Day 213 - Eyler's Valley Chapel

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Sometimes my inspiration for where to go on my daily photo walk comes from a map; sometimes it is from a newspaper or a magazine; it might come from the suggestion of a friend;  however, today's inspiration came from art.

Eyler's Valley Chapel

At least two years ago, I saw a collection of watercolors that featured Frederick County.  I was drawn to the one with the stone chapel, so I snapped a picture of its title (always have camera on hand, even if it's just a phone camera), and added it to my list of places I wanted to visit.  Today it was Eyler's Valley Chapel near Emmitsburg.

My GPS took me along some of the windiest, narrowest dirt roads I have ever traveled, clinging to the side of a mountain.  I passed beautiful log cabins nestled by creeks and streams that were racing downhill.  All the while, I was praying that other drivers were approaching blind curves as slowly as I was.

Confederate Veteran's Grave

I was soon rewarded with a sign pointing the way to the chapel.  The road had turned into a paved one a few miles back, and in no time, I saw a bright green roof in the distance, with (thankfully) plenty of parking across the road. 

As I usually do when arriving in a new location, especially one as seemingly isolated as this, I drove about a mile past the church and a mile along the road that intersected at the corner, for the church sits on the corner of Eyler's Valley Road and Hampton Valley Road.

Textured Fence Post

I decided the walking possibilities were good in both directions, so I parked at the church and did just that.  First I looked in the window of the chapel.  It is a simple stone chapel, built in 1857.  The interior has simple wooden box pews and oil lamps.  There is a rope at the rear of the church, for pulling the bell in the steeple.  It probably looks just the way it would have 150 years ago.

Behind the church is a small graveyard, and through the property, which has a picnic pavilion, there is a stream.

Summit Lake

I walked up Hampton Valley Road past the church and came to the Summit Lake Camp.  It is a Christian retreat camp, located at the top of the mountain by a beautiful lake.  I will have to visit it again in the fall, to see the beauty of fall leaves reflected in the lake.  There were groups of students there today, probably on spring break, who were getting a lesson from a counselor, telling them all about the watershed and how we impact water quality with our sometimes careless choices.

Emerging Spring

I walked back down the road, paralleling the mountain stream.  The landscape was dotted with daffodils not quite in bloom and new green growth emerging from the wooded hillsides.

Stone walls in fields

I continued past the church on Eyler's Valley Road, past a farm with rock walls crisscrossing its fields.  Again, I was paralleling a stream.  They seemed to be everywhere.

Today I got my lungs full of clear, crisp, mountain air and my ears full of the music of babbling brooks.  What could be better?

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Visit my photography show, "My Maryland," at the public library in Urbana, Maryland, on the lower level of the building.  It is there until the end of April.

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots
Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use whatever camera is easy and convenient for walking comfortably; always have a backup camera at the ready in case of mishaps (I use the Nikon Coolpix P7700)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so