By traveler 
Some trips just happen. This was one of them. I was watching a news story on Monday, June 9th, about the extremely rare Strawberry Moon scheduled to occur on Wednesday and decided I would find an different place where I would see it. Next morning, with minimal preparation, I jumped into the Silver Bullet (SB), texted a family member I was headed out of town, and drove towards Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Now, those of you following this blog know I have been there before. Twice, in fact, in 2024, first to witness the total solar eclipse, then traveling on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. On neither visit, however, did I actually see much of the park itself.
The downside of unplanned trips is that I WILL forget something. In this case, I forgot that my usual ability to get satisfying photos from the camera on my very dependable Samsung S23+ is totally lacking when it comes to taking photos of the moon (see picture below). It would have been nice to have brought my telescope and an additional camera, but alas, twas not to be…
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
I decided to tie the national park stop to another railroad tour: this one based in western Maryland. On the drive up to Ohio, I recalled that I would again be close enough to Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a stop I was unable to make previously. When I arrived at the site of the HoF, I discovered that it was located very close to Lake Erie. I got several shots of the dock, the nearby football stadium home of the Cleveland Browns, and the HoF facilities on Tuesday night and again Wednesday morning.
If my guess that the HoF would be less crowded on a Wednesday morning was correct, then I don’t want to imagine how many visitors come during their peak times. The six floors I visited were packed with displays of pictures, instruments, costumes and other memorabilia contributed by musical artists over the last several decades. I also saw a short documentary film with clips of HoF inductees performing during the various ceremonies that ended with an extended 2004 performance featuring Prince. I have included a YouTube link to the video for your edification (the Prince guitar sequence starts at 3:30). (On a personal note, every time I see or hear a reference to Prince or Michael Jackson, I am reminded that both musicians were born just months before me, and that time is fleeting.)
The surrounding lights and amplified sound during the documentary did much to simulate a real rock concert for the audience. There were several interactive displays, one where I created the “Singin’ 1” album label and another where I was able to submit my nomination the group, Earth Wind and Fire (or is it Earth, Wind & Fire?–seems that comma makes a difference) for the HoF. Disbelieving that the group could have somehow been missed by the HoF, I found with a quick Google search that whatever spelling was used, the group had been inducted 25 years ago.
In all of my exploration of the exhibits, I missed the newest one: SNL: Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of Music, which was on the one level I didn’t reach. Damn! Oh well…
A few of the pictures I took are below.
The rest of the pictures from this leg of the trip are at https://singin1.pics/piwigo/index.php?/category/Rock-n-Roll-HOF-061125. This includes pictures of inductee panels from the first in 1986 until 2024. The 2025 inductees were part of the current display.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
For the Cuyahoga Valley National Park tour, I purchased an audio tour from Shaka Guide. I knew the park was spread over a considerable area also occupied by other parkland, residential areas, and towns, not unusual for national parks opened over the last few decades–New River Gorge is another that immediately comes to mind. (BTW, Cuyahoga Valley is celebrating its 50th anniversary!) After a bit of finagling, I finally found a starting point that synced with my GPS location and was able to begin the tour. Without it, I don’t think I would have found half of the sites I visited that afternoon. In fact, even though I didn’t walk a number of the trails and see the various waterfalls, etc., that were referenced–sorry, but the walking I had done at the HoF pretty much took me to my limit for the day. I also missed an historical house that was inaccessible due to road construction. Overall, though, it was still well into the evening before I finally called an end to the tour.
A few pictures from the tour are below:
The rest of the pictures from the second leg of this trip are at https://singin1.pics/piwigo/index.php?/category/Cuyahoga-Valley-NP-The-Tour-061125. Enlarging the map at the top of the page will show my exact locations when the pictures were taken and, thus, a sense of how spread out the park is.
Seein’ the DMV: Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
I found the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad searching the Web for tours that would qualify to be part of “Seein’ the DMV.” I’ve been in the general area many times passing through but have never stopped either because the trips were just starting or nearly ending, and stopping just wasn’t going to happen unless an emergency required it. So, this was my first visit to Cumberland, Maryland. The efforts to maintain a historic charm are apparent all around the town. There were several different train tour options available, but since this was an unplanned trip, I chose Coach as the most reasonably priced option. Fortunately, the station was set with a ramp to easily access the train, but the seating was of an earlier era. The staff offered me a seat in the lounge, which was mostly empty except when a few other travelers came in to purchase concessions.
I imagine the view is stunning with the arrival of Fall foliage (perhaps I’ll have a chance to find out, hmmm). The slow ride up the Allegheny Mountains from Cumberland to Frostburg is from a more leisurely time than today’s more hurried pace. Unfortunately, there was no ramp available for me in Frostburg, and I didn’t want to chance the effort of climbing aboard without the assist. However, the young man who staffed the concessions went WAY out of the way to see to my comfort during the 90-minute layover in Frostburg and throughout the trip. While I didn’t get a lot of pictures during the train ride, I got plenty of the square around the station. Some of them are below:
There were two wall murals near the entrance of the square. One, entitled the “Crossroads of America Mural,” extended over several panels. I have added a separate photo gallery below so that all of the pictures I took of the mural could be viewed together:
The rest of the pictures from this final leg of the trip are available at: https://singin1.pics/piwigo/index.php?/category/Western-MD-Scenic-Railroad-061225. The map that accompanies them shows the route of the scenic train trip.
Despite getting dinner and delaying my return to the DMV until what should have been after the evening rush hour, no such luck. Thank goodness I don’t have to drive in that madness on a twice-a-day basis.
As always, I thank the Lord for granting me the stamina to make the trip, the damn good reflexes to steer the Silver Bullet (SB) as she needed to be guided, and the ability to enjoy His handiwork as it whizzes by my windshield.
I have several activities scheduled in the DMV over the next month, but how many are mentioned on this blog is unknown at present. There are no distance trips planned until SB gets her scheduled maintenance done. Fortunately, that is set to occur within the next week, so my self-imposed restriction won’t last long.
I added two new songs to my Randye’s Replays list: “Y.M.C.A.” by the Village People (has anyone yet explained the irony of that song selection by the current president), “I Put a Spell on You” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and “Kiss from a Rose,” by Seal. My replays list is a powerhouse of nearly nine hours of window-shaking music!
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