Weird Western Maryland

Previously, I listed the eight Allegany County locations covered by Roadside America . The site has only two Garrett County locations. Never fear, we will do better than that! Cautionary note: Some of this information I'm linking to is out of date, or was in error to begin with, as we shall see ... Accident: Town Named Accident . " The town is known for its 'Welcome to Accident' green highway signs at the north and south ends of town." Oakland: Roadside Rocket on a Trailer . " Although it looks kind of like a real rocket, this is actually an old amusement park ride." Next: Washington County at Roadside America!

Last night at dinner, Amy Armiento asked what I would write about first.  This was a reasonable question, but one I hadn't thought about. I have amassed a very long list of weird local topics complex and simple, clear-cut and mysterious, current and historical. Some will require lots of research, others could be written off the top of my head. Where to begin? On the spot, I decided a good start for this blog, at least, would be to list some of the obvious items that everyone who knows the area would expect to see covered, given how often they come up in conversation. I think of this starter list as The Canon. Two pioneering websites that cater to the weird traveler are Roadside America* , "your online guide to offbeat tourist attractions," and Atlas Obscura , "the definitive guide to the world's hidden wonders." Each has a narrower remit than my project, but as both include a handful of canonical sites in Western Maryland, I'll begin simply by listing th...