On The Road In Three States

Today I hit the road again, this time leaving Virginia for West Virginia and Maryland, although the latter was nowhere near my residence.  The first stop I made was at the Pinoak Fountain, just north of Pin Oak, West Virginia on state highway 29.  It's surrounded by chains extending between bollards.

I took another shot from a different angle.

I then resumed driving northward, went through Paw Paw, West Virginia, and crossed the Potomac River into Maryland.  As you go between states, West Virginia route 9 becomes Maryland route 51.  On the Maryland side is the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath, which is now a national historical park, and which I explored on bicycle during the 1990s.  Just north of the river is a small parking lot, from which hikers and bikers can access the towpath.  A bit less than half a mile eastward on the towpath is the Paw Paw Tunnel, where it and the canal go through a mountain.

During the 1990s, the specific years of which have escaped my memory, I made two visits to the tunnel.  The first time, I hiked through the tunnel and then returned by going over the mountain on the Tunnel Hill Trail, which meets the towpath close to the south entrance of the tunnel.  The second time, I road my bike through the tunnel and continued along the towpath for about nine miles afterwards before turning around and returning via the way I came.  This was part of my bicycle exploration of the towpath, which extends from the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland.

Today, I had no plans for any major exploration other than viewing the area and reaching the west end of the tunnel.  Near the parking lot is a grassy area that includes this old house, which may have been the residence of someone who worked on the canal.

I thought that the house had a simple rectangular design, until I walked on a little further.

As I walked down the towpath, I came across this wooden bridge.  According to the sign, it was part of a detour around the tunnel.  Someone who learned what was going on here about six months ago posted his experience on Reddit.

I continued on the towpath and soon arrived at the tunnel's west entrance.  Because it's very straight, you can literally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

From about 100 feet up the aforementioned Tunnel Hill Trail, I could see the top of the tunnel entrance, which includes a walkway reachable by the steps in the picture above.  During my visits here, I've never had the desire to walk up the steps to the walkway.

After I left the Paw Paw Tunnel, I drove back into West Virginia and continued eastward on state route 9, stopping at the Prospect Overlook, about two miles east of a small town called Great Cacapon.  The land to the left of the river and in the foreground is in West Virginia, while land right of the river is in Maryland.

While viewing this panorama, I could hear a train below me, but couldn't see it anywhere.  It became time to resume my drive.