Within two days earlier this week I lost two cameras.
First, on Sunday, it was my workhorse Canon G5. On Monday it was Jimmy’s pocket-size Sony. To say it mildly, I was bummed.
On Sunday I remembered taking pictures of our campsite at Kentuck Campground in Ohiopyle State Park. Then, I lost track of my Canon. I figured I had misplaced it somewhere in the camper. By Monday morning it was still nowhere to be found.
We were leaving soon on a bike ride along a section of the Great Allegheny Passage rail-trail, so I grabbed Jimmy’s compact Sony. We took great photos along the way … sun filtering through the autumn leaves … incredible shots of the the Youghiogheny River … a sweet portrait of the owners of the Confluence Cyclery. By the time we returned to our campsite, alas, the Sony had disappeared from my fanny pack. Double bummed.
On Tuesday morning we stopped by the Ranger’s Office and asked if, by chance, any cameras had been turned in. Shock and surprise, someone had called saying his wife had found an “expensive-looking camera” at Ohiopyle State Park. He left their telephone numbers.
I called Mark Trach, of Fairmont, W.Va., and described both lost cameras. From my description it appeared it was my Canon his wife, Cathy, had found in the women’s restroom on Sunday. Mark said they had searched for, but could not locate any Park official to turn the camera over to, so they took it home with them to Fairmont, just south of Morgantown.
After talking with Cathy, we made arrangements to drive the 1-1/2 hours south on Wednesday morning to pick up the camera. (Cathy had offered to mail the camera to us; however, since we are on the road for another five months, it was difficult to think of where to mail it … and besides, I was anxious to have at least one camera to use to document our travels.)
While the fate of Jimmy’s little Sony is still unknown, it is such a wonderful gift to have the Canon back, and to know there are still good people out there willing to go the extra mile to help a complete stranger.
Thank you Mark and Cathy Trach of Fairmont, W.Va. — you’re great people.
Photo: Good Samaritan Cathy Trach of Fairmont, W.Va. Taken by Julianne Crane with her recovered Canon.