Susquehanna State Park / Harve De Grace
Lancaster, PA Week One | Hiking in Susquehanna State Park, MD | Harve De Grace, Maryland | October 2023
During our first week in Lancaster, Curtis had one day off, which we chose to spend hiking and exploring along the Susquehanna River in Maryland. We had been impressed by how wide the river was when crossing it on US-30 into Lancaster County, and were eager to see more of it, especially where it empties into the Chesapeake bay in Harve De Grace. We drove South into Maryland, crossed the Susquehanna on US-1, then went South to Susquehanna State Park.
Once in the park, we drove to the Rock Run Historic area, where we parked and started on a short hike through the woods. While Catoctin Mountain Park, further West in Maryland, had shown signs of fall colors beginning when we visited a week prior, it was still very green here, and the woods were heavily forested. While we were walking, I thought I smelled something familiar, a somewhat sweet but rotting scent. We soon discovered the source: what looked like rotting mangoes were lying scattered around the ground, and some still clinging on high up in the trees. They weren’t like the mangos in our yard in Hawaii, but the scent was definitely very familiar, as were the leaves. Turns out, we think they might have been Paw-Paws which are closer to papaya than mangos and are native to the area. More research is definitely needed before Curtis can start eating them, but it was just so bizarre seeing what looked like a tropical fruit in Maryland of all places.
Curtis managed to find a letterbox on the trail, then we made our way down to the bank of the Susquehanna, and the gristmill that is still running. After some more letterboxing, we made our way back to where we parked, passing by the Carter-Archer Mansion.
As the noon hour was approaching, we decided to continue our drive to Harve De Grace to see the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay and grab some lunch. When we found out that we would be staying in Lancaster for a few weeks, the first thing that came to mind when thinking of things to do was eat Maryland soft shell crab, and today we were determined to do just that. We drove to the Southern end of town, to the Millard Tydings Memorial Park and marina area, and got lunch at the Promenade Grill right on the water. We ordered way too much food, but enjoyed the soft shell crab, crab cakes, chowder, and hush puppies with a view of the bay.
After our big lunch, we went for one more walk at Concord Point Park, around the lighthouse, monuments, and piers. We read about some of the War of 1812 history of the area and played Pokemon. We spotted some herons and a bald eagle, and enjoyed seeing giant wooden carvings of many other birds along a boardwalk.
When planning our day, we were also thinking about driving further West to another state park for more hiking, and to get another new county. But we were satisfied with how much we had done today, and since Curtis was now working 12+ hour days, we thought it would be best to take it easy for the rest of the afternoon. And so we drove back and enjoyed resting at the hotel for the rest of the day. Little did we know that today would end up being the only day off with good weather, so those other plans would remain unfinished this time around. Oh well, something to look forward to if Curtis is ever assigned to this plant again!
