A Savage Geocache

We went for a spring-time hike to Savage Mill. The mill dates back to pre-Civil War days and was built on the rapids of the Little Patuxent River. The mill processed cotton and by the Civil War days was making canon covers and tents for the Union Army. The railroad already ran through Savage but the remaining landmark of the locomotive era is the Bollman Iron Truss Bridge built in 1869.  The design by William Bollman was used on over 100 bridges built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The bridge at Savage is the last one still standing.

Approaching the Bridge

On the bridge

Blowing bubbles off the bridge

The other end of the bridge

We had printed out information on A Boy's Bridge Cache from the Geocaching website. The cache is a mystery cache, meaning we had to find some information on the bridge and use that to figure out the final coordinates. The new coordinates led us down a trail along the Little Patuxent for about half a mile. The walk was long, especially for the toddler, but we were able to make the find.

Walking down the trail

River rapids

Near the cache

On the way back, we admired the view of what's left of the Savage Mill, which has been turned into eclectic retail shops, including our favorites The Family Game Store, Bonaparte's Bakery, and Ram's Head Tavern.

Best view from our side of the river (good thing it was early spring!)

Back by the bridge

Seeing the mill from the bridge

The old water-wheel house