Artist Studio Tour-Garrett County Arts Council. The 4th annual Artist Studio Tour is on the horizon for this weekend on Saturday, July 28th from 10am-4pm and Sunday July 31st from 1:00pm-4pm and is brought to you by the Garrett Count Arts Council. This event gives everyone a chance to drive around beautifulGarrettCounty and pop by local artists working studios and experience a vast collection of various styles of art. Enjoy watercolors, photography, paintings, jewelry, sculptures, wood crafts and many more art categories for your viewing pleasure. Take some time and talk to artists first hand on how they are inspired and support them by purchasing a piece of their inspirational creations.
If you are like me you have a Charlie Daniels song floating around in your head after hearing these words. “Fire on the mountain, lightning in the air” goes the old country rock classic song. Well this year we got a little bit of fire and lightning. The event normally commenced at 9:00pm’ish but was delayed a bit this year because of a huge hail/lightning/rain event that backed up the starting time 45 minutes or so.
In case there are a few of you out there that have no clue what I am talking about; Fire on the Mountain is a Fourth of July fireworks event that lights the sky above Wisp Ski Resort every year here at Deep Creek Lake. People line Highway 219 for an optimum vantage point. Or they come by boat to sneak in close to the resort, sit atop Wisp ski slope to catch an eye level view of the fire show, or go to Deep Creek Marina to witness the show while enjoying the new line of boats available for the summer season. Make sure you put this exhilarating event on the calendar with the kiddies next year if you didn’t make it to this year’s event.
Accident Maryland Annual 4th of July Parade 2012. This parade represents United States small town living at its finest! The annual 4th of July parade in Accident Maryland is just a few minutes outside of popular Deep Creek Lake. This event just screams All American, apple pie, good-time living, and I think the hundreds of people who jammed the streets of this town would certainly agree. I have families that are of college age who have been participating in this parade since they were in diapers. They made the pilgrimage from Virginia and Wisconsin to once again be involved in this parade. It was a treat seeing an assembly line of vintage cars, floats, fire trucks, marching bands and folks on horseback. Garrett counties own Delegate Wendell Beitzel and Maryland Senator George C. Edwards also participated in the parade. My beautiful and newly pregnant wife Betsy and I relaxed street side in the shade under a huge mature Silver Maple dreaming of the day in the near future that our child would start his or hers participation in this fantastic event. Be sure not to miss it next year!
Blackwater Falls-West Virginia. Do you want to experience a fun day trip? This weekend I took a step off the everyday path and took a Sunday drive to Blackwater Falls, which is a stone’s throw from Thomas, West Virginia. The drive is about 45 minutes or so from the resort end of Deep Creek Lake. The drive alone is worth the price of admission, passing through beautiful rustic farm country and ascending & descending some of the highest mountains that Maryland and West Virginia have to offer. The reward at the end of the line is Blackwater Falls State Park, a fantastic place to experience with your family and friends. From the welcome center, it is only a short walk down the gorge until you are literally in the mist of this mighty waterfall. There are many tiers along the walkway so you can experience the falls from many different vantage points. This can be very therapeutic for those of you who live the busy city life and whose lives get caught up in a web of daily gridlock. Take the family on a little spin South of Deep Creek Lake and experience Garrett County and beyond.
I’m not afraid to be the broken record here at Deep Creek Lake by yet again bragging about perfect temperatures here at the lake. Seriously! You can’t make this stuff up! Late summer mornings on the lake are ideal for your recreation of choice or just kick off your shoes and take a load off.
Here’s a thought…Go rent yourself a Kayak, find yourself a nice glassy shoreline and round up your sweetheart to go for a lazy adventure. Come on people, this is a sport that you don’t have to be a triathlon champ or a muscle head to enjoy. Gently dip your paddle in peaceful DCL and get yourself a nice chill glide going. Take notice of the amazing views that you may have passed before too quickly on a boat. Kayaking is a great way to absorb new things around the lake that you have overlooked before. More importantly it’s a great way to calm your mind while having a delightful experience. Don’t put if off any longer. Come enjoy this special time of the year when the crowds have thinned down and the lake is perfect for this fantastic sport.
Mystical mornings and crystal clear afternoons have dominated the last couple of weeks here at Deep Creek Lake. Here we are in the middle of August, a month where time seems to slow down with some calculated understanding that slowing your mind down helps your senses focus on what a special time it is here on the lake. This morning the lake was blanketed in a cotton ball fog. From our deck you could see the sun beautifully dissolving the mist revealing another super day here in Garrett County.
Lazy, late summers has a cult attraction for some visitors who understand that the traffic on the lake slowly starts to scatter after last week’s Garrett County Agricultural Fair. Humidity is always low in Garrett County, MD in the summers, but this time of year it seems that it is nonexistent. The clarity and depth of mountain and lake views reigns supreme during the last couple of months before what I hope to be an upcoming Indian summer. Note: Indian summer is an expression given to a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, typically in late October or early November, after the leaves have turned following an onset of frost but before the first snowfall. Source Wikipedia.
I love the soothing lifestyle here on healthy Deep Creek Lake and intend on maximizing every minute away from work enjoying all that it has to offer here in late summer.
Wisp Resort will be holding their infamous CHILI COOK-OFF this Saturday August 7th from Noon-5:30 pm. Come taste many different interpretations of this famous San Antonio dish dating back to 1731…yes, that’s right…Texas that is! I have researched it and there is a misconception that chili is a Mexican dish. The history books will steer you to San Antonio, Texas where early Spanish settlers by order of King Phillips V arrived from the Spanish Canary Islands and made a spicy “Spanish” stew that later became what we now know as chili.
The key ingredient to this world re-known “stew” is hot peppers and in some cases, a lot of them! Some chili enthusiasts pride themselves in preparing a chili that is nuclear hot with the hot pepper being the star. Other cooks like to layer the smokey flavors of cumin, chili powder, onion, beef, and kidney beans, with a hint of spice from the hot pepper. I believe the key to a great chili is a delicious flavor base, and for me that is a bottle of Newcastle beer. I also like to combine ground beef, ground pork, and ground turkey with the other “regular” ingredients. If you think you can take the heat, then bring your brave taste pallet over to the hot pepper eating contest. Size up your hot pepper eating skills against other fire bellies.
General admission is $5 for adults, $3 Children (7-12yrs), 6 and under is free, which includes entrance to the event, Music, Children’s events and 5 tasting kits.
Cooks may contact John McCracken at 301.387.4911 ext. 2211
or email jmccracken@wispresort.com for information.
Here is a schedule of events
11 am Lighting of the Stoves
12 pm Gates Open
1 pm Mr. Hot Sauce & Ms. Chili Pepper
1:30 pm Salsa Turn In
2 pm Splash Contest
2:30 pm Chili Verde Turn In
3 pm Pepper Eating Contest
3:30 pm Red Chili Turn In
4 pm Wet T-Shirt Contest
5:30 pm Awards