The new market "Treasures of the Chesapeake" is now open, featuring artists who live in the Chesapeake Bay area. My town is on the river that feeds into the Bay. It's a small town that gets overwhelmed with tourists every year. The town itself only has two streets, one going in and ending at the state park, and the other going out. It is quaint, and full of antique shops and seafood restaurants. Every Spring tourists from all over start piling in to go to the water, where they keep their boats, or to visit the state forest, or just stroll around this little town. There are various events on the water throughout the summer, and people are bussed in, since the town itself is unable to handle that kind of traffic. While most people visit for the water and forest, this entire area is rich in history dating to the 1600s.

Gilpin Falls Covered Bridge is near my house. The bridge dates to 1860 and is 119 feet long, which makes it the longest covered bridge in Maryland. There were a few mills near the bridge, one of which was a flour mill dating to the early 1700s. The bridge was bypassed in the 1930s and now sits beside the highway. It is lower than the highway though, so when you walk down to it, you are in a sort of bowl, and the noise from the highway is muffled by the sounds of the water over the falls. The bridge was rebuilt once in the 1950s, but has been falling apart ever since. It sags, and numerous slats are missing from the walls. Inside was heavily vandalized, and they've had a warning up for years to not go on the bridge. Last year they finally put gates up on either end, which I was sad to see. The county has been arguing over whether to save it or not, as the cost of repair is enormous. I believe they even had it for sale at one point. Now they are finally repairing it, and while I am glad it is to be saved, it is also sad to see the naked bones of its structure while they work on it. The bridge sits over the creek, pooling in stillness where water lilies grow and people fish. I've seen a variety of flora and fauna there, and it's quite beautiful. I've always liked walking in the woods along the creek and looking at the variety of plant life. Unfortunately, the people who live on the other side of the woods have vinca vine which is highly invasive and which is taking over the woods, smothering out the smaller native plants.

There are a lot of large granite boulders sitting among the woods, upon which grow mosses and ferns. I normally circle around to come out on the creek further down from the bridge. There the water is loud as it crashes over the boulders and they are placed so that it is possible to climb out into the middle of the creek on top of them. There are trees that sit on top of some of the boulders, with their roots like liquid running over the rock and down into the water to find dirt. It amazes me that they are able to grow like that. It was from one of these boulders that I took the photo listed. It was winter, and a still day, and the reflection of the bridge in the water was just stunning.

We had a horrible drought here a couple of summers ago, and the creek was the lowest I had ever seen. There is a concrete barrier just past the pool, before it drops to the falls. I'm not sure what it was originally for, but it was completely uncovered and you could walk across the creek without getting wet. Further down, the water was so low, we waded across the creek barefoot to get to the miniature "islands" in the middle of the creek. I found a lot of old bricks and shards of pottery in the water, I'm assuming from the various mills that were once here. It's a peaceful place, and I've always liked to see it throughout the different seasons. The flowers include Bloodroot in the Spring, then dogtooth violets and Spring beauty, giving way to Cardinal flower, water lilies, blue lobelia and jewel weed, finally ending in wild sunflower, Strawberry bush, and a variety of berries in the Fall.

When they finish rebuilding the bridge, I'm sure it will be complete, with no holes to peek out of, and no flooring missing. I'm sure it will be safe, and sturdy and have a bright new paintjob. I'm glad it is being saved, but I like the vision I have of it, the way it's been my entire life, and I'm glad to have captured it as such.

Lori of LittleOddMe did an interview with me for the Camera Angles market. Please stop in and check it out! It's posted here: http://www.1000markets.com/groups/cameraangles/...

I'm slowly working on getting caught up. I listed a few photo mouse pads that make great gifts and will be listing some magnets as well. I plan to post a new blog about exploring soon and hope to have some new work posted as well. I have some collage work, and about a million ideas that have been running through my head. :) I also run a garden shop and this is the busiest season, so that's been taking my time as well, but I'm thinking of adding some floral photos to my shop.

On another note, check out this amazing 1700s (??) diving helmet I found at an antique shop! Unfortunately, it was not for sale, but if it was I'm sure I couldn't afford it anyway. :) I think anyone who likes steampunk would drool over this. I know I did.

Thanks for your patience and please let me know how you like the interview!

Julie

When I'm exploring various places, often the things that were left behind are of the greatest interest. They are clues to what went on in these places. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the sheer amount of waste, especially in old hospitals. I have explored buildings so full of stuff that you could not walk through a room, or open a door. I've seen countless wheelchairs and old beds and office supplies and boxes of patient records. The last is probably the most disturbing, that they would leave patient records laying about in abandoned buildings.

The most intimate to me are what the patients left behind. Patient's artwork, photos and belongings tell a little about who they were. Sometimes the things left behind are what really brings a place to life for me. I can imagine the patients, and what they did while they were there. Furniture always makes me think of who spent time sitting there...and what did they think about? Hospital waste is always fascinating. I see these wheelchairs and think they could have been reused. I've seen rooms full of equipment, some still in the crates, and by now probably hopelessly outdated, but when they first closed I'm sure they were not.

In the tunnels beneath one hospital I came across a cold war bomb shelter. There was a yellow and black sign for radiation and a wheelchair in the hall leading to it. It's a pitch black maze down there and I stumbled across this quite by accident. Inside, I found the shelter had been fully stocked sometime in the '50s or '60s. Against one wall was stacked drums of Civil Defense Survival Supplies. Some were marked drinking water. Others had been opened but were still stocked with soap, toilet paper; basic sanitary items. There was an entire room stacked full of crates, most of which had been looted. However, many were still untouched. Inside the crates were bandages, medicine bottles, IV kits, urine specimen bottles, medicine in vials (mostly evaporated), medical instruments, everything you could imagine. We found a packing slip and the 'choice' items were missing... things like scalpels and such, but even after being looted repeatedly the amount of stuff was amazing. In the room with crates, you had to walk across the crates to navigate the room. There were sewing machines and all kinds of equipment I had no name for. I'd love to go back to it again soon, before it gets torn down or torn apart.

Urban explorers have sort of adopted the Sierra Club motto - Take only photos, leave only footprints, but the more a place gets known, the more items tend to walk off. In doing so, it leaves a little less for the next expolorer to examine.

You may notice our leprechaun Seamus hopping around from shop to shop. Join us for our first annual scavenger's hunt! http://www.1000markets.com/blog_posts/4415