The Deep Creek Blog

Another Free Fishing Day

Don't forget, July 4th is another Free Fishing Day in Maryland.  No license is required to fish in any of Maryland's freshwater on this day. 

Spruce Forest Summer Quilt and Craft Festival

The 30th Annual Summer Quilt and Craft Festival will be held Friday July 13th and Saturday July 14th from 10am to 6pm at the Spruce Forest Artisan Village in Grantsville.  The festival takes place along the scenic Casselman River Bridge.  This year's Festival provides the following for visitors:

• A Quilt Show with 200 hand-crafted entries, judges by a National Quilting Association Judge.
• An Educational Workshop series designed for quilting enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels.
• Ongoing quilting demonstrations provided by skilled tradition bearers from the local community.
• A crafts festival with skilled artists showing and offering high quality crafts. 
• A diverse array of live musical entertainment throughout both days.

According to Rita Hummel Crowe, Spruce Forest's Executive Director,

The purpose of our Summer Quilt and Craft Festival is to both showcase and engage others in the quilting tradition that runs deep within our area.  Mountain Maryland and the surrounding communities have a rich heritage of Amish and Mennonite quilters who will share their perspectives on quilting, as well as stories about how quilting has inspired their lives - all while quilting on a full-sized quilt frame.  Their quilting circle is essentially an open studio event, and last year's attendees of the Festival enjoyed the interaction immensely. 

Other demonstrations will include quilt piecing, comfort knotting, and other needle work for quilts.

A special feature at this year's Festival is quilt appraisals by Neva Hart, a professional appraiser certified by the American Quilter's Society, from Hardy, VA.  She will evaluate and appraise individual's cherished heirloom quilts.  Both verbal and written appraisals, suitable for insurance and other purposes, will be available with a fee of $20 and $45 respectively.

Other tradition bearers from the local Yoder and Miller families will bring their antique quilts, some from the early 1800s, and will be on hand to tell family stories in the historic buildings throughout the village.   

Savage River Open For Business

American Whitewater reports on the Savage River release this weekend.  The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has the details on current and future releases. 

Art In The Park

The eighth annual Art in the Park will be held on Saturday, July 14 and Sunday, July 15 on the shore of the Discovery Center at Deep Creek Lake State Park.  Art in the Park will feature over 35 artisans displaying and selling their artwork at the event.  The variety of artwork will include jewelry, photography, woodturning, native wildflower& habitat boxes, fused glass and much more.  Hands on activities will be available and roaming naturalist programs for all ages to enjoy.  Food vendors will be available, along with music by the Dixieland Band and other local musicians.  Admission is free and docking is available for those wishing to come by water.   

Art in the Park is co-sponsored by the Western Garrett County State Park Volunteers (WGCSPV) and the Garrett County Arts Council.  Proceeds from the event will benefit both organizations and thus expand programs offered at the Discovery Center.  For more information on this event please call 301-387-7067. 

On a personal note, I'll be there with Appalachian Studio, so stop by and say hello. 

Drought Map for Maryland

The Maryland Weather Blog points out that Western Maryland, as of this week,  is considered to be in a state of drought.  Not being a weather expert, I have no idea how much rain it takes to reverse the status, and whether or not the current precipitation will have an affect, but you can watch the changes on the Drought Monitor, linked to on the blog.

I know our well had some issues earlier in the year, so we'll have to be cautious going into the busy week ahead with lots of guests and family around. 

Independence Day at Deep Creek

I'm hoping to get a page up listing all of the Fourth of July events in the area in the next day or two, but the Cumberland Times-News has a good article about all of the events going on for the holiday. 

Mountain Laurel Garden Club Tour

The Mountain Laurel Garden Club will be hosting their seventh annual Secret Country Gardens garden tour this Saturday, June 30th from 10am until 4pm.  The tour will feature four private gardens as well as a raffle, a perennial plant sale, and refreshments.  The cost of tickets is $7.00 and will include a short description of each garden, a map and written directions.  Tickets may be purchased the day of the sale at the Garrett County Historical Society's Gazebo in downtown Oakland near the train station, or by contacting Barbara Chesley, chair of the tour at 301-334-4519.

The Drive to the Lake

When I was a young girl, before my family had a place at Deep Creek, we used to go to the Youghiogheny Reservoir, or "the Yough" as we referred to it.  We didn't have a place there, just two boats on a rented dock.  So we made day trips, sometimes two or three times in one week during the summertime.  My grandparents would load us up in their big sedan (before car seats), usually fitting four or five of us across the back seat and three in the front.  Some of my most cherished memories are all of the stops that we would make along the way, at places like Herrings in Hopwood or Glisan's Restaurant on Route 40.  Some of the places that we visited are still around, and it's always great to be able to remember, or even better, to stop off at one of these treasures. 

I got to reminiscing, because the Washington Post is asking readers to share their favorite "escape routes" from DC to various vacation spots, one of them being Deep Creek.  It seems Dr. Gridlock's main goal is to provide readers with some easier routes avoiding traffic laden byways, but he's also asking for favorite stop-offs and such...kind of a fun exercise.   

Rodeo This Weekend

Dave Martin's Championship Rodeo will be held Friday and Saturday, June 29th and 30th at the Garrett County Fairgrounds.  Musical entertainment by Slim Chance will begin at 6:30 pm followed by rodeo action at 7:30. 

Bull riding, bronco riding, barrel racing, youth mutton busting and bullfighting clowns will be featured. 

The event is sponsored by the Garrett County Livestock Association and all the proceeds benefit the 4-H and FFA livestock exhibitors and area used by livestock exhibitors at the fairgrounds.

Advance tickets are available at Southern States in Oakland, The Beginner's Store,  Lakeview Auto Parts, Grantsville Ag Service, Glotfelty Enterprises, Little Sandy's, The Funny Farm, Anchor Mart and Proudfoot's Pharmacy.  Advance tickets cost $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under.  At the gate, tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 years and younger.   

Bear Update

The Deep Creek Times wisely suggests a read of Bear Watch in the Cumberland Times-News this week.  This is a little unsettling as our home is one level...

Get Ready for the Mountain Coaster

Get ready for the new Mountain Coaster ride at Wisp Resort.  The Mountain Coaster is a hybrid of an alpine slide and a roller coaster and will be the fourth of its kind in the country and only the second on the East Coast.

Wisp Resort has teamed up with Weigand of Germany for the purchase, design and installation of the Mountain Coaster.  The continuous track is constructed of stainless steel tubular rails that are free of corrosion, fully recyclable and have no damaging affect on the environment.  The uphill track ascends 1,300 feet on the eastern side of Marsh Mountain between the Bear Claw Snow Tubing Park and Chairlift #1.  As the cart crests the track, great views of Deep Creek Lake emerge and the 350-ft vertical descent begins.  The course twists, turns, corkscrews, dips and rolls for 3,500 feet then ends at the same place it began.  The transport vessels are knows as coaster carts and are designed with safety belts for two passengers, however guests can ride solo as well.  The carts have manual break levers on both sides so riders can control their speed.  There is also a centrifugal braking system that can be set to certain speeds and does not allow carts to exceed the chosen setting.  Other safety features include energy absorbent front and rear buffers, track netting, walkways for attendants and video surveillance.  The course is also lit for nighttime operation.

The Mountain Coaster is projected to make a first run in July.  To track progress of the Mountain Coaster and for more information, visit www.wispresort.com.

 

ASCI's Official Opening Day

The Washington Post has details on the Adventure Sports Center International's official opening day this coming Saturday, June 30th. The ASCI Showdown features premier level competition in rock climbing and freestyle kayaking. 

Gypsy Moths Making an Impact

Ted Shelsby of the Baltimore Sun writes about the dreaded Gypsy Moth and the impact the pest is making in Maryland this year.

This time it's the gypsy moth doing the damage, unleashing the worst infestation in Maryland in 12 years, state agriculture officials say.  The damage spans 12 counties, including all the counties of the Baltimore metropolitan area, and runs from Cecil to Garrett.   

The Maryland Department of Agriculture also posts current conditions and advice on what the homeowner can do to suppress and manage a gypsy moth infestation.   

Maryland's Lakes Facing Challenges

The Baltimore Sun has a piece today on Maryland's "sick" lakes.  Man made lakes eventually face challenges such as filling up with silt and vegetation.  New Germany State Park is the main focus of the piece as there has been a lot of attention recently on the problems the treasured lake is facing. The Republican also ran a piece earlier this month after the management of the problem was discussed at a public meeting.

The DNR is currently working on a New Germany Lake Management Plan and will be obtaining public input from groups such as the Friends of New Germany.   

McHenry Business Sycamore US Recognized

Sycamore.us which has an operation in the Garrett Information Enterprise Center in McHenry was named Technology Service Company of the Year at the seventh annual Maryland Incubator Companies of the Year Awards this past week.  Sycamore.us provides federal government and commercial clients with software engineering and communications solutions and services.

_________________________________________________________________________________________