2007-04-05 Too Much Patina - By Rick F.
Peter Egan had a column in Road & Track not too long ago where his wife remarked that his latest used race car purchase had "excessive patina." Her point was that it wasn't just nicely aged--it was pretty much junk! Well, a lot of the places that I stop to take pictures of also seem to have too much patina.
This past Saturday, I rode up to New Freeom, PA, to visit with some friends. I love log cabins, and this one must have an interesting history--including the apparent addition of a faux stone wall and fireplace? (Why would anyone do that to such a cool old home?)
Another place that baffled me a lot was an apparent Old West style town on Grave Run Road. It had several very old buildings right along the road (which turned out to be the pre-Civil War town of Roller), and the whole thing had been set up to look like a cowboy town--complete with a boarding house, general store, "Doc's Office," etc.
In the background, there were a couple of ponds, a pretty 2/3-scale covered bridge, ... and a guard tower??
Well, it turned out that a couple of brothers from Scotland decided to convert the town of Roller into a Wild West-themed Christian summer camp for kids. This all happened in the early 1950s, and it's still being used this way (River Valley Ranch, in case anyone is interested). It's a pretty setting, and it was fun to "discover" it out in the middle of nowhere.
Nearby Roller Road, incidentally, climbed up and down hills, bent and twisted around, and was scenic. But all too soon it turned back to pavement.
Spring seems to be slow in arriving in northern Baltimore County...
...but at least the grass is getting greener. (Don't tell the farmer who owns this land that I had to ride clear across one of his fields to get this shot!)
I just love finding old places like this, nestled back in the woods. This one is definitely well on its way to having excessive patina:
Weatherwise, it was a pretty gray day last Saturday, but winding roads and scenic spots just popped up every time I turned around:
Speaking of log cabins and too much patina, I'd say this family didn't get their money's worth when they bought that new-fangled siding...
Fortunately, there's no patina on this jewel!
A fun ride up and back, for a total of 100.7 miles.