×
×
homepage logo

Get to the river before school is here — summer is short and life’s pace will again quicken

By Bob Madison - For the Chronicle | Jul 15, 2022

The Potomac River is pictured here in a file photo from Sept. 2018. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Back-to-school sales already dot the aisles of some so-called bargain stores.

Precious vacation time has closing doors on our lives.

Summer’s slower pace isn’t that slow any longer as the price of gasoline, groceries and life in general have escalated at a steady rate.

Where is a relatively low-priced haven for relaxation and sending thoughts of the work-a-day world off in a cloud of irresponsibility?

Get to the Potomac River.

The nearby distance isn’t going to break your budget that is allotted for the car’s gasoline. Even if you take a picnic lunch or supper along, paying for fresh seasonal vegetables or fruits won’t ruin the comforts of the outing.

Life’s wearing pace can be slowed in the shade of trees and the “task” of flipping a fishing line in the water just below some riffles that look to be inviting to a variety of game fish.

Places for launching a canoe or john boat dot both the Maryland side or West Virginia side of the lazily paced river.

Taylor’s Landing, the paved boat ramp on Princess Street in Shepherdstown and Pack Horse Ford are all accessible to any well-planned outing.

Enough rain and showers have kept the river level at a sportsman’s level. No drought yet. No unfamiliar high water in the summer.

The Potomac in the Shepherdstown area has pools deep enough to harbor fish even on days that are too sultry, muggy or close.

In the Shepherdstown area of the river there are piers left standing from long ago floods that washed away low-slung bridges or ferry crossings.

Blackford’s Ford, covered wooden bridges, Boteler’s Ford, Blackford Ferry and the wooden bridge destroyed by a flood in 1889 are no longer providing their historical crossings between Shepherdstown, Ferry Hill, the C&O Canal or big-city (in 1862) Hagerstown.

Smallmouth bass, unwary catfish, brightly colored “sunnies” and other species are lolling away the afternoons, waiting for your plastic worms, olive and brown lures or crankbaits to entice them toward an easy snack.

Shaded areas on the river banks can be oases for a leisurely picnic break.

The river itself can be a whimsical reminder of your younger, more carefree days. Back when somebody else did the planning, secured the boat or canoe, drove the vehicle to your destination . . . and didn’t pay $4.50 for a gallon of gas.

The river doesn’t have the same siren call it once did, before adult responsibilities grabbed control of too many plans and lives.

It’s approaching August. The same question is here since first intruding on our being. Where did the summer days go? There is no answer that will give us solace.

Grab some fun before inflation takes its inevitable toll on that also.

Saddle up. Ride the current to a day you can talk about and recall with a smile you don’t even know is on your face.