Waterworks Park Annapolis – Part 2

I thought I was going to fit it all into one post, but when I realized how many fun bird photos I took along the trail, I decided to put them all into a single post. If you want to read that one, it is my previous post, Part 1.

I saved a bit of interesting information for you, for this post, which surprised me. The little stream that flows from the dam I wrote about at the park? Well, it’s near the beginning of Broad Creek. And if you’ve read any of my Annapolis posts over the years, you have seen my excursions into Broad Creek Park because it’s only about a 15-minute walk from my hotel. I didn’t realize until much later that these two parks are connected to the same waterway!

The trails in this park are vast, and welcoming to people on foot, and people on wheels. There are sections that look like adult playland for bikes, with jumps and obstacles and loop-de-loops and all manner of fun stuff. I was passed twice by a man on his mountain bike, carrying a small chainsaw, who told me he was part of a volunteer contingent who kept the trails in good shape for cyclists. I thanked him and said how well-maintained the trails are, which hikers benefit from as well.

At the end of my day’s hike, I passed a guy on a SKATEBOARD on the dirt trail, which I have never seen before. I tried to take a photo, but he was shy and got off his board, so I walked away with no photo. But believe me, he was skateboarding down the hill toward the concrete spillway. So cool.

Looking through my photos this morning, I realize many seem similar to each other. I have little ability to resist photos of a trail through trees. I’ll group them together at times, and highlight the special ones.

Abandoned, rusting cars can often be found on New England trails. Like this one, they show up when there is no evidence of a road anywhere near. It begs questions. Though they are technically “trash,” I am always interested.

In one area, my trail curved around what looks like a deer stand. On one visit to Broad Creek Park, I startled a Maryland Whitetail piebald deer. So I know deer are around here. I feel like hunting shouldn’t be allowed in a park though. Hopefully this is merely a wildlife watching station, and I wished I could figure out how to climb up there.

A huge pile of tires fascinated and disgusted me. Then I realized there was a large open space just beyond the tires. I crashed through the underbrush getting snagged on thorns, and climbed out of the forest to see:

I pondered this discovery for some time, but on my return I took a new route, and had my questions answered.

And here, I was at the top of the grassy hill that I had seen from the bottom, at the beginning of my walk. I am too short to get a good photograph, but perhaps the one above will reveal to you well enough the thousands, maybe millions of solar panels I saw, that certainly must be powering much infrastructure, especially on this bright day. I wondered whether the field I saw earlier might be the location of future solar panels.

And then I was done! And my legs were tired. I had drained one water bottle and had hidden a second one at the spillway. Now, I found that one, and proceeded to empty it. I called the hotel and requested a return shuttle, and soon was met by a new van driver, who didn’t comment about my choice of parks. 🙂

I recalled, back in 2018-ish? that I ate a truly outstanding Italian meal at a restaurant close to BWI, the Baltimore Airport. I was happy to see it is still in business post-Covid, and made myself reservations for when it opened, at 5pm.

They let me stow my luggage behind the front desk, and proceeded to take good care of me, as they had years ago. The woman who seated me went back to talk to the chef, and returned to tell me that he was indeed the same outstanding creator that fed me those years ago. If you are flying into or out of BWI, please consider a meal at Arturo’s Trattoria. It looks like an ordinary place on the edge of a strip mall on the outside, but there is culinary magic on the inside.

Sated, I had a short ride to the airport, where I arrived four hours early. I had run out of ideas for what to do. I sat outside for an hour, enjoying the sunset before I went through security and began my long journey across the pond.