravel and dirt with a bit of pavement.

Main Attraction – The first floor of the Bowles house has been converted in to the visitor’s center.  There are several artifacts of the construction period of the canal as well as photographs of the area during the period the canal was open.  Lock #52 is also on the grounds of the visitor’s center and is in good shape.

My Thoughts – This visitor center does not have amount of information on the canal as does the nearby Williamsport visitor’s center.  It is difficult to find and is only open Memorial Day thorough Labor Day.

Map

Ijustwant2ride.com

Difficult to find!

 

 

Out and About on our Motorcycle

Posted: June 9, 2015 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides
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Last Sunday morning Debbie and I jumped on the Ultra Limited (I think I am going to call it Big Blue) for a day ride.  With no real destination in mind we thought about hitting a couple spots on the C&O Canal.  If you have been following this blog you know I am slowly documenting those spots along the canal assessable by motorcycle. 

Ijustwant2ride.com

Old school McDonalds.

We left the house about 9AM heading west.  We stopped for a bit of breakfast at a McDonalds along Route 9 near Charles Town, WV.  As you can see in the photo it is one of those restaurants designed to look like an old school McDonalds, pretty cool.

 After filling out tanks (including Big Blue’s) we continued west on WV Route 9 then north on Interstate 81 then west on Interstate 70.  Normally we like the back roads much more than the Interstate but today we thought it would be better on the highway.  Pulling off into Hancock, Md we begin looking for the stops on the Canal but also found some other cool things as well, like the huge anti-aircraft missile in front of a Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) building.

We found both stops along the C&O, the Tonoloway stop and the Hancock Visitors Center.  The visitor’s center was very hard to find as it is not well signed and the road into the park was practically invisible unless you are looking for it as we were.  

Heading back east we wanted to stop at one additional canal stop (4 Locks) and we did but not the one we were looking for.  Again the signage was bad and we happened upon C&O Canal Dam #5 only because I noticed a street called Dam #5 Road (quite imaginative) and the fact that I knew there was a C&O dam in the general area.  But the fact we did not find the area we were looking for was no big deal as the area was great riding, rolling hills, great farmland views all made up for not finding the site. 

After looking about Dam #5 we mounted up and headed for home.  On the way home we started seeing hundreds of motorcycles heading north and west along our route. When we stopped for lunch we asked a couple who were riding if they know what was occurring.  Turns out it was the aftermath of “Operation God Bless America” a ride from New Castle, PA to the Veterans Hospital in Martinsburg, WV.  We have never heard of this particular ride before but with, according to the couple to which we spoke, over 2000 bikes it is one we will check out in the future. 

Unfortunately we had to head home to some yard work. But, as you can tell by the pictures, we had a good time on our 200+ mile day trip.

 

Some 2015 Motorcycle Riding Goals

Posted: January 11, 2015 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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What the likelihood of completing these goals…. quite high I hope!  None of these are to terribly difficult, if I chose to make some time.  But, time is always an issue, I either make time to do this or let life get in the way.  Hopefully I will choose right this year.Capture

Ride the Appalachian Waters Scenic Byway –  This is one of the roads on my motorcycle bucket list.  It would be a weekend trip for us if we left early on both Saturday and Sunday and we would have an overnight stay with my Mother.

Take at least 1 long trip with wife – A few years ago we planned a trip that would take us to Niagara Falls, across Canada to the Harley Davidson Museum, south to Kansas to visit our daughter and then home.  Life conspired to prevent that trip, but something like that should be on order for this year.

Iron butt 1000 – I-81 to south of Knoxville ,TN and back in 24 hours or less.

Practice more – work on my slow speed skills, tighten up my left and right circles.

Ride more miles then 2014 – between all the bikes last year we had a bit over 7500 miles.  That should not be too hard to overcome just if I commute on the bikes  a little more often. Oh, and take the long way home in the evenings. The way I keep track of my season mileage is through the “B” trip meter.  Early each year I reset the “B” meter to 0 so I know the total for the year while using the “A” meter for anything else.

Attend a HOG Rally for at least 1 day – Depending on where the rallies for VA/WV/MD/DE/PA are I should be able to make that happen.

C and O Canal – knock out a bunch of those stops this year.  If you have read this blog for a while you noticed I have attempted to document those stops that are accessible via motorcycle.  I did not do that many last year.

I am sure there are other things that I should add to the list but the more I add the more I might regret not completing. 🙂

Williamsport Visitor Center/Cushwa Basin: C and O Canal Motorcycle Ride

Posted: November 14, 2014 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Williamsport Visitor Center and Cushwa Basin

Location – Williamsport Visitor Center/Cushwa Basin

Mile Marker –99.6

Historical Comments – Built in the 1830s the Cushwa Basin was developed as a major point on the canal for the loading/unloading and turning of barges. The area around the visitors and the canal itself is steeped in history. Some of the historic highlights of the area include:

Williamsport considered for the nation’s capital

Multiple civil war battles fought to capture, sabotage or destroy the aqueduct.

Gen. Lee used pontoon bridges to cross a flooded Potomac after Gettysburg.

In 1920 a boat bumped the aqueduct wall which caused it to collapse taking the wall and the boat into the creek below.

Ride to Site – The visitor center and basin is off main street Williamsport. Good signage easily directs you to the site.

Amenities – Visitors Center, public restrooms, parking, boat launch, bike rental, all normal amenities in the town of Williamsport.

Road Conditions (from main road) – paved

Railway Situation – none

Parking Lot Conditions –Pea gravel but the edge between the pavement and the parking lot is on a slight hill and appears to suffer damage from water runoff, pay close attention to your line of travel.

Main Attraction – This should be one of your main stops even if you do not want to stop at many (or any) other points along the canal route! Williamsport is only stop where you can visit many of the major canal structures in one place. Here you can see, all within a half mile:

The Conocheague Aqueduct

The Cushwa turning basin

A railroad lift bridge

A Bollman Iron Truss Bridge

A lock house (Lock 44)

Visitor center exhibits

Recreation of canal boat rides (during summer)

My Thoughts – As noted above this is a great spot to learn about the canal. It is easy to get to as it only a few miles from from Interstate 81.

Map Ijustwant2ride.com

 

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