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Postcards from Smiley
Have you ever needed a local’s advice on where to go, what to do or how to get around? Ask anyone at Smiley’s to be your local guide and we’ll do our best to help you find fun things to do on your vacation. Here are some ideas!
- Greetings from Swallow Falls!
- What’s A Youghiogheny?
- Welcome to the Sub-Artic!
- I Just Saw A Bear!
- I’m Kickin’ Back at the Little Yough Music Festival!
- Take me out to the Ballgame!
- Was it Really an Accident?
- The Line for Peaches Goes Quickly
- Discover the Dance of the Indians
- It’s Half Price Pizza Night!
- Here’s Something to Stop & Think About
- It’s Art in the Park Time!
- “Ceud Mille Failte!”
- Let’s Go Hiking!
- The True Story of Negro Mountain
- I'm Feeling Crabby!
- More Stuff to Know
Bring the family to Swallow Falls State Park and take the 5 minute hike down where the Youghiogheny River flows along the park’s borders, passing towering hemlock trees and ancient rock formations to Muddy Creek Falls- a crashing 53-foot waterfall. It’s a spectacular sight, so don’t forget to bring the camera for some of Maryland’s most breathtaking scenery. For a real adventure, camp at one of the park’s 65 wooded campsites – stop by for a pizza-to-go at Smiley’s – just in case you forget the can opener. –Smiley
Besides being one of the hardest names to pronounce (us locals and river rats just say ‘the Yock”), the Youghiogheny River actually begins in Garrett County and travels to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. The world is smaller than you think! The riverbed is steep and heavily forested, dropping an average of 100 feet in elevation per mile! The result is magnificent – beautiful waterfalls and enticing rapids. When the water is high, there are 23 Class IV & V rapids for rafting or expert kayaking. At the lower levels, it is an incredible trout habitat full of trophy fish. This is what I’d call Wet & Wild! –Smiley
Prehistoric bogs and forests in Garrett County? Yup – the Cranesville Sub-Artic Swamp. Okay, it’s not really a swamp (which means trees living in standing water), but a bog, where plants and animals lived when conditions were cold from the last ice age. Of course glaciers never came this far south, but the weather was much colder. The temperature still remains cooler than on the slopes of the surrounding mountains because of its elevation and a natural pocket created by the mountains. There are still ‘relict’ species of plants and animals here (that means they remain from the “Ice Age”). Check out the carnivorous sundew plant – just don’t get too close! Just kidding, it sort of resembles a Venus Fly Trap! -Smiley
Since I haven’t seen a real bear in these parts (and I’m not sure I want to), I decided to make one up – at the Tourist Trap’s Animaland! I was there for my friend’s birthday party and everyone got to choose their own animal, stuff it, select an outfit (I decided on Smokey the Bear overalls!), fill out a birth certificate and take my new friend home! We went to my place, Smiley’s, after and had burgers, cheese fries and ice cream cake! –Smiley
Pack a picnic and a big blanket or lawn chairs and head to small town Oakland every Friday evening in July for our Summer Music Festival. Your whole family will love these free concerts along the Youghiogheny River. A little blues, a little folk – even a little Zydeco! I’ll save you a place! – Smiley.
We’ve got Semi-Pro Baseball in Garrett County and you can join me every Saturday & Sunday, beginning June 2 for our league games. Here’s a bit of history – This semi-pro baseball league was founded in 1949 and our Oakland team has been in this league since 1973. The teams come from MD., PA., & WV. The ballgames are at Garrett College, just a mile from Smiley’s Batting Cages at the Funzone. So after the games, see if you’ve got what it takes to make this league – or the real pros! – Smiley
When you travel north on Route 219 from Deep Creek Lake, you’ll pass through the town of Accident – that’s right. Being a local, the question I get the most is how did Accident get its name? There are several accounts, but the one that we all seem to agree on is when Lord Baltimore opened western Maryland to settlers in 1774, William Deakins and Brooke Beall set out to survey the land. When their work was completed, the two men discovered they selected the same tract to survey. One of them supposedly said that the same selected land was “by accident.” Stop at the Accident Bakery for some of the freshest breads and sweets around. – Smiley
One of the best things about living in small town America is that every Wednesday and Saturday during from spring to fall, I can get delicious, locally grown & fresh-picked vegetables, fruit and berries at Oakland’s Farmer’s Market. I also buy wonderful baked goods – and pies – you don’t even want to go there. If you go (and you should), take a drive to see some of the beautiful farms and pastures of the Mennonites in Gortner on Route 219 south. It’s worth the short drive. -Smiley
A family adventure not to miss is Sacred Fire-Sacred Drum at Deep Creek Lake State Park Discovery Center every Wednesday night from June thru August. From the circle of fire come the story telling, drumming, songs & dances. Don’t forget the blankets and flashlights – and some marshmallows for toasting! – Smiley
If it’s Thursday, then it’s half price pizza at Smiley’s! I’ll be here all day munching on the lake’s best tasting pizza. And you adults can get a draft beer for only $1! I’m going to work off the pizza playing the Dance, Dance Revolution! But you can play anything you want. Stay all day and play with our Miles of Smiles All Day amusement pass for only $30! See you Thursday! – Smiley
Did you know there are only 12 stoplights in all of Garrett County? How many have you seen? Garrett County is the second largest county in Maryland, with 648 square miles. With about 30,000 residents, that’s only about 47 people per square mile! Now that’s the open space I love! And the reason for only 12 stoplights (one is only about a quarter of a mile from Smiley’s)! –Smiley
One of the coolest parts of this event, aside from the fabulous work of our local artisans, is that you can take a couple of hours from boating and dock at Deep Creek Lake State Park Discovery Center to view artists’ work right on the shores of the lake. Gorgeous jewelry, pottery, photography, paintings, baskets, and so much more. You’ll love the live music and festival-style food. This annual festival is July 14 & 15 this year. Hope to see you there! –Smiley
“A Thousand Welcomes!” Bring your clan to the annual McHenry Highland Festival at the Garrett County Fairgrounds. It’s the first weekend of June each year; this year June 1-3. There’s everything Celtic you can imagine. Look for me in my Scottish kilt! The big festival is Saturday where you and the family can see Scottish athletic competitions, dancing, live music, crafts, bagpipes, sheepdogs and more. I’ll be bringing my English Springer Spaniel to show my true colors. Celebrate Celtic! –Smiley
I’ve been here for more than a decade and still haven’t hiked on all of the trails in our state parks. Of the 150 miles of maintained hiking trails in more than 90,000 acres of forests and mountain landscapes, my favorite trail is the path of 19th century explorers to reach the broad view from atop St. John’s Rock on Savage Mountain – about a quarter mile northwest of the old Braddock Road. It’s not just the wildlife sightings you’ll see, but the history that sends chills –even down this sun’s spine! In 1908, Harvard professor John Kennedy Lacock led a party of students and teachers in retracing the old Braddock Road, resting at St. John’s Rock, an elevation of a mere 2,930 feet. –Smiley
Travelers passing the highway sign, "Negro Mountain," on I-68 in Garrett County are always stunned by this highest point on the Historic National Road, Route 40. In 1756, during the French and Indian War, a force under a frontiersman named Colonel Thomas Cresap, had a skirmish with a band of Indians on this mountain. One of Cresap’s men, a giant man of African descent – one version says he was a slave of Cresap’s named “Nemesis”, while another describes him evasively as an “African American scout” – was killed and buried on the mountain, giving that landmark its name. It’s not everyday that one stumbles across a monument to African American bravery, let alone one that dates back to the 19th century. –Smiley
Here's a well-known fact in the Deep Creek Lake area. Pine Lodge Steakhouse has the best crab soup anywhere. Creamy Crab Soup, a local’s, as well as, visitor's favorite, rivals any crab soup, even ones from the Eastern shore. I don’t know what the secret is, but I do know this famous recipe is from one of our local legends! Pine Lodge is open everyday at 11 am so you can start filling up early! –Smiley
Here’s some more little-known facts to tell your friends. One is that the air is so clean here that vehicle emissions testing is not necessary. Or that it is consistently 10-15° cooler here than in the Baltimore/Washington area and summers rarely get warmer than the 80’s. How about the fact that the Eastern Continental Divide runs through our county meaning most of the area drains to the Mississippi River and not the Chesapeake. Or that you can bring your dog to Smiley’s outdoor deck in the summer while you dine on our famous wings, cheese fries and drink them down with a cold draft beer. -Smiley