After leaving Antietam we went back to our hotel to recover from the heat for a little bit, and then decided to head back out and do some exploring around the area that didn’t involve National Park sites. I had been wandering around Google for things to do in the Frederick, MD area and discovered there was a little covered bridges driving tour. I love a covered bridge, so we plugged the first one into Maps and were off.
First up on the tour was the Utica Mills Covered Bridge. It was originally constructed in 1843, but was reconstructed and relocated after the Johnstown Flood washed it away in 1889. They were able to salvage some of the original structure and used it to rebuild a new bridge, moving it from its original location over the Monocacy River to Fishing Creek. The bridge has undergone more repairs over the years, a couple of times because of oversize trucks. As a Central New Yorker, I can appreciate the struggles of the locals having to deal with this kind of situation. Just look up the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge in Liverpool, NY.
The next stop on our tour was the Loy’s Station Covered Bridge. Built in 1848, the bridge had to be reconstructed after some idiot decided to set a truck on fire while it was on the bridge as part of an insurance fraud scheme in 1991. Fun historical fact: apparently General George Meade crossed this bridge after the battle at Gettysburg, in pursuit of the retreating Confederates.
The third of the covered bridges is the Roddy Road Covered Bridge. Which is actually the second Roddy Road Covered Bridge in this location, because people with oversized trucks continue to not have any sort of spatial awareness. We have a total of three bridge strikes for Bridge #1. The first was in 1992, but repairs were able to be made and it reopened a few months later. Then in May 2016 it was struck again, but was repaired quickly. The bridge was struck again one month later and that was the killing blow. The bridge had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt with all new timber. This is why we can’t have nice things, folks.
After leaving the bridges, we went in search of ice cream. We’ve made it a tradition on these trips that we find an ice cream shop wherever we are. Not a Dairy Queen or anything like that, but a little hometown shop where the locals go. On this day we found ourselves at Gateway Candyland in Thurmont, MD. And yes, they have candy. A lot of candy. But we were there for the ice cream, and judging from the line, everyone else in the area had the same idea on that steamy summer evening. I got a lemon/blueberry twist (yummy!) and Vance got what they call a “stuffed cone.” Basically it’s a cup of flavored shaved ice layered with soft serve ice cream. He went with a classic creamsicle combo of orange ice and vanilla ice cream. A cool and creamy way to end a hot and busy day!
