I have left jobs, lost jobs, ran from jobs and wanted different jobs, but I am not sure I am happy about leaving this job. I am leaving my AmeriCorps position in Elkins West Virginia to move on to my final year as an AmeriCorps to a smaller town called Phillipi, West Virginia. After two years serving in the community of Elkins, I would have thought this move would be easier. It’s not easy…… and I am not accustom to leaving work that I enjoy and feel passionate about. AmeriCorps has been wonderful to me and I have learned to love my community and state even more because of the work I do.
It is the people that I hate to leave… they have opened their homes and hearts to me and I spent two years learning in the shadow of giants. Most of them are under dogs, scrappy hard fighters who have never had a easy time of livinging in the mountains of Appalachia. Most work long hours often on bugets that outsiders would never be able to open a door with. They make due, they know how to stretch a dollar and work past dark for little pay. It is not easy to carve out a new future from the dark wooded mountains of West Virginia’s past, but they move forward. The community of Elkins is a strong, proud group of people who love as hard as they work.
I will say goodbye the 8th of Feb and take a much need rest before I move on to a smaller more remote community. I am excited and hopeful that I can help another community bring to life their dreams for a brighter future. I can only hope that this move will be just as rewarding as my years in this mountain town.
So as my far well approaches I thought I would share some of my favorite photos of
Elkins and the people who made my term so wonderful.
This past fall Tom and I were encouraged by some work friends to explore one of the hidden gems of West Virginia. The Canaan Valley National Wild Life Refuge in Davis, West Virginia. An unusual place, high in the Allegheny Mountains, a wetland on top of the mountain, where you feel as if you have entered a cranberry bog in Main.
We were not prepared for the difference in environment that the refuge supplies. We planned our hike for a day that was predicted to be the peak fall color in the hardwoods. We thought we would be hiking in the shade of those trees. We did not bring water or plan for lots of mud. Instead, in the wetland we spent time with thorn trees that provide no shade.We found our trails blocked by wet weather springs and beaver dams. We hiked past rock outcrops and over wild blue berry bushes. We found sandy beaches and twisted evergreens, but not the leaf covered floors of my back yard woods. We spent our day a little bewildered, visiting parts of the valley that felt as if I was no longer in West Virginia at all. It was a splendid surprise and I am so glad we were able to spend our day here.
Toms family for years had a time-share condo in Canaan Valley Ski Resort area. They used it in the off-season during the summer to rest, swim, play tennis, sight-seeing and shop. They never spent time hiking or learning about the unspoiled portion of the valley. Tom was so surprised by what he saw that he now has plans to explore the rest of the refuges 16,550 acres.
Tracking an enormous black bear one morning in the mid1700s, George Casey Harness came to a spot, “on the western slope of the Alleghenies which overlooked a wide, well-watered, wooded and grassy valley. The breathtaking beauty of the wild valley so impressed young Harness that he involuntarily cried out, ‘Behold! The Land of Canaan!’” *This story is but one of the ways that the valley may have gotten its name.
Within the refuge there are about a dozen trails, all well-marked and made on relatively flat ground (easy to moderate ratings). We spent most of our time either hiking the bowl edge of the valley, while getting wonderful views of the ring of mountains that surround us, or in the bottom land walking through water. The Camp 70 Trail is the best view of the wetlands and is the location of the beaver dams. It is only 3 miles from downtown Davis, West Virginia. It was a photographers dream…. so many colors,textures and reflections to see and capture on the 2.4 mile hike into the park.
When we arrived we drove through the typical West Virginia hardwood forest into a new world that we had never experienced before.
Hwy 7 between Canaan Valley Ski Resort and Davis, West Virginia
The park spreads across the highway and covers areas that are very flat to areas that are mountainous with rocky ledges with heath bogs. The Canaan Valley National Wild Life Refuge boarders the Dolly Sods Wilderness area with another 17,700 acres of wilderness and the Monongahela National Forest with 919,000 acers.All three are worth the trip even if you can only stay long enough to walk a mile to see the splendor of the area.
Trail to large beaver pond. In the back ground is Dolly Sods wilderness and the Monongahela National Forest.
Rock choppings appear along the trails everywhere In the Canaan Valley National Wild Life Refuge.
twisted horn tree in the wet land of Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Over the course of a day we did two trails with about 6.5 miles total. We then left the refuge and headed towards Dolly Sods to see the heath bogs and a more rocky terrain. Some where between the two we ended up on a forest service road deep in the Monongahela National Forest and never arrived at Dolly Sods. We followed the forest service road for about 15 miles and ended up seeing some wonderful mountain views that lead us to Seneca Rocks State Park. We drove through some of the most beautiful places in West Virgina, and never planned it. The trip home took longer then expected but the day in the wilderness was well worth getting lost and finding our way back home again.
GE DIGITAL CAMERA
GE DIGITAL CAMERA
GE DIGITAL CAMERA
If you plan to visit the Canaan Valley National Wild Life Refuge keep in mind that many acres of the refuge are not on trail maps and the surrounding acreage are mostly National Forest or State Parks with huge land holdings you will not be able to tell when you have left one place and entered another if you are not on a marked trail. Combined these three land holdings have over 930,700.00 acres of wilderness. Each park, refuge and forest have different rules about their trails and land uses. Also keep in mind that camping is not allowed on the refuge but is in some areas of the State Park and National Forest. Get Maps… if you plan to do any cross over hiking, or off trail exploring. It is rare to hear of someone getting lost in the wetlands or forests but it can happen. Be prepared for Bear! This is bear country, while we hiked that morning (during early bear season) we met a large group of bear hunters who had gotten a bear only 3 miles from where we hiked. The group traveled with a large pack of hunting dogs, 5 or 6 of the sweetest dogs you ever wanted to meet. But, if you are not a hound lover it can be overwhelming to see 3 or 4 running at you down a trail. The men were friendly and we talked with them for several minutes about the success of their hunt and that it was the senior member of the group who at 76years old had taken the bear after hiking 8 miles to find it and another 6 to get back to a truck parked near by. All of this hunting had finished before 11am that morning. This is West Virginia and hunting is legally allowed in all of these locations with limits to non-populated areas. Become part of the “Leave No Trace” program and take back what you bring into our parks, forest and refuges leaving no trace.Making sure that everyone can enjoy all that is Wild, and Wonderful about West Virginia.
Beaver pond with reflections, Canaan Valley National Wild Life Refuge.
With my second term as an AmeriCorps Service member half over and me reflecting on what my career plan should be. I have come to the conclusion that I want to keep in the service industry and hope to work for a nonprofit. I have committed to a lifestyle, not a job.
I have spent most of my adult life living on other people’s terms… go to college, get married, get a job, and have a family. Not that these ideas are bad, they just seemed to be a little boring. I have always been rebellious, adventurous with a love for life. I want a passion-filled life, with travel, new people and getting dirty trying new things. I want something more than the 9 to 5 with benefits that colleges promise. I want more from life than punching a time clock allows. Deep inside I want to make a difference in the world.
So at the complete worst time in my adult life after surgery, heartbroken about a personal loss, and feeling unqualified to do much with a Fine Arts Degree, I started looking for work. A writer friend inspired me to stop looking for a JOB and start looking for a lifestyle. A lifestyle that reflected what I really wanted. She helped me to see that what I was looking for was career fulfillment, not career advancement. How eye-opening that moment was for me.
During our visit she shared with me her “Year of Service Story” and introduced me to AmeriCorps, the Citizen Conservation Corps of WV (more often known as the three C’s) and Peace Corps. After our conversation, I realized that my skills and passions could all make a difference right here in West Virginia, the place I love most.
I have been fortunate to serve as an AmeriCorps Member in Elkins, West Virginia for the last 18 months where I work with AFHA (Appalachian Forest Heritage Area), a regional initiative to promote heritage tourism, conservation, and education based on forest heritage. AFHA, AmeriCorps is funded in part by Volunteer West Virginia, the state’s Commission for National and Community Service and by the Corporation for National and Community Service. As a service member for AmeriCorps, I have had opportunities to meet, work with, and learn from some of the most interesting people in the state. My Site, Elkins Main Street, is deeply committed to working with local and state government officials on projects that help to bring jobs, investment, growth and prosperity to our community.
First Lady Joanne Tomblin and Elkins Main Street Director Karen Carper
At Elkins Main Street I work with community volunteers on making public art projects that preserve Appalachian culture and inspire people to take pride in their community. Working side by side with community groups like the Riverside School Association, to celebrate ethnic and social diversity, and cultural differences. Like the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebration.
Riverside School Ass. MLK Day Celebrations 2017
Also as part of my AmeriCorps duties, I am asked to take time regularly to see and experience the culture and history of the community where I serve. A person cannot begin to make significant changes to the future of a community without first understanding its past and present. We are encouraged to see a wide range of locations in our service area, from remote mountain locations to the largest cities and the oldest historic landmarks. For example, I traveled to the West Virginia Capital Complex to speak with Volunteer West Virginia about the role of the National Main Street Program.
Christopher at the WV Capitol Building
Dominic Piacentini at Bear Creek Grits Mill 1840 Summersville WV.
The AFHA AmeriCorps members are a team banded together over large expanses, doing the work of preserving and protecting the local environment, the history and culture of a people and encouraging travel and education about our unique locations. AmeriCorps is a force for good in places where times are a little harder and people need a helping hand to build on their strengths. I am proud to say that I choose every day to be an AmeriCorps service member because I want something more than a job, I want a lifestyle making a difference.
AFHA Americorps collecting trash along the Appalachian Highlands Trail 2017
So to keep from bitching about how disappointing 2016 was from my point of view and keeping my mind off another medical procedure I am planing to have this week. I wanted to lighten up and share what good things did happen in 2016 and skip my reasons to complain and just share my Joy for life, Friends, Family and Creativity.
Tom sanding floors of Christopher’s bedroom 2016
My finished Master Bedroom with new bed and paint
One of the few things I did actually accomplish after Tom and I both spent the spring recovering from surgeries was redoing two bedrooms.This is the first time Tom or I had re-finished hardwood floors and learned tons and will be doing more of the house over the next couple of years. The biggest think I learned was sometime imperfect conditions lead you to perfect resolutions. The floor in Christopher’s room had several places with water damage and some were very dark. We learned from Dan Antion a fellow blogger at “No Facilities blog” how to lighten them without having to actually remove the damaged sections if they were not rotted.I also learned, more about polyurethane then I ever hoped too this year between this project and the following one.
I poured my heat and soul into a public art project with my AmeriCorps site in Elkins, West Virginia. I helped to plan, paint and install three large 8 X 8 foot quilt block panels on downtown city buildings. It was some of the most fun I have had in years. Not only did I get to work with a great groups of volunteers I got to spend time doing art in a way that I never imagined.That Art degree finally paid off and my mom is so proud.
“Maple Leaf” installed on the side of the YMCA in Elkins WV
installed “West Virginia Star” on wall of Davis trust company.
“Log Cabin” installed on back of the YMCA Elkins WV 2016
The summer was full of time out side whether we were working, traveling or just trying to spend time together as a family. For that I am really thankful and we were able to see some wonderful places that were new to my family this year. One of my favorite hobbies is hunting mushrooms and I think I missed all of the best foraging days this year but was able to find and photograph several that I had not seen before. This photo is from the Monongahela National Forest.
I got to beat the summer heat at Cannan Valley Ski resort with some of the wonderful co-workers. Picking wild blue berries for a work Team Meeting was one of the most refreshing trips outside I made all year. We rode the ski lift up the mountain, hiked out to a point and sat on rocks over looking a valley where we ate the berries we had picked. I will never look at work meetings the same again.
summer wild blueberry picking team meeting July 2016
We ended summer with a trip deep into the mountains of West Virginia with a trip to Green Bank and Cass State Park. In all the years that we have traveled the state I think the trip to Cass is on my top five places to see in West Virginia. The train, the town, the hiking and river all combine to make this a must see place.
Scenic over look at the top of Spruce Knob by way of Cass Scenic Rail Road
Then fall arrived and my friends and family descended on our house for almost the entire month of Oct we spent time with people that we had not seen in years. First my brother came for a week to visit. We spent time sight-seeing, eating and drinking are way across the state.
The Powers family with brother Bill Lowrey at the Mystery Hole just West of Hawks Net State Park, West Virginia
Road side view of the Mystery Hole Rt#40 near Hawks Nest State Park,WV
Mystery Hole front doors… We needed to see what was in that Hole!
After a morning at Bridge Day in Fayetteville West Virginia everyone traveled the next 16 miles to the town of Ansted to see the World Famous Mystery Hole. One of the most silly and fun road side attractions in the state. This place is something you just can’t really explain unless you have been there. The fun part is trying to explain how they do what they do in the Mystery Hole and joke about what drug induced night mare inspired its construction.
Street side view of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum Oct 2016
Then a life long friend and Haunted House expert Alex came to visit for my birthday and Halloween. It had been years since we got together and it was the perfect time to take him sight-seeing at West Virginia’s most haunted location, the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and Haunted House. We had a great time on the VIP tour and got to see every floor of the old mental hospital and take hundreds of photos.We laughed and screamed inside their annual haunted house and spent time taking classic old building photos around the surrounding counties.
A Beautiful Mess in a Plaster Repair room second floor of the TALA.
Alex Smits taking photos inside the TALA. This room is supposed to be haunted by a little girl named Lilly who will play with the toys.
Long corridors along the third floor of the TALA. This is floor was used for farm workers.
Then we also added the most time-consuming project of the year! Doc takes up almost all of my free time with his walking and play times. He is not the dog for everyone but perfect for my family.
“Doc” Holiday our sleepy puppy at about 3 months old
“Doc” trying to share a chair with Tom at 5 months old… getting sooo big.
“Doc” has been a very active and funny part of our year and If I can just survive the next year with him,he will make a wonderful friend for many years to come. As of today he is 6 months old and weighs about 48 pounds. Full grown he should be about 60 pounds. He is the reason I get out walking every morning and the reason all the neighbors now know me as the lady with the big red dog. Doc will start some kind of training in just a few months. I hope to see if he is able to be used as a search and rescue dog for our local county. Time will tell if he is going to help find lost hikers and children in the mountains of West Virginia or of if he is just going eat everything insight and keep Christopher company on our trips planned for next year. I will let you know!
It was a long year in many ways. Health issues were my main topic of worry this year and some seem better while others seem to just keep me from enjoying my life as much as I would like too. So here is to a healthier 2017! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I maybe the last remaining member of my family to not have a smartphone. But when traveling to Green Bank, W.V. and the National Radio Telescope Science Center, I am not alone. This 13,000 acres of land inside the Monongahela National forest is designated as A National Quiet Zone. Residents in the area are not allowed to use cell phones, WIFI is strictly prohibited,and families are not even allowed to use microwave ovens. I am thinking, I should move to Green Bank and go back in time to a place where things were different and people actually talked to each other. A time when life was slower and communication took hours not seconds.
Green Bank,West Virginia and the world’s largest steerable radio telescope.
Many people who live in the Green Bank area either love the reason for the Quiet Zone or they hate it. Green Bank, West Virginia is home to the largest steerable radio telescope in the world. The technology is so sensitive that they could pick up a cell phone signal on Mars and when researchers received that information back on earth, they would think that your phone was the loudest radio signal in outer space.It is hard to wrap my brain around that but, that means cell phones are the “Devil” to these researchers and their work. So I feel like I may have found my “People”. These families, researchers, farmers and public employees all live in a world that is more reminiscent to the 1940’s and 1950’s then 2016. Maintenance workers at the research center are not even allowed to have gas powered engines on the astronomy property. The researchers all drive diesel vehicles so they do not have spark plugs firing near the telescope. The spark sends out a signal to the telescopes sensitive receivers.
Green Bank Science Center National Radio Astronomy Observatory
So this holiday weekend my family decided to explore the Green Bank Science Center and finally see the huge radio telescope for ourselves. I have just enough of a nerd in me to find the study of astronomy very fascinating and always jump to the chance to learn more. This research center is only about two hours from our house and is hidden in a rural mountain community so the trip was not only to see the telescope but spend the rest of the weekend in a small community called Cass.Cass State Park is home to a scenic Railroad with several passenger trains that run year around. We spent the following day riding the trains up into the beautiful forests of Pocahontas County for a restful day of sight seeing.How could we beat two great locations to visit about 15 minutes apart.
When you arrive at the Green Bank Science Center you are able to spend several hours exploring the building and grounds before actually taking a bus ride out to see the telescope up close. They have a nice interactive exhibit hall with activities for people of every age to explore. Tom, Christopher and I played with all kinds of fun devices that explained different things that they study at the science center. We took inferred photos of each other, played with mirrors and light reflections, put together huge puzzle pieces and got to see a scale model of the telescope that was beautiful.We walked around the grounds looking at some of the historic telescopes and checked out a scale solar system display.
JoLynn Powers at the Green Bank,West Virginia Science Center Exhibit Hall
Green Bank,West Virginia Tom and Christopher are my favorite Aliens!
After our lunch and time in the exhibit hall we were allowed to photograph the telescope outside on a wooden landing area just out back of the main building. This would be the last location that digital photos would be allowed.Even the smallest click from a digital camera can disturb the radio waves near the telescope, so we packed away our cameras as we boarded a small tour bus to see the megalith up close. In a matter of minutes we were within a couple hundred yards of the huge structure. Watching the huge dish move into position for recording the data that a scientist needed that day was hypnotic. It is hard to explain how quite the telescope is when it moves. We stood only 50 yards from the large base of the telescope yet you could not hear a sound of any movement. How lonely it feels to be in the dishes huge shadow and how little I feel when I think about the fact that this telescope is looking not just at our solar system but ones hundreds of millions of miles away.
photo from last safe point before entering the restricted camera area
After we returned to the bus and traveled back to the main building it was time to spend a few dollars on a nerdy telescope t-shirt and cool toys for Christopher at the gift shop. I also got the schedule of coming events. The science center hosts many child friendly events throughout the year and we hope to try to come back for some of them so ….. Christopher ( not his mom ) can learn more about space, the planets and the world we live in. This very inexpensive trip has to be the coolest thing I have done all summer.
Roof and view from visitors center of the Green Bank Science Center.
Just as a side note, I love metal structures of all kinds, bridges, towers, old piles of rusted junk, cranes, old ships, radar dishes and now radio telescopes.This man made aluminum dish is the most fascinating object I think I have ever seen. Its sheer size,the dish is larger than a football field across and around 2 acres is surface space, the height is taller than the statue of liberty and makes me want to take hundreds of photos. I love its maze of bright white structural supports with so much open spaces to look through. I could have spent most of my day just watching it slowly move on its 6 legs with 12 feet tall steel wheels that support the 8,500 tons or 170,000,000 pounds. I will one day return to spend more time with a film camera so that I can take photos really close up and enjoy sitting it the shadow of a giant.
For more information about the Green Bank Radio Telescope please check out their Website at NRAO and plan to visit one of West Virginia’s most undiscovered treasures.
It is in the woods that I find peace and my spirit is rejuvenated. It is in the forest of my beloved West Virginia that I rejoice that we live in a country that values and protects the most unusual of our natural resources. It is in our countries wisdom that they have saved millions of acres of land and miles of waterways for future generations.
West Virginia is one of the states that does not have a fully designated National Park. So for this August 25th celebration I want to share a vision of one of my states protected National Forests, Monongahela National Forest. This unique forest ecosystem is preserved at the national level within the National Park System along with West Virginia’s National Rivers, The New River,and Blue Stone, Two National Recreation Areas,The Gauley River National Recreation Area and Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, a National Historic Park at Harper’s Ferry and of course a National Scenic Trail the Appalachian Trail. All of these locations are protected for future generations buy the National Parks System of the United States of America.
The Monongahela National forest represents a wide verity of rare and unique ecosystems, natural wonders, beautiful vegetation, and abundant wild life. It is here within the forest that my family and I have spent hundreds of hours exploring, searching for that rare moment when the outside world disappears and nothing remains but the sights, sounds and smells of nature.
This National Forest comprises roughly a million acres of forest land in West Virginia. An approximate 1.3 million visitors come to the Monongahela National Forest each year.The forest spreads across the Southern portion of the state from the city of White Sulfur Springs to the Northern border of West Virginia to Maryland state line. With the main body of the forest residing on the Eastern side of the state, along US Highway 219.
Within West Virginia’s largest National Forest there is a long list of natural wonders. Some I have photographed over the years and others are still a mystery to me. Some are easy to access and others are miles from civilization. So with the help of my family I have had the pleasure of seeing much of the forest and can share just a few of the wonderful sights that I have explored over the years.
Stuarts Park campground, picnic area.
Stuarts Park has several CCC built covered pavilions with in the Monongahela National Forest. Also located within a mile of the campground/ park pavilions is Bickel Knob Observation Tower where it is possible to see about 1/3 of the National Forest and the surrounding towns.
The trip up this tower early in the morning lets us see over six different ridge tops and two small towns.
The Bowden Fish Hatchery is where the local brook trout, brown trout and the West Virginia Golden Trout are brooded for release all over the state.
We fish in the many streams and rivers in the forest. My son learns to cast at Shavers Fork of the Cheat River.
Exploring Smoke Hole Caverns on a hot summer afternoon is a treat.To spend a couple of hours under ground exploring the caves is one of my families favorite summer time trips.
Smoke Hole Caverns entrance
The slow drip of the Smoke Hole Caverns ceiling
All of these amazing locations are within the National Forest but what I am most fond of is the simple quiet beauty that we see as we forage and hike through the woods.
Mushrooms growing on a tree stump near Bear Haven Campground
Young horse at home on public grazing land at Monongahela National Forest
Summer wildflowers along a forest service road in the Monongahela National Forest
Wet wildflowers at Stuarts Park, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia
Cheat Mountain Salamander takes visitors on rides through hundreds of miles of the Monongahela National Forest. This is my favorite way to see the sights.
This train ride is headed for Green Bank and the National Radio Observatory where in the middle of the Monongahela Forest is the darkest place in West Virginia. It is the perfect location for star-gazing with professional astronomers. This is where my family and I finally got to see the Milky Way with our bare eyes.
As you can see I love my state, love my Forest and am excited to be included in this centennial celebration. Thanks to Cotopaxi Company for inviting me to take part in the festivities in my small way. I am proud to share with all of you the great work that Cotopaxi is doing all around our world and how one company with a mission can change the world one backpack at a time. I am so glad that their company supports and loves the outdoors as much a I do. Thanks for reminding us all about how important our Nation Park System is and what would be lost without our ability to explore and enjoy to great outdoors. Again Thank you Cotopaxi for letting me join in the fun!
A friend sent this to me on Face Book just a few days ago. It makes me wonder how many of us really understand how foraging can help control evasive plants. It also made me want to share this with any one who likes foraging for greens. Wild Garlic Mustard is found growing almost everywhere in the Eastern US and can be cooked and eaten like any other bitter green. Another green that is problematic in our area and across the south is Stinging Nettle. Hardy and fast spreading by seed if given the right growing conditions these plants crowed out natural flowers and plants . Animals do not like the smell or taste of the Garlic Mustard or Stinging Nettle so they are not controlled by the environmental conditions .
Forest Service Garlic Mustard flyer
Wild Mustard in Bloom
If you are in the West Virginia area and have time to help with this problem and enjoy the outdoors and cooking free wild food we could use your help. My family hopes to attend one of these pulling dates and make a nice side dish of Garlic Mustard Cakes when we get home.A dish made from boiled greens drained to remove bitterness, eggs for a binder and Italian bread crumbs fried in brown butter.
April and May is prime pulling time before the plants start to seed and West Virginia could use all the pickers we can find. We are allowed to take home as much of the Garlic Mustard as we wish but they would love for us to remove some of the plants also. For ideas on how to cook the wild greens follow this link Cooking Mustard Garlic. Hope to see you in the woods picking this spring.
As things usually go, now that everything is getting settled and the stress from the last year and the move are over, I have a cold. This one has lasted longer than usual and I am just not up to being to creative so I though a trip down some of my favorite West Virginia country roads would make all of us feel better.
Stonecoal Lake, Lewis County West Virginia
In the summer time every thing is green and lush. Many times this is the view you see as you pass by one of our large lakes. This one just happens to cover two counties Stonecoal lake is one of the states largest lakes. It is a lively place with fish and ospreys that sore and deer who drink quietly at its banks.
Old cabin in Cleveland West Virginia
Almost every country road here has one of these old cabins. Many are for hunting in the fall and winter and in the summer you would think the cabins are abandoned. This one is one many that I have fallen in love with over the years.
Mr and Mrs Tenney’s barn Ten Mile West Virginia
Like cabins when driving country roads you will always see lots of barns and most of them are still in use. The foundation of the barn is from the 1800’s and has been recently updated with a new roof and siding.
Vine covered shed with wild roses in Middleburn, West Virginia
There is just something so beautiful about this old tool shed. Taken over by time and flowers it shows the beauty I see every time we drive a back road. The mix of the old with the new.
Hunting Bus Hacker Valley, West Virginia
One of the many junked cars, trucks, buses and tractors that have been left to return to the wilderness. I find many of them so fascinating. This one got cut in two about a year after this photo and dragged away to the scrap yard. I kind of miss seeing it when we going fishing farther up this old dirt road.
Seneca Motors, Seneca. West Virginia
Are you seeing a trend here? I like old rusty stuff. The thought did cross my mind to show off the wonderful rock formations in the Seneca Valley but I have yet to get a good photo of them so maybe next year. instead I fell in love with the town and its river and its old-fashioned stores and friendly people.
Jim Devricks, Mowing his hay fields.
Mini Donkeys in Ireland, west Virginia
If you travel around West Virginia on country roads long enough, you will get to see this scene replayed a thousand times every summer. The summer measures out by mowing,bailing and feeding of the hay to the thousands of animals West Virginians love.
Randy Brown tiny Sago rd. Chapel, Buckhannon, West Virginia
Another huge part of life in the mountain state is church. I have heard that there are more churches in West Virginia then there are people. I have no idea if that is true, but I have never seen more churches in my life. This is the smallest chapel east of the Mississippi River and only has 4 pews and a small parking area. This is the only chapel that I know that is open 24 a day 7 days a week. I pass it on the way to Christopher’s school and always think of the family who built it as a memorial in 1964.
Almost every one in West Virginia has taken time to fish in a farm pound. You may even find a snapping turtle or a muskrat making their home in the muddy edge. My older son caught a huge bass in a pond like this one when he was little.
Moss covered rock along Ten Mile creek. Ten Mile, West Virginia
The mountains of West Virginia are deep and lush and every things covered in moss and leaves. It is the story book forest of Hansel and Gretel.Where a person needs bread crumbs to find a path back home.
The Mystery Hole near Hawks Nest, West Virginia
side view of VW bug at the Mystery Hole
As you can see from the photo of the Mystery Hole, Mountaineers love to laugh and try new things. This wonderful road side attraction is actually one of the funniest experiences a person can have. Travel back to the 60’s and have the world turned up side down ( Literally) on you.It takes several minutes to regain your bearings after a trip to the mystery hole.
Cobblers Shed along the road in Helvetia, West Virginia
There are lots of immigrant towns in West Virginia. Most are built by Swiss, Italian or Irish families and many have wonderful architecture. This one is one of my personal favorites. Helvetia a Swiss settlement in the mountains where they have a wonderful restaurant that serves town made cheeses, honey and cured meats.
I-79 south Gassaway area
Even our highways twist and turn and have the feeling of entering another world. As the sun and clouds rise on an early fall morning,I just could not help but enjoy the view of the clouds rising through the trees. Even our interstates have the feel of a country road.
Moundsville State Prison, front entry, Moundsville, West Virginia
Then if you are lucky enough to find a town you may find that their some of the most beautiful stone buildings hiding in our towns and cities. Where you can take a break from the long rides on the twisty roads and explore the history of these wonderful buildings.
Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum , Weston West Virginia.
In West Virginia you really have no idea who you may meet along the country roads. As we drive I find it is always better to travel with friends. I hope that my little road trip gave all of you a little better idea about why John Denver wrote his song about my state. Just remember it is always better to share a country road with friends even if it is the Muppets.
One of the best things about West Virginia is the amount of wilderness, meaning fewer people and less civilization. Making West Virginia a perfect place to do star-gazing, and Radio Astronomy. Hard to believe that hidden in the woods of West Virginia at Green Bank is The National Radio Astronomy Observatory. These are the type of telescopes that inspired the movie ” Contact” with Jodie Foster. Where the Astronomers are listening to the world of outer space. At Green Bank they also encourage visitors to enjoy their reflective telescopes to see all wonders of our galaxy. So when my son said he wanted to plan his 6th birthday around trains, camp fires and the stars how could I say no.
Cheat Mountain Salamander train ride to the stars
One of the offerings that Astronomers from Green Bank give to visitors is the option to do a Star Gazing event once every year on their property that is only accessible by train. No high way, no logging road, no hiking trails on the 13,000 square miles of US Government land. Access is just a historic railroad track built about 2 century’s ago to transport coal from the high lands of Pocahontas County to the lower flat land of the Ohio Valley. The idea for a short ride on a local tourist train was a perfect way to transport visitors to the remote location to take photos, learn more about Astronomy and ride into the past on a restored diesel train and cars. Add in the fact that they allow you to have a camp fire and roast marsh mellows you have a great time planed for everyone who takes the night train to the stars.
As this was Christopher’s birthday adventure we made an afternoon and evening out of the trip. We started our train themed fun in Elkins, West Virginia at The Depot Restaurant that uses train themed photos and paintings as the decor. All while being able to walk the grounds of a fully functional and restored 1800’s Depot. This is also the main office for the Cheat Mountain Salamander, the New Tygart Flyer, Mountain Explorer trains. For more information about the trains and their trips Contact www.Mtn-Rail.com. The grounds around the Depot showcase a traditional turn table and tussle style bridge that leads to loading dock of the Depot.
Christopher 6th birthday dinner at the depot restaurant balcony
view of train bridge from The Depot Restaurant.
train bridge over the Tygart River, Elkins West Virginia
After a nice walk to the bridge and the river we shopped some at Delmonte Market across the street from the depot.We found a large selection of hand-made and country themed gifts and toys. This was one of the hand-made items in the beautiful store. Recycled bottles with Decoupage flowers and lights what a nice way to use dried flowers.
flower bottle lamps at Delmonte Market
After the shopping we headed south on Rout 250 to Huntonsville then through two very small towns to the Monongahela National Forest to the Cheat River Bridge where we found our loading area and started the evening ride up to Linen WV.
restrooms and depot at Cheat Mountain
Christopher looking out the window of our train car
We then rode the train for about 45 minutes to a small dirt landing. We disembarked the train and walked up into a field that surrounded us on 3 sides with nothing but trees. A fire was lit, roasting sticks for marsh mellows gathered and the sun began to set as the Astronomers set up their equipment. While we waited for the sun to set I got this last photo of our train before it disappeared into total darkness.
night train parked at Linen landing WV. Darkest location in the state of WV
by 8:30 pm we were in total darkness and this is what the train looked like.
the night train at Linen WV in total darkness
What happened next was astonishing, I have always loved the night sky, moon and the many planets, but I was not prepared for what I was about to see. The limited light from a moonless sky was enough to move around comfortably with out walking into anyone and the telescopes had small red lights to help us locate them in the field. I was just amazed that in total darkness the stars were soooo bright!
I do not have the words to really describe what it was that we were able to see. From tree-lined horizon to horizon there was nothing to block our view, no lights were visible in our valley meadow. The only light was from the stars themselves because we had arrived here on the New Moon making it easy to see the most distant stars with out aide. As Tom and I found a spot for our folding chairs with our backs to the restored train landing we both looked up to the Northern sky to see the slowly dotted sky fill with a cloudy dust of the Milky Way. Each individual star suspended in space, slowly became two than ten than twelve hundred. The numbers and colors slowly expanded into the ribbon of the Milky Way from one horizon to another. This river of clustered stars outshone almost every star in the sky. With Millions if not billions of tiny lights glimmering it is impossible to not feel alone and part of a larger whole all at once. The big planets shown with the red-orange of Mars and the cold blue of Vega. The constellations blinked in perfect form, each one leading the eye from one white pin point to another until you discovered that you were looking at the opposite horizon watching Scorpio slowly descend below a wall of trees. We sat in total darkness for 2 hours barely speaking and those that did speak whispered as if to use an adult tone would somehow effect the reverence for the stars. We took turns looking into the telescopes and watching the Astronomers point out constellations with a laser pointer. Yet, every time we returned to our seats to enjoy the smell of a smoldering camp fire and the billions of bright white stars in the sky, we felt nothing but Peace. It was the most enjoyable two hours I have had in years.
Milky Way Crop
This time in the woods reminded me of the years that Tom and I would set up a camp site in the back yard to our older son Cody.We let him camp in our pasture behind the house on a hill. It was fun for me to lie on my back and look at the stars with him when he was 8 or 9. We shared a moment of happiness at its most simple. This trip expanded this feeling of happiness to something deeper and larger. It was very moving and fueled my interest in astronomy again.
As families and scientists prepared to re-board the train the temperature had dropped to 45 degrees. The air was cold and we could all see our breath but no one complained. We filed to our seats for the short 45 minutes back down the mountain and no one raised their voices. We spent the time laughing with strangers and reminiscing as if we are all long-lost friends… We were all happy, including the sleepy birthday boy.
I'm a mother, wife, artist, writer, community developer in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. Originally from the mountains of Boulder, Colorado. I have spent the last 27 years with my family in a small town of less then 4000 were we spend time outdoors living close to the land. I garden, fish, hunt, forage and cook in traditional ways and share Appalachian history and culture with my two sons. I love old buildings, bridges and farms. I love a good ghost story and have been known to dress up for Halloween. I hope you enjoy my stories about our life where you might not have cell service, many of the roads are just numbers and people still want to know your name.
For anyone who has ever thought of attempting the #vanlife, A Life of VANity is an unfiltered, realistic look at the unglamorous day-to-day happenings of life in a Chevy G20 Conversion van. Unlike other #vanlife blogs, A Life of VANity is here to show you that it isn’t all roadtrips and ocean-side views, and that there’s nothing wrong with living in a backyard or two.
West Virginia Mountain Mama 