I was on
the southern end of the Harriet Tubman byway and many of the sites were not marked or interpreted but I had
printed out a brochure ahead of time so I knew where to stop and what the story
was.
o Bestpitch Ferry Bridge
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| In this countryside, knowledgeable local people could hide for days, even weeks, and follow the waterways north |
o Bucktown Village Store
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| Harriet Tubman received a blow to her head that fractured her skull while she attempted to assist a fellow enslaved man |
The
Blackwater River National Wildlife Refuge is along the way and is a chance to
see some spectacular flora and fauna. The Wildlife drive costs $3 to drive and
is the highlight of the park. It is a 4 mile road that takes you along the
Blackwater River and offers several stopping points along the way. At my first
stop, I got to see a bald eagle, thanks to a kind woman who offered to let me
use her scope. By the end of the drive I had spotted 3 bald eagles!
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| Bald eagle in a tree |
There are
also herons, egrets, and numerous other birds to view.
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| Egret and blackbird |
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| Taking flight |
I hiked the Woods Trail
along the drive in hopes of spotting the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel but
alas I did not. After leaving
the drive, I headed over to the Tubman Road Trail which is a 1.5 mile hike
through forest and marsh. It got a little wet in spots towards the end and
there really wasn’t much to see along the way so I guess it was more about getting the feel of a place.
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| Tubman Road Trail |
I
stopped for lunch in Cambridge and also to see the Harriet Tubman Museum and
Educational Center.
It was a free stop with some more information about what an
amazing woman Harriet Tubman was. Also in Cambridge is Long Wharf where there
is the Choptank Lighthouse which you can visit. It was just built in 2012 and
is a replica but is quite picturesque.
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| Choptank Lighthouse |
My
last stop of the day was at Furnace Town in Snow Hill, MD. It costs $6 to visit
but I can never pass up a living history museum. The only other visitors were an
elderly couple so I pretty much had the place to myself. The museum contains
various historic buildings with exhibits on life in a furnace town (where a
furnace was used to smelt bog iron ore to make pig iron). The broom maker was
on hand that day so we could see how brooms were made. It was such a quiet,
peaceful spot and all the buildings had great information. It was a nice place
to end the day as my campsite was only a few miles away.
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| Furnace |
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| Inside the church |
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| Quilt shop |
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