Three States. Two monuments. One mystery.

Today Sara and Julius and I hiked the Mason Dixon Trail from White Clay Creek Preserve to the Tri-State Marker and back. The first and last 3-ish miles meandered along White Clay Creek. The in between 4 miles weaved over and back across the PA-DE  and a little bit Maryland border.We had a good time.

During this hike we pondered such things as "Who do you call if you trip over your feet on the border between two states?" and "Why do those cornstalks have feet?"

We encountered the cornfield about a mile or so into the hike and noticed the feet on many of the stalks. Not all were intact though. A little Internet sleuthing when I got home reveals that the 'feet' are a tertiary root system called 'brace roots'. Turns out corn has two root systems normally. If the brace roots appear it likely means the main root system is dying. It's the corn's way of saving itself. At least that's what I took away from this article.

I still don't know the answer to the first question about falling but I didn't try all that had to find an answer either.

More to the point of this hike we visited the Arc Corner Monument. The monument marks the spot where the ARC boundary between PA and DE meets the straight East-West boundary. According to information found here at one time the ARC was marked by 46 stones at 1/2 mile intervals. As of 2006 (the date on this information piece) 41 of them still existed!! Finding them could make for an interesting adventure. Many are likely on private property though.

We continued on the trail in search of the Tri-State Marker. We found two markers. After I got home I did some more sleuthing to figure out why there were two markers.

Approaching more or less from the southern most entrance to the Tri-State Trail as we did, first you come to this stone. We realized though that it only had a "P" and an "M" inscribed in it and the date "1849". If this was a Tri-State Marker where was the D? We assumed at the time it was a fake out marker or a mistake of some kind. Turns out it is not. The original marker was wooden and placed by the original Mason - Dixon party in 1765. That marker was replaced with a stone marker in 1849 (the date inscribed) and only identifies PA and MD because in 1765 DE was part of PA.

The original wooden marker was a Mason - Dixon line marker noting the line between PA and MD. It is not referred to as the Tri-State marker because it does in fact mark the meeting of the three states. However, that was not it's original raison d'être.





I found references to the smaller marker we found just past the Dixon Marker. IN the photo you see Julius dancing around three states. But it's unclear what it is/was for. This smaller marker contains a plate on top that indicates it was placed by the US Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1935. Most references I could find to it do not make any statements as to why it's there. Yet the letters MDP on the plate led us to believe it was the 'real' marker. I'll have to do more research another time.

All in all we had a lovely stroll through White Clay Creek Preserve (in PA) and White Clay Creek State Park (in DE). With the very brief foray into Maryland the was a three state hike!

Keep smiling and Keep Moving!

The Elephant on the River.

Today I took a bike ride mostly on road. I had planned to do this ride last week and then talked myself out of a road ride and headed for the Schuylkill River Trail and Perkiomen trails in the Audobon/Phoenixvill area. Although I didn't blog about last week's adventure I did have a great ride. Here's a photo.

As late as last night I was still debating a road ride today. In the end it came down to three ideas that convinced me to go for it. #1 - You won't know if you are ready until you try. Well duh, right? But sometimes one needs to smack oneself upside the head as a reminder of things. #2 - My planned route was along the East Coast Greenway. The ECG is a route designed for pedestrians and cyclists so it should be a safe assumption that the route is safe. #3 - if I got started and didn't enjoy it i could just turn around, right? Right.

I notice now that this sign doesn't say "Heinz".
You'll have to trust me. 

The ride started at Heinz Wildlife Refuge visitor center parking lot. By the time I arrived around 8ish am the lot was half full. Lots of folks where getting an early start on a day that promised heat and humidity. My plan was to follow the ECG to the Art Museum and then see how I felt before deciding to do more or turn around.

The route was well marked at every turn. I was glad to have brought my PA and DE ECG route guide as well. This told me where the turns were. There is not much signage between the turns and there were a few spots that had me checking the guide to make sure I hadn't missed something. The guide and the route did differ as I approached the Schuylkill River Trail boardwalk. The guide was written before the boardwalk (or the South Street entrance to it) was completed. I followed the signs rather than the book.

I've never been on the SRT boardwalk so turned left first to go to the end. The end is not far at all from the South Street entrance but why come all this was and not do the whole thing, right? I know some of you reading this would have been disappointed had I not turned left first. :)

The SRT was very crowded on the way to the Art Museum. Passing was a challenge. I was content to cruise along behind pedestrians and slower cyclists as I waiting for a good opening. Unfortunately there were other cyclists who were not so patient. I'm fine with them passing me -- I know I'm a conservative rider. What irked me is that they chose to pass without giving an warning that they were going to pass. Had I chosen any of those moments to make my move there would have been bodies, blood and possibly bike parts flying. I'm happy to report that I made it safely. And the irony of being concerned about the road portions of this ride has been noted.

Truth is, the road portion of this ride was easy peasy. There was one section where the bike lane was squished between a very active trolley line and the parking lane. I did find myself repeating over and over "Please don't open your car door" during that stretch.

Next stop was the Art Museum. To turn around or not. I felt pretty good so I decided to keep going. I backtracked to Martin Luther King Blvd and headed for the Falls Bridge. Despite the heat it was a great day to be out. There were lots of cyclists and runners on the road (closed to cars). I watched the Zoo Balloon go up and down a few times. There was a regatta on the river too.

As I approached the Falls Bridge I debated going across or just turning around. The Kelly Drive side is always more crowded. In the end I decided to cross the bridge and complete the loop. I'm so glad I did because if I had not I would have missed this ----

According to the signage nearby it's called "Big Bling" and it was put there in June and will sit on this spot until November. The artist is Martin Puryear. This page will give you more details about it and includes a time lapse video of its installation. The artist states that he prefers to allow folks to decide what it is. I think it looks like an elephant.

Back at the Art Museum, I sat on the step and watched tourists run up and down the "Rocky" steps while I ate very soupy trail bar. I new it would melt but it was the only thing that would fit in the small pouch of my bike hydration pouch. I will have to start wearing the backpack on these longer rides so I can pack better snacks that won't melt.

All told I rode 30 miles today. Here is a link to my route.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1691149463

Keep smiling and keep moving.