Where's the Crab?

 
Photo by:  John Haworth

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) blue crab is out of hibernation and scuttling around for the summer! This week, he has crawled upstream and onto a bike to explore one of the area’s many incredible bike paths. Can YOU guess which path along which Bay tributary he rides today? You have until 5 p.m. tomorrow to make your guesses known! Enter your guesses as comments below. First correct answer gets a free CBF T-shirt!

And the answer is...

Ok, you got us!  So…we may have had some technical difficulties and forgotten to change the “C&O photo” file name…whoops! (We assure you these games will be more of a challenge in the future!)

In any case, yes, it IS the Potomac River and it IS the C&O Canal towpath. In honor of National Rivers Month, the CBF blue crab was biking alongside the second largest tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. This mighty river has its roots in the mountains of West Virginia and flows steadily to the west to reach our estuary. It passes historical towns such as Harper’s Ferry, WV, where the famous abolitionist John Brown raided the federal arsenal there in 1859. When the Potomac reaches its fall line—where it stops flowing downhill and becomes tidal—it runs passed our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Finally, it widens out and meets the Chesapeake in between Smith Point, VA and Point Lookout, MD.

The C&O Canal bike path totals 184 miles in length and runs on the Maryland side of the river from Washington D.C. all the way to Cumberland, MD. .  It is an incredible resource for area residents to get outside, ride a bike, and see the scenery alongside the Potomac. If you live in the area, make sure you use this public gem.

And congrats to both Erik Michelsen and Donna Cole, who together guessed the correct answer! Please send your T-shirt size and mailing address to awickline@cbf.org , and we’ll get them in the mail to you.. 

                                                                                                                                                                        —Adam Wickline

Unfortunately, the Potomac, like many of our rivers and streams, is severely impacted by sediment and nutrient pollution (http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=495). To find out what YOU can do to help clean up the Potomac and other rivers, go to www.cbf.org/getinvolved.

To join our Blue Crab in his love for biking, sign up to become a Cyclist for the Bay at http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=672.

Comments

[Erik Michelsen]

Potomac River

[Donna Cole]

C & O Canal/Towpath - photo file name gives it away?

[Franc]

Thanks for the post. Now where can I find my own crab costume?

[Adam Wickline]

Haha, Thanks Franc. This one was a custom job. But a quick search on google for crab costume will yield some results. I will say, however, that a blue crab is hard to come by online. If you do find one, let us know!

[Adam Wickline]

Erik and Donna, congrats again on your combined correct answers! Please send me an email with your shirt size and address and I'll get those awards to you as fast as possible. Thanks!