Betsy Spiker Holcomb real estate – Page 33

Deep Creek Lake Maryland Living-2010

Betsy Spiker Holcomb Deep Creek Lakes Favorite Realtor

Don’t get too cozy next to the fireplace with your usual favorite beverage on your next visit to Deep Creek Lake. The winter has consistently produced an abundant amount of snow and it shows no sign of giving up anytime soon. We all love Deep Creek Lake in the wintertime for the excellent skiing and snowboarding but don’t be afraid to step out of your normal routine on occasion and get out there and explore Garrett County and all it has to offer. Take a trip down to Swallow Falls State Park and go for a long walk around a magical winter wonderland where the waterfalls are frozen like arctic stalactites. I didn’t realize you could actually smell clean air and how invigorating it is. Get over your fear of the cold and get outside and discover a county that has an enormous amount of acreage set aside (never to be developed) for you and your family to enjoy. Load up the kids and the dogs and head down to Fork Run Recreational Area to walk the trails around the rock climbing areas. This is a great place to snowshoe in the wintertime after a huge snowstorm. Challenge yourself this New Year to excel in life and to live every day as if it was your last; let Garrett County be the catalyst for your change. I can’t think of too many areas in the world that offer you such picturesque scenery that pulls you back into nature and the feeling of being alive. Bob Dylan wrote in song once; “He not busy being born, is busy dying.” Make 2010 your year for living..

Deep Creek Lake Maryland Living-2010 — Mali deep creek lake

Deep Creek Lake Facts

1. How large is the lake?

Deep Creek Lake is Maryland’s largest freshwater lake encompassing 3,900 acres with 65 miles of shoreline. Its average depth is 26.5 feet and 72 feet at it’s deepest.

2. What type of activities go on around the lake?

A few…Boating, Swimming, Kayaking, Water-skiing, Alpine-skiing, Rock-climbing, Wake-boarding, Dog-sledding, Whitewater-rafting, Golf, Mountain Coaster, Hiking, Biking, X-country skiing, Snowmobiling, Fishing, Ice-skating, etc. Nearly every outdoor activity you can think of.

3. Does Garrett County have any state parks or forests?

Do we ever! We have 7 state forests and parks. Savage River State Forest is the largest in Maryland. This county has over 90,000 acres of publicly owned lands.

4. What is Wisp Resort?

You haven’t heard about it yet? Wisp Resort is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier four-season resort. It is becoming known as “The Little Tahoe of the East.” There are too many things happening at Wisp to list here: from a world-class whitewater course to the best snow-making capabilities in the world. Call for a complete update on Wisp Resort.

5. How far away is Deep Creek Lake?

Here are some distances from nearby metropolitan areas: Baltimore-177 miles; Washington, DC.-161 miles; Pittsburgh-96 miles; Cleveland-255 miles; Philadelphia-282 miles; Richmond-224 miles; New York-355 miles.

Deep Creek Lake Sunset

The next time you are vacationing here at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland take a little time at dusk to drive around to the North side of Wisp Ski Mountain and experience some spectacular sunsets. Even during the day, the incredible views of the surrounding mountain ranges span for 30-50 miles. At nighttime, the skies transform into a kaleidoscope of colors that will leave you in a spiritual calm.

Just a short distance from our home, we enjoy these sunsets atop Wisp Mountain on a regular basis along with our dog, Mali, who pounces us anytime the word “walk” is mentioned! This is a spectacle worth penciling on your next trip to Deep Creek Lake!!! Visit www.DeepCreekLakeProperty.com for an up-to-date calendar of Garrett County happenings.

Garrett Community Concert Band-Deep Creek Lake

Last Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of catching Garrett Community Concert Band’s Holiday Concert titled “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. It was a splendid performance with traditional Christmas music as well as Hanukkah favorites. One in particular that was new and enjoyable to me was “Fum, fum, fum”. The concert was held in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland at Garrett College’s auditorium and it was a full house.

The band, led by Musical Director Moe Turentine, is a volunteer group of musicians that was formed in 2000 and presents 3 concerts a year. Their members are from all walks – business professionals, teachers, homemakers, retirees and students. They are a volunteer organization supported by Garrett College and donors. The band also offers scholarships to students pursuing advanced music education. Their motto: “We play together out of love of music and to enjoy the company of others with a similar interest”.

They also play a July 4th concert outdoors at Garrett College, which I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy many times and highly recommend. For more information www.garrettband.org. And, for Deep Creek Lake, Maryland information visit www.DeepCreekLakeProperty.com.

Garrett Community Concert Band-Deep Creek Lake

Deep Creek Lake Major Snow Event

Deep Creek Lake Snow Event

Deep Creek Lake Major Snow Event. Alright folks, this is what we have been waiting for. There is an intense snowstorm howling across the nation that will be at our door steps while we are sleeping tonight. We have limped through this mild fall together and now it’s time to claim the spoils of our first legitimate snow event of the year

Deep Creek Lake locals are buzzing about the possibility of the 12’+ inches of snow that is forecasted to fall from the skies over the weekend. For all of you out of town ski/snowboard junkies I have this advice for you: Drop everything you are doing at work, round up your family and friends, and high tail it to Wisp Resort before the snow starts to fall. Tomorrow you’ll be rewarded with a nourishing helping of sacred powder that Deep Creek Lake has become famous for.

I will be getting under the covers early tonight so tomorrow morning I can race to the bottom of the chairlift with a child-like smile to see if I can be one of the first down the mountain on virgin powder. If you make it there and hear some tall snowboarder yelling at the top of his lungs bombing the run “squirrel cage” that would be me!

Skiing-Deep Creek Lake

Skiing at Deep Creek Lake

Skiing-Deep Creek Lake. After going through a very mild fall here in Deep Creek Lake, we finally had a significant snow event over this past weekend here on Wisp Mountain. Hopefully you have already had your skis and snowboards waxed and had the edges tuned up in anticipation of getting on the slopes to carve up some fresh powder.

Wisp Resort hands down has one of the best snowmaking systems in North America and the temperature and humidity now are perfect for making champagne powder. Although the skies have stopped snowing for the moment, Wisp Resort’s snow making operation is steady blowing a blizzard on the mountain getting ready for the grand opening on Friday December, 11th.

Snowfall has traditionally signaled Garrett County of the upcoming holiday season focusing on winter sports, good friends, family, and memorable times. Pack up your family and come join us this weekend in christening the mountain and getting a festive start to the great month of December

Deep Creek Lake Area Fishing

Deep Creek Lake Area Fishing

For all of you who come to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland to enjoy boating, slalom skiing, wakeboarding, hiking, snow skiing, snowboarding and a wealth of other great activities, I hope you are not missing out on some spectacular fishing opportunities. Fishing Deep Creek Lake is something that sometimes gets overlooked by people coming in from out of town because they get lost in the vast amount of things to do during the day.

Take my advice and slow down. Get up before the crack of dawn and get out on the lake with a pale full of golden shiners in some secluded little cove near the dam and get ready to wear out your wrist reeling in 14+ species of fish. All your favorites are here such as largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, black crappie, yellow perch, bluegill and many other species. Start your day enjoying the peaceful calm that Deep Creek offers every morning and fill up your cooler with lunch for the family.

Not a morning person? Wait for the last wakeboard boat to dock at dusk and load up your fishing tackle for a night fishing trip by the moonlight. Night fishing at Deep Creek Lake can be very, very, productive. Nothing more relaxing than anchoring up over your favorite point, throwing out a line, and waiting for a bite as the moon glows across the water illuminating your bobber. Recommended…

The Raven-Edger Allen Poe

The Raven

The Raven-Edger Allen Poe. I remember being fascinated and haunted by the hair raising Edgar Allen Poe classic “The Tale Tell Heart” in high school.”The Black Cat”, “The Cast of Amontillado”, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, and the famous classic ”The Pit and the Pendulum” catapulted Poe into literary prominence forever

On a recent visit to Baltimore to see a football game, I had the opportunity to walk the same streets as Poe and to visit his final resting place, Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, which has spookiness all in itself. Nestled among huge modern office buildings, concrete, steel, and cars, Westminster Church brings you far back in time to a kind of gothic/medieval atmosphere. Although Poe called a lot of cities home, it was Baltimore, Maryland that he married and wrote his famous poem “The Raven” which led the city to eventually name their football team after.

From the salt water of Baltimore to the cool fresh waters of Deep Creek Lake, Marylander’s should feel immeasurable pride in a genius whose words have left behind a word wide legacy.

Nor-Easter-Deep Creek Lake to OBX

Nor-Easter

This Thanksgiving I packed up the family and hit the highway for the seven hour drive from Deep Creek Lake, MD to Kill Devil Hills, NC. The news was out that a devastating Nor-Easter had pounded the mid-eastern coastline for a week prior to me leaving, and some areas along the ocean would never be the same. A Nor-Easter is a powerful low pressure system that rotates counter clock wise off the coastline and whose leading north east winds cut in the beaches with the fury of a huge saw. The water level along beach communities rises 3-5 feet above normal which causes damaging flooding and massive erosion to oceanfront properties. The system stalls for days and sometimes weeks and wipes out fragile sandbars that serve as a protection barrier for the beaches.

After arriving at the beach it was hard not to notice the amount of debris left behind by the storm. There were wooden decks and walkways shredded and splintered into thousands of pieces and left floating up and down the seaboard in the violent waves crashing on the beach. Some homes crumbled into the water from the brute force of Mother Nature never to be built again. The cleanup work is immense and septic trucks work around the clock to pump out property in flood zones. This creates a secondary problem because most of these areas are over septic fields plagued with bacteria’s. This water is then pumped into the ocean making it a more dangerous place to be for fall surfers who are chasing the storms dying energy.

I talked to my mother who lives inland in Virginia Beach and who has weathered storms there for 30 + years. She said she cannot remember any storm, hurricanes included, that has caused this much damage. It does give us all a reason to be thankful for having family and friends to lean on during such a draining event.

Lodestone- Lodestone Golf Course

Lodestone

A Lodestone by definition is a naturally magnetized piece of the mineral magnetite. It was considered a very powerful amulet in the eyes of the ancient Greeks as far back as the 6^th century. Deep Creek Lake’s newest jewel, The Lodestone Golf Course, is destined to possess that same commanding attraction upon its opening in the spring of 2010. This is a golf course that is beautifully laid out throughout Wisp Mountain capturing amazing views, rolling mountain topography, huge rock outcroppings, and two distinct personalities between the front nine and the back nine. There are many breathtaking views from the golf course and from some truly amazing homesites throughout the mountain. One of my favorite views is off the 13th fairway looking down on the lake and the Dam. It required blasting about 6000 cubic yards of pure rock to open up a view slot to this downhill par 5 to be able to see this gorgeous lake view. I’m very excited to have such an upscale golf facility to add to Deep Creek Lake’s list of fun things to enjoy. Bring your sticks on your next visit and join this Hale Irwin classic.

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