I desperately needed a break from work and school, so I set out on another leisurely drives through the country. Cooler temperatures and the possibility of capturing some fall foliage added to my motivation. My first planned stop was Harpers Ferry, WV. The light was a little to harsh for my liking, but it was still worth stopping.

I spent the next morning chasing the 1916 Baldwin 2-8-0 of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. I planned on riding it that morning then chasing the afternoon train, but it ended up being sold out. I've always been a huge fan of trains especially steam locomotives, so seeing one operating was a real treat. Their route from Cumberland to Frostburg takes it through a beautiful area littered with history. These shots were all taken at Helmstetter’s Curve, one of the most scenic spots on the route.

In far western Maryland you'll find Swallow Falls State Park, which also contains Maryland's tallest waterfall, Muddy Creek Falls. There's a short, but moderately difficult, 1.5 mile trail that follows the canyon passing all 4 of the waterfalls found in park. I ran into light problems here as well, but managed to get a few keepers. This park will be on my list of stops whenever I head out west again.

One of the main goals of the trip was to travel the back roads in search of photogenic scenes. I absolutely love accidentally discovering something that makes a great photo. Of course I rarely do a good job of mapping my successes, so finding them again is nearly impossible. This is not the case with this trip. I saved the GPS coordinates of a few of these prize finds.