L. L. Wall's photos

Gambrill Mill, Monocacy Civil War Battlefield ----- American Civil War -- In Summer 1864 U.S. Grant's National Army had Robert E. Lee's Rebel Army trapped near Richmond Virginia, and William Sherman's National Army was "marching [rampaging] through Georgia" heading for South Carolina. So in time, barring a nasty miracle, the industrial northern United States was going to defeat the agricultural secessionist southern Confederacy. But that miracle nearly happened!! A small Confederate army outmaneuvered a poorly-led National army in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and invaded Maryland and turned toward Washington DC. National General Lew Wallace [later of Ben Hur fame] gathered a scratched-together, outnumbered force of regulars, reserves, and invalids; and fought a bitter delaying action on the banks of the Monocacy River 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Washington DC. Wallace's force was defeated and scattered, but the Confederate army was delayed for nearly a full day. It then marched on through Maryland to assault the previously unmanned defenses of Washington. But the Confederate attack came only an hour after veteran National troops sent by ships from Grant's army disembarked to successfully garrison Washington's defensive forts They got there just in time. (and as a spectator Abraham Lincoln nearly got himself shot). One or two hours changed history-that-could-have-been. Thus, repulsed in an attempt to invade the Capital of the United States, the Confederate army eventually retreated back into Virginia; on the way, they demanded ransoms from towns in Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, and burned Chambersburg Pennsylvania in retaliation for Nationalist depredations in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia ... And the American Civil War then bloodily proceeded to the now inevitable Confederate surrender.

Old shed by the pathway at Gambrill Mill, Monocacy Civil War Battlefield

I think this is a depiction of whipped cream on a cup of, I guess, hot chocolate. An unusual trend (and maybe it is widespread, and maybe it is somewhat wacky) has a local chapter: Frederick Rocks. As noted in a local news article, "... the idea is to paint rocks with positive messages and images on them, hide them throughout Frederick County, Md., and whomever finds them can either keep the rock or hide it again, so the process can be repeated." 1) Apparently some people have too much time on their hands; and 2) I did not fawn over this rock, nor toss it in the nearby creek, but just pushed it further back into the fencepost mortise; and 3) people nowadays don't realize the sanctity of a battlefield where men fought and died, so they do frivolous stuff.

Hamilton Cove Preserve, Maine Coast Heritage Trust. On the misty horizon is Canada's Grand Manan Island (rocky steep cliffs at shoreline), New Brunswick Province.

Hamilton Cove, Maine Coast Heritage Trust.

Yes, an aid to hikers; but also, on this seaside headland exposed to heavy weather, this rustic stairway eliminates a bare dirt path subject to damaging erosion. Maine Coast Heritage Trust: Boot Head Preserve.

The pathway from the upland of Boot Head Preserve down to the curving beach (rocky shingle) of Boot Cove. Here, privately owned property is directly adjacent to acreage purchased by conservation organizations, with the focus of both maintaining its natural state and allowing public access.

The backside of the announcer's tower at abandoned "75 & 80 Dragway" ... (a family-run community drag racing track that eventually closed down when the owners got too old and/or disinterested to operate it anymore.)

Halfway measures apparently not permitted.

Cutler Coast (Maine) Reserved Lands -- "The Bold Coast Trail".

Through-the-Window (1 of 3) -- Kind of spooky when viewed "On Black" ...

Through-the-Window (2 of 3) -- The foghorn building at West Quoddy Head lighthouse.

Through-the-Window (3 of 3) -- Inside an old residence in old Middletown Maryland. Truly historic, this Main Street here is actually a pre-Revolutionary War thoroughfare that led from Baltimore and Georgetown (Washington DC) to eventually what was the beginning of the National Road. Wikipedia says: "The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for [hundreds of] thousands of settlers".

Workboats and Steel Pilings (1 of 3)

This is near the causeway connecting Moose Island (Eastport Maine) and the mainland, at Pleasant Point Indian Reservation. [Wife says, "why are we stopping here again?"] This lobster boat is probably operated by members of the Passamaquoddy First Peoples tribe. A part of a treaty between these First Peoples and the State of Maine in the 1970's said that the Passamaquoddys were subject to Maine fishing laws and regulations ... and the current generation of native fishermen is really unhappy about being thus restricted, wanting to fish using traditional and historic fishing methods, and catch limits. It is said some are simply ignoring these "white man's rules".

Workboats and Steel Pilings (3 of 3) ... (oh, yeah, that seagull; I waved her down and asked her to pose on a piling ... she said, "OK here's a piling without one of those bird-resistant black cones; will that work for you?")