Rocky Gap State Park, Flintstown, Maryland
And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am.”… “I am the God, the God of your father…Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” Genesis 46:2-4 I think Jacob was torn between wanting desperately to see his son, and not wanting to disobey God by leaving the area God promised to his descendants. Even back then, possession was nine-tenths of the law. I think this was what Jacob was praying about when God told him it was okay to leave; that He had a purpose in mind. How often do we seek God’s wisdom and guidance before making a decision? Especially an important one? For most of us, I’ll bet it’s not nearly often enough.
This morning, we decided to take a walk.
The air was heavy with heat and humidity, as we strode right into Bug City during our 5.5 mile walk around the lake. It was beautiful! Not the bugs – – the scenery. And the trail actually went along the edge of the lake most of the time. We saw squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, deer and a plethora of birds and of course, those pesky gnats or whatever they were. Fending off the bugs that seemed to thoroughly enjoy hovering incessantly before our faces, gave us a bit of an extra cardio workout, because not only were we walking briskly, but there was the frequent flailing of arms.
Does that remind anyone else of the Beach Boys?
LOL!! Sometimes I crack myself up! : )
But seriously, have you ever seen squirrels on a beach before????
Maryland has NO natural lakes!
And it’s the ONLY state that doesn’t have any!
The most? Alaska, with 3,197 named lakes and over 3 million unnamed ones!
Now, I want to know – – who counted all those lakes?
By the way, Ohio (where we hail from) has 110 that measure more than 5 acres,
and Summit County (where we hail from) has the most at 34.
The second most is claimed by Portage County with 16.
You might just win a trivia contest with this information! : )
We saw golfers, too. Included in the State Park is a casino and golf course! We’ve never seen a casino in a State Park before. Wonder how that works? Is that (along with the golf) a way for the State Park(s) to raise money for staff and maintenance, etc.?
We may never know, but it was a good hike this morning, and then it was home to clean up.
Can you imagine??
Tonight we were going to Carl and Jo’s for visiting and dinner. Their younger son, Hayden made an appearance as well!
Anyway, on the way over, we stopped in the town on Cumberland, Maryland. A nice town, with plenty to see and do. We took in the Allegany Museum, and then dripped (yes…I used the right word) along the historic part of town. So much for having taken showers earlier. As you can see in the picture below, it was 93⁰ with a heat index of 102⁰. Ugh!!! It was probably even hotter being as how we were in the middle of a city.
Hint – it’s a real person from waaaay in the past.
other than the sign beside the doorway announcing “Sleeping Beauty”.
It reminded us of the window displays that used to adorn Polsky’s Department Store in downtown Akron, Ohio. A blast from our past! Wonderful memories!
We enjoyed it (the walk around town, not the heat), but were anxious to get to the Crow’s!
After a few minutes of touring the house (so nice!), Carl took us on a driving tour of the area, including the Frostburg University campus where he works as the Dean of Students. I know he has other responsibilities too, but I can’t remember them. Sorry!
He also drove us to Dan’s Rock for a spectacular view!
It’s actually part of a State Park.
Personally, we think it would look better if they’d created actual art instead.
Still, if you don’t look too closely, it makes for a really pretty picture! : )
It’s not nearly as far away as it looks. : )
Another marvelous few hours passed very quickly, running the gambit from laughter to serious and we even took in a thunderstorm just after dinner, but were able to remain on their patio.
It’s been such a blessing to reconnect with the Crows! We were sad to leave them. Hopefully, it won’t be another fifteen years before we see them again.