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The official photo blog of J. David Buerk Photography.

Patapsco Valley State Park - August, 2023

Back in August last year, I hiked a stretch of Patapsco Valley State Park with some friends - this trip was a local hiking version of “I know a spot,” because much of the hike took us off trail, through shoulder-high snake and tick paradise, and up and down steep mountains covered in thorn bushes I still have a few marks from.  But it was rewarding, worth it, and I now have some locations in mind for more creative ideas I’d like to coordinate.

Patapsco Valley State Park, nestled in the abandoned town of Daniels (formerly known as Elysville), Maryland, is a sprawling natural haven offering a blend of picturesque landscapes and historical intrigue.  Within its bounds, the park houses remnants of a bygone era, including two abandoned churches that stand as silent witnesses to the passage of time.  These forsaken structures, draped in vines and surrounded by the park's lush foliage, evoke a sense of mystery.

The small industrial town born in 1810 around a textile mill, however, its prosperity was short-lived.  The mill closed in the late 1960s, prompting the evacuation of nearly 90 families.  Tropical storm Agnes in 1972 further sealed its fate, flooding the town and leading to its complete abandonment.  Today, Daniels is a ghost town marked by crumbling stone ruins, decaying wood, and graffiti-covered remnants of its past, including the Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church, Pentecostal Holiness Church, and remnants of the old dam and bridge.  The town serves as a poignant reminder of a bygone era swallowed by nature.

After beginning the hike by immediately wading across the Patapsco River, we made our way into Daniels, and began seeing remnants of the ghost town.  Well traveled, and easily found, our first stop was at the graffiti and street art covered Pentecostal Holiness Church, which was destroyed, like much of the town, by Tropical Storm Agnes and the deluge of runoff water in 1972.  Only some of the walls remain as canvases for artists and taggers, and the bell tower stands tall, but decaying, among the trees.  Hidden in the back is a mural of a very posh woman with a bottle of champagne, which has sadly begun being defaced by other graffiti taggers.  Inside is a paper airplane; it’s not immediately clear if by the same artist, however the styles seem quite different so my guess is they’re by separate people.

Next was some off-trailing, which took us up a steep mountain, along a long fallen tree to avoid some of the deep grass likely inhabited by unseen predators, and finally to the first of several abandoned cars.  Many of the cars, which were washed downstream and deep into the woods by flooding, are nowhere near any trails, which either follow the Town of Daniels’ original roads or branch off in spots for utility and fire road access.  Making our way back to the main trail downhill, on a safer and more direct route, we headed toward the next abandoned church.  Along the way, we spotted the offshoot leading toward it, but decided to proceed to the end of the trail to explore the main trail before getting to the main attraction.

The St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church, dating back to the early 1800s, burned down in 1926, and were subsequently abandoned along with its adjacent cemetery that is home to local families and individuals, with some gravestones dating back to the Civil War era, and others obviously marking WWI losses.  The stone church walls remain largely upright and intact, and are mostly devoid of graffiti, and I truly hope it stays that way - graffiti and street art can be beautiful, but it needs the right place and to be self-aware of its surroundings: boring plain abandoned walls that are basically giant canvases with lots of foot traffic nearby?  Cool!  Beautiful antique stonemasonry covered in ivy and moss in a valley bathed in warm sunlight with barely any visitors?  Uncool; stick to the ugly bare industrial, and leave the antique beauty to be enjoyed as it decays naturally.  St. Stanislaus Kostka Church reminded me of The Forest Temple in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

As the sun began entering the golden hour, we made our way out of the dense woods and back onto the main trail heading back to the trailhead to go get some much needed dinner.

T. F. Green Airport

Foreward in 2021

These photos in this post are from 2018; long before SARS-CoV-2 was a concern or worldwide problem.

As with the photos I recently posted from my 2017 trip to Rhode Island, the following is a collection of photos shot in 2018 which I’ve had in my personal backlog to edit and write about for several years.  I only recently finished editing and composing this post alongside others from the same trip due to the sheer volume of images.

T. F. Green Airport

In 2018, I went on a roadtrip to visit with my friend Alyssa and explore more of her home state of Rhode Island.  Normally I’d fly, but due to variable timing it made more sense to drive, and it allowed me more freedom to change plans on the fly.  As it would happen, my chance meeting with a firefighter based at T. F. Green Airport would benefit from this flexibility.

Early in my trip, after a morning of exploring downtown Woonsocket and introducing me to some Rhode Island staple cuisine, I spotted an antique fire truck parked in front of a fire station while driving back to Alyssa’s; I had to stop and get some photos.  While checking it out, the owner came out of the fire station; turns out this fire truck is privately owned - it’s not owned by the fire department.  The owner is a firefighter who bought and restored the 1972 Maxim F ladder truck, which is an especially unusual sight today with its open cab.  In talking with the owner, it turns out he is stationed at T. F. Green Airport (PVD), so we had lots of aviation stuff to talk about.  As it became clear we could easily kill half a day chatting, we traded contact information and talked over the next few days.

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During my chance meeting the firefighter, we’d discussed my connections to IAD and DCA, such as my multimedia roles, and interfacing with the airport police and fire departments for various projects.  Since then, we’d arranged time to meet up once again, while he was on-duty at PVD’s airfield rescue and firefighting station so he could give me a proper airfield tour from airside.  I love airports, and I love airport people!

I arrived at the ARFF station and met up with my new firefighter friend who was very eager to see me again.  Unfortunately part of our plan fell through, because due to other duties going on that day he was left without a service vehicle (beyond an ARFF truck, which you can’t exactly take out without a full crew in case there’s a call).  But no biggie; we still hung out airside for a few hours trading stories and watching aircraft taxi and take off.

T. F. Green’s airfield is interesting because its ATC tower and ARFF station are located on the opposite side of the passenger terminals; this is common (and normally necessitated by response time requirements) for ARFF stations, but although not unheard of for ATC, less common.  This location opposite the passenger terminals gave a much wider, different perspective of the airfield than one would normally get while simply catching their flight.

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At mid-day, this was a slow time between banks, when most aircraft were in the sky between destinations; this was on purpose so the likelihood of a call was lowest.  Just after I arrived, one of the New England Patriots’ private aircraft landed after performing practice maneuvers in preparation for an upcoming aerial display; you can see it taxiing back to its hardstand.

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2018 National Night Out with the MWAA Police Department

Until only a few years ago I had never even heard of National Night Out.  I still don't know when it is until it is happening as it's not something that's usually on my radar.  That was the case again this year, when I went to DCA to photograph a newly opened store; though I knew the MWAA PD and FD would be participating in National Night Out whenever it was, I didn't realize it was that day until I arrived in the afternoon and they were just getting started... directly in front of the store I was on site to photograph.

After asking a few officers to kindly get the hell outta my shot, I completed the photoshoot I was there for, and then proceeded to stick around and check out the booths MWAA PD had set up.

Why yes that is a $10,000 thermal scope.

Why yes that is a $10,000 thermal scope.

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Arsenal of Democracy

The Arsenal of Democracy was a memorial flight of vintage military aircraft flying unprecedentedly close to the core of Washington, DC, through airspace that is usually the most secure on the Eastern seaboard, taking place on May 8th, 2015 - the 70th anniversary of VE Day.  I'd known about the plans for the Arsenal of Democracy long in advance, thanks to my fortunate connection to the flight's Air Boss, who was a crew member I know from 2012's Space Shuttle Transport missions.  His insights confirmed the suspicions of many local plane spotters - that the Jefferson Memorial would be the most ideal spot to watch the historic flight.

If you can believe it, I had never been to the Jefferson Memorial until that day.  When I arrived, I met with a few planespotters I know from my coverage of airline events at Dulles.  A crowd had already gathered on the Jefferson's steps, awaiting the aircrafts' arrival.

It was at this point that the TBM broke off for emergency landing at DCA.  We were listening to the ATC comms and our hair stood on end when we heard them repeatedly telling the tower they were on fire.  It wouldn't be for several hours that we'd learn the actual cause for the cockpit smoke the crew encountered was caused by a hydraulic leak - you can, and should, watch the pilot's first-person footage of the emergency landing.

Fifi, an aviation buff favorite.

The display ended with the traditional missing man formation breakoff.

And of course, since I had never visited the Jefferson before, I had to see the inside of the monument before leaving.