More sightseeing….

Overnight, the weather changed a bit, with some sun in the morning, and cooler weather with rain showers in the pm.  From the first night’s motel, there was a bit of backtracking involved, thus I got a chance to experience a few moments of glorious morning on Grand View!  

Then it was on to the Flight 93 monument near Shanksville,  PA.   Now THAT was a sobering experience. 

Do you remember where you were on 9/11/2001?  And what you were doing?  I was at work, and heard about the first airplane hitting the WTC.  So I switched on the TV and kept it going in the background.  Wifey was at home, and a lawn sprinkler was being installed, so she heard about it from the installers.  Thus we both were aware.  Much was said about the terrible tragedy in NYC, but the passengers captive on that hijacked plane had their own situation going on. They did their best to avoid further tragedy, even though it led to their own demise.  The exhibits were both informative and in good taste.

An interesting theme: the building was laid out to let the major walkway to the overlook more or less follow the flight path of Flight 93 as it hurtled to the ground.  It was hard to contain emotions at that point…my eyes did get a bit moist.  And by the time I walked to the “Wall of Names” a few hundred feet from point of impact, the sun (which had been shining brightly earlier in the morning) had disappeared behind some very dark clouds which were moving in from the west.  Appropriately enough, the skies started crying.  At that moment, it seemed very touching and symbolic.  May the victims of this tragedy all rest in eternal peace.

Fortunately the rain was not heavy and had subsided by the time I reached my car.  I set out for the nearby burg of Meyersdale, a great place each spring to obtain freshly-made traditional maple syrup! Enroute I passed under the magnificent old Western Maryland Railway’s Salisbury Viaduct, which has been repurposed as part of the Great American Passage (GAP) hiking/biking trail, but with the cloudy skies and occasional rain, elected to “not” attempt to hike to the viaduct..

For such a small town, it was well-blessed with train stations, and yes, Amtrak does go through westbound in the evening and eastbound in the morning.  (I’ve been through town numerous times as a passenger on trains 29 and 30!)  Unfortunately though, no passenger trains stop there anymore.   One station, on the CSX line, is still in use as a base for maintenance crews.  The other station, on the abandoned Western Maryland line (now the GAP trail) serves as the local historical society.  Nice to know that, like the viaduct, both were repurposed instead of being destroyed!

Leaving there, I headed for Frostburg (also on the Western Maryland line.)  Enroute are a number of other railroad sites too numerous to mention, as well as the Keystone Viaduct, on the former WM line which now carries the GAP trail instead of trains!  I had time to do a quick stop at several of them.

And when in Frostburg, it’s always good to stop at the old WM depot, which has been restored and is the western terminus of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.  It operates between Cumberland and Frostburg, meaning that portion of the line is still maintained and in use!  Not surprisingly, I’ve enjoyed this ride a few times…

More about the rest of the day to follow!

Mandy