{"id":21199,"date":"2018-03-30T00:04:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T04:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=21199"},"modified":"2018-04-17T15:09:47","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T19:09:47","slug":"old-bay-new-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2018\/03\/30\/old-bay-new-ways\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Bay, New Ways: Experience the Chesapeake like you haven’t before"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sunrise over the bay; by Wendy Crowe<\/p><\/div>\n

Like a sunrise or spring\u2019s return, the Chesapeake Bay is something Marylanders may be guilty of taking for granted. Those steel-blue waters and fiery sunsets astonish millions of visitors each year, but for Free State residents, living alongside North America\u2019s largest estuary is old hat.<\/p>\n

Which isn\u2019t to say we don\u2019t love the bay. It\u2019s on our license plates and in our spice racks. We all have our favorite beaches, boating spots and bayside seafood joints\u2014the ones we visit summer after summer, without question. And while these are precious traditions, the routine they create can prevent us from getting to know the bay\u2014and the remarkable impact it has had on our history and our home\u2014from all its seemingly endless, awe-inspiring angles.<\/p>\n

This year, commit to experiencing the Chesapeake Bay from a new perspective, up close and personal. Don\u2019t worry: no one\u2019s going to move your beach chair, and that crab cake will be there when you get back.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Looking for fossils; by Elena Gilroy<\/p><\/div>\n

Forage for fossils at Calvert Cliffs<\/strong>
\n Ten to 20 million years ago, southern Maryland was submerged beneath a warm, shallow sea. When the water receded, it revealed the massive cliffs that now tower over the 24 miles of coastline in Calvert County. Over time, the cliffs began to erode, exposing bones, teeth and other remnants from prehistoric animals. More than 600 species of fossils have been recovered along the beach here\u2014including long-buried remains of crocodiles, camels, dolphins and rhinoceroses.<\/p>\n

To find your own relics, pack up a bag of sieves and small shovels and set off on the Red Trail within Calvert Cliffs State Park<\/a>. At the end of your 1.8-mile hike along boardwalks and through even, wooded terrain, you\u2019ll come to the open beach area. Spend the afternoon collecting ancient oyster shells and shark teeth, or simply admiring the chalky cliffs above you.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

St. Clement’s Island; by Melissa Boyle<\/p><\/div>\n

Go to church on St. Clement\u2019s Island<\/strong>
\n On March 25, 1634, two boats\u2014the Ark and the Dove\u2014arrived on a small island in the Potomac River, bringing with them the first 150 English settlers to step foot on Maryland soil. These settlers named the island after Pope Clement I, the patron saint of mariners, and (it is believed) performed a Roman Catholic mass within hours of landing to celebrate their new-found religious freedom. It was the first Roman Catholic mass said in the colonies.<\/p>\n

To commemorate those events, Maryland Day was declared a state holiday in 1903, and in 1934\u2014on the tercentennial of our statehood\u2014a 40-foot stone cross was erected to recognize the island\u2019s integral role in establishing America\u2019s enduring commitment to religious tolerance.<\/p>\n

On summer weekends, you can catch the water taxi from St. Clements Island Museum to St. Clement\u2019s Island State Park<\/a> to experience what the first Marylanders did the day they made history.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

School House Trail at Wye Island; by Anthony Burrows<\/p><\/div>\n

Look up at Wye Island<\/strong>
\n Just minutes from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Wye Island Natural Resource Management Area<\/a> is a tree-hugger\u2019s paradise. Literally. The 2,500-acre refuge contains one of the largest tracts of old-growth trees in the region. Schoolhouse Woods is where you\u2019ll find the oak-hickory forest; it\u2019s been standing since the American Revolution.<\/p>\n

On the Ferry Landing Trail, you can walk through the oft-photographed tunnel of Osage Trees, marveling at their knotted trunks and twisted branches. The trees\u2019 lumpy, softball-sized fruit\u2014sometimes called Osage oranges or hedge apples\u2014that line the ground are inedible but fun to feel and look at.<\/p>\n

But the star of the show here is the nearly 300-year-old holly tree that stands in its field like a lighthouse, beckoning visitors to sit a while in its shade.<\/p>\n

Oh, and while you\u2019re admiring all those trees, don\u2019t forget to keep your eye out for the Delmarva fox squirrel, a species that was once endangered but is now thriving, thanks to the state\u2019s conservation efforts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kayaking at Janes Island; staff photo<\/p><\/div>\n

Sleep on a desert isle at Janes Island<\/strong>
\n Ever dreamt of sleeping on your own private island? At Janes Island State Park<\/a>, you can do just that. The park operates three backcountry sites, accessible only by boat. The farthest and most remote site\u2014Long Point Island\u2014is a long paddle with a big payoff.<\/p>\n

You can obtain a permit and rent a canoe or kayak from the park office, and then it\u2019s just a 5-mile haul between you and your desert-island paradise. (Be sure to check the tide to avoid challenging currents.) Along the way you\u2019ll pass salt marshes, cormorant nests and the legendary Crisfield oyster houses.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve shored your boat, make yourself at home on one of the island\u2019s wooden platforms where you can pitch your tent and enjoy the sights. The old smoke stack across the sound is all that\u2019s left from a 19th century fertilizer factory. Every once in a while, the Smith Island Ferry will sail by, full of revelers and long-weekenders. And at twilight, no one in Maryland will have a better view of that famous Chesapeake sunset.<\/p>\n

Article by Ashley Stimpson\u2014freelance outdoors writer. Appears in Vol. 21, No. 2 of the Maryland Natural Resource magazine, spring 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Like a sunrise or spring\u2019s return, the Chesapeake Bay is something Marylanders may be guilty of taking for granted. Those steel-blue waters and fiery sunsets astonish millions of visitors each year, but for Free State residents, living alongside North America\u2019s largest estuary is old hat. Which isn\u2019t to say we don\u2019t love the bay. It\u2019s  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":21204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[3168,4371,4372],"class_list":["post-21199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parks","tag-magazine","tag-st-clements-island","tag-wye-island"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21199"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21213,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21199\/revisions\/21213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}