MD: Tag

Terran Sin said:

the corn maze reference

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It wasn't intended as a corn maze reference. I was trying to make a play on the name of the place: Lawyer's Farm (as in growing members of the legal profession). Oh well, I guess that's part of the game. Sorry you had two fruitless hours of searching but glad you had two hours of extra fun?

Terran Sin said:

discovering a neat little covered bridge.

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Was that maybe this bridge?


I think I have a pretty good idea of where the tag is now but I'll only find out when I get there. Given the wild goose chase you ended up making, I'm not asking for further hits at least for a while. I'll risk it and if I'm wrong at least I get a nice ride out of the deal.

Steve (Terran Sin) set the tag at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Anne Seton, in Emmitsburg MD:


It's a beautiful setting and rich in tag opportunities. I'd never chanced to go past there although I've been in the general vicinity numerous times.

The new tag returns to a previous theme of mine.



Looking a different direction, and the first of the hints:


This marker is much closer to the tag location than I thought it was; I'd have sworn it was closer to South Mountain, twenty or more miles away.

Bump... maybe time for a more specific hint?

This will get you in the vicinity, but not at the tag site itself:

Well I finally had a break from other group rides I had committed to and spent a very enjoyable Father's Day indulging myself in going after the MD & NOVA tags. First- the Monocacy Battlefield tag, which hardly was a challenge to find with all the clues laid out.


Then the new tag, which for locals will be no contest to find either.


Sadly I had to settle for the gate entrance sign as the place is only open from 12-5 and I was way too early with many miles to go! I really wanted a trolley car pic too. Here's a close up of the sign as a better clue.


Happy Riding!

Terran Sin said:

First- the Monocacy Battlefield tag, which hardly was a challenge to find with all the clues laid out.

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Had it come down to it, I had one final hint in the can:



Glad to see it was not needed.

Took a couple of weekends for the opportunity to get out and do the deed, but the MD tag has a new temporary home. The old home was the National Capital Trolley Museum on Bonifant Road in Silver Spring.

[Photo evidently lost]

The new tag is somewhere on Fingerboard Road. Out of respect for the Private Property and No Trespassing signs (not to mention the security camera) I stopped at the gate, which I took to be the boundary between "Okay" and "You shouldn't be here".

[Photo evidently lost: karma? It was a Hindu temple...]

Here's a detail of what caught my eye last year, and alerted me to the possibility of using the place as a tag:

[Photo evidently lost: karma? It was a Hindu temple...]

In the course of moving the tag I traveled a route absolutely crammed with religious institutions; they span the range from Islam to Greek Orthodox (that one's going to be a future tag- the gilt-covered domes were spectacular in the early-morning sunlight) to Catholic, various mainstream and independent Protestant denominations, and this temple from the Far Eastern cultures. It was an interesting cross-section of the world's religions (though not all-encompassing), and a good reminder that the country was founded in part on the basis of religious tolerance and the freedom to choose whether, what, and how one worships.

It was a beautifully low humidity day to tag! Wifey took the day off and agreed to follow me on my path to the enlightened tag found on Fingerboard Rd outside Ijamsville. The Sri Bhaktha Anjaneya Temple serves and promotes Hindu traditions, values, culture and heritage including music, dance, slokas and sanskrit. I wasn't about to risk my karma (or my wife's) so I took my photos from the same spot as Keith, safely outside the compound.

(My close up)


It was an uplifting tag experience. But I still felt unfulfilled. Seeing as there was an ice cream tag last July I figured I would institute a tradition by making the new tag- ICE CREAM! Henceforth every July there must be an ice cream tag! (It's worth a shot )

Your Welcome.

For those needing a clue- really?

Terran Sin said:

For those needing a clue- really?

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Some of us just need a clue whether or not we know where the ice cream store is.

--Mark

Nice choice, Steve. I know exactly where that is- I pass it regularly when I am out that way. (Almost did so today but then chose a different route home from my raid into the Confederacy.)

May not get to it for a while as I am out of town the next two weekends but that's okay- someone else can pick up the slack and enjoy the ice cream in the meantime if they like.

Pickup at the little red barn ice cream cafe in Jefferson MD

bobdog2o02 said:

Pickup at the little red barn ice cream cafe in Jefferson VA

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**cough** MD tag...

Drop off.... Clue, it's on Rt 86

Good clue; that was all I needed but the street number helped too.



Alternate view of a lovely property, midway between Manchester and Lineboro.



And the new tag:



Not sure why my phone cam was having focus issues unless it had to do with the rain I passed through between Manchester and the new tag location.

This shop belongs to a generous friend of mine; the rain I had ridden through a few minutes previously caught up with me again about ten seconds after I snapped this shot. [EDIT 20180906: this storm was so violent that it triggered floods that virtually destroyed much of the historic downtown section of Ellicott City MD, 30 miles to the east.]

Not only did I get free covered parking for my bike:



but we went to dinner to catch up on news and afterward since it was still raining (with occasional lightning) he gave me a car to get home in rather than have me have to try to negotiate wet roads with patches of high water on the ST. The man is a prince. Oh, and he also has a 1950 Harley (same age as he is) in running, rideable condition.

Anyone? Bueller?

Well the memorial rides are over, the hurricane has left and the leaves are beginning to turn. Seemed like it was a good day to move Ferris, err, the Maryland tag. The old tag was not hidden just took awhile to find the time to go get it:


I even made used of the free covered parking to shield my STeed from the harmful UV and potential sharp-edged falling leaves.



So where to move the tag? It's got to be someplace very scenic. Many of my rides last month were along the scenic C&O Canal, which is quite long and offers many spots. So here's a spot that will be dripping with color shortly:


Just to be clear, this tag is on the far side of the canal. I got there legally- how you get here is up to you:


The usual cautions apply- there is loose gravel but the road is mostly paved. Mostly. Be aware of narrow lanes and traffic that doesn't see you. Happy leaf peeping and phot tagging!

What a beautiful day to get out to Hancock to retrieve the MD tag, after Terran Sin dropped it less than 1/4 mile from an earlier location. (And in looking for the link I discovered that the last time the tag visited Hancock was just about the same weekend in October, a year previous. Maybe that's going to develop into an October tradition? Ice cream in July; Hancock in October?)



As I was entering town from the east, I spotted two ST1300s (1 blue 1 black, both sporting GIVI cases and MD license plates) at the Park 'N Dine on MD 144 around noon. The blue one also had a radio antenna mounted aft. I went in to see if I could spot the riders but alas I failed.

The tag is now installed at its latest home, much closer to MY home, to make it enticing for a short hop in case someone gets the itch before spring. Although no Motorcycle Maintenance was involved in capturing this particular tag, there was a definite \Z\e\n spiritual feeling to the new place. Might have been all the Tibetan prayer flags fluttering around.

[EDIT 11/27/2016: in the course of providing a hint to another player, I have found that my own cultural insensitivity has led me astray. I wrongly and chauvinistically assumed that "Zen" and "Buddhism" were essentially synonymous. I now understand that is the equivalent of saying that Roman Catholicism and Southern Baptist or AME or Methodist are basically one and the same because they are all Christian traditions. I regret my error. This is a place of spiritualism in the Vajrayana tradition.]

If you are squeamish about actually intruding on a place of spiritual shelter for something so secular as a tag photo, I'll accept the sign at the end of the driveway as an alternate to The Budda.

What better way to start off 2017 than to finally hit Keith's photo tag- Kunzang Palyul Choling is a center for Buddhist study and practice in the Nyingma tradition that is located off River Road in the Poolesville, Maryland area. I have to admit I was the one that hit up Keith for a further clue. I had narrowed down the list of possible sites to 3 Buddhist/zen temples but trying to use the internet aerial maps available could not match the statute of Buddha.


This temple is on nicely maintained grounds and is very serene. They also have a thriving jewelry shop on the premises.

Since I was in the relaxed and reflective mood I figured the new tag should also continue in this mindset. But in a setting a lot more accessible. The tag is this carillon.


Here's a clearer picture of the surroundings as a clue.


I'd be happy to provide an audio recording as an additional hint. You really should stay long enough to hear it!

Wow- another beautiful winter day that felt like spring!

Steve used the lovely carillon in Baker Park, Frederick as the MD tag. I had a great time twisting and winding through the maze of one-way historic streets, checking out beautiful stately old homes and churches around the park, and generally soaking in as much of the atmosphere as I could.



It always seems to happen this way: I have a new tag location in mind, and then somehow it does not end up being the place the tag ends up. And so it was today. Arriving on scene at the intended drop point I found the gates closed and the parking in front of them full to overflowing with people. The primary attraction, and raison d'etre for the location, was not exposed in a way that would have made a good tag photo so I shelved the idea for the time being and went further afield in search of something else.

I found it, stopped and took the requisite photos, and then moved on thinking my mission complete. When will I learn? Sure enough, just moments later, I chanced on this gleaming structure, all alone in the rural Frederick County countryside. According to their sign, this business has been Growing since 1985.



After that stop, I really WAS finished with the tagging part of the ride. I'll tell you about the rest of the day in the What Did You Do With Your ST Today? thread.

Good tag! I've got a friend that lives near Union Bridge, so I'll have to Detour over for the tag. I'm also interested in that bridge you almost tagged. I wasn't aware of it before. Perhaps I can bounce up to see Mumma and the bridge at the same time!

Terran Sin said:

Good tag! I've got a friend that lives near Union Bridge, so I'll have to Detour over for the tag. I'm also interested in that bridge you almost tagged. I wasn't aware of it before. Perhaps I can bounce up to see Mumma and the bridge at the same time!

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Yes, making a lovely Detour to see Mumma would be a good way to spend part of a day's ride. Some years ago now, the decrepit and decaying bridge a bit further up the Monocacy- Sixes Bridge- was finally marked for rehabilitation so it could be re-opened for traffic. It had got so bad, not even foot traffic was permitted. They had the whole structure under blue tarps and had begun work, when the remnants of Hurricane Floyd came rolling through and converted the entire thing to a mass of twisted wreckage in the stream bed.

I had some remarks all prepared about having let the tag move Slide for too long but alas, could not get the photo to go with them. Some other time, perhaps.