Blackwater Falls and Home

This morning dawned sunny and cold - it was 9 degrees when I got in my car at about 9:30 am!
The 1st picture below is the view from my room this morning - very different from yesterday view! The picture below it is the view from behind the lodge looking out over the valley - same place I took a picture each day - again a very different view today!

After I checked out I thought I'd go back to Blackwater Falls - there were some trails I wanted to hike. The road was snow covered but it was packed down and the sun was melting it in places so I decided to go for it. I found a short hike - 3 miles round trip - to a view of The Canyon of the Blackwater River. It was 10 degrees when I set out. Again I'd put on all my clothes! So I was warm - all but my face! I saw 2 people out walking in the nature center parking lot where I picked up the trail, but other than that I didn't see anyone. I was the 1st human to walk the trail since it had snowed!

This is the very beginning of the trail.

At one point the trail went right through a tunnel of rhododendron - would be awesome when it's in bloom! In the middle of the rhododendron I startled a bird who in turn almost made me wet my pants when it took off and flew away!

The first view of the canyon through the trees.

The canyon from the view point. I actually like the other picture better with the trees in front, makes it interesting. You could hear the river and fall rushing at the bottom of the canyon, but I couldn't see any water.

Another shot from the view point - I like it because of the rock and rhododendron in the corner - adds a little interest.

The trail was mostly flat and I was walking at a pretty good pace and despite the frigid temps I began to sweat! I ended up having to slow my pace down - I'd shed layers and unzipped everything I could but was still hot! I figured that the temp had gone up. When I got back to the car I decided that I was really hot and I didn't want to deal with taking off layers in a restroom stall again (I had to do that 2x yesterday!) since it's such a pain to keep track of layers, keep stuff from falling in the toilet etc... So I decide that since there's no one around I can just change right by my car. It took some planning ahead to get the pants off - take off boots but keep them handy, take all layers of pants off, put jeans on but don't pull them up, put shoes back on, but don't tie, stand up pull up pants, then tie shoes. At the last minute I decided it was way too cold to take off all layers and left my bottom layer of long johns on under my pants. The top was easier - I only had 2 layers on top to remove as a unit (the other layers were fleece jacket/vest) so I quickly pulled them off and dove into my sweatshirt/T-neck - for about 10 secs I was standing in the parking lot in only my bra and jeans. The whole operation wasn't as bone chilling as I expected so I was truly convinced that the temps had risen, I was very surprised when I started the car and saw that it was only 14 degrees! 14 degrees and I changed my clothes nearly entirely out in the open!

After I was dressed I headed over to the lodge to use the restroom - changing behind the car is one thing, peeing behind a tree when it's 14 degrees is something else entirely! HA! I also wanted to check out the lodge because I was thinking I might want to stay there next time.

The Blackwater Falls Lodge is interesting - lots of things that are better than Canaan Valley, but it's also an older building (I think) and seems lower on the state park food chain (not that Canaan Valley is very high!). Blackwater Falls is smaller, but it's all one building so once you are in you don't have to go outside again. They have a large common area with a view that looks like a living room with couches and tables and chairs, a large plasma screen TV in one corner, a fireplace in the other. On some of the tables there were jigsaw puzzles and there was a shelf with other puzzles on it. They also have an indoor pool and hot tub with a view!

On the main door there is this sign:

(That's my reflection in the window - not sure what the red and white thing is)

So you can't have a picnic lunch, what about dinner? Or breakfast? What if you bring breakfast food but eat it at noon, is it still a lunch picnic? Isn't WV in the "south"? I mean it's south of the Mason-Dixon line, it was a slave state, and judging from the flags being flown the confederacy is alive and well. Correct me if I'm wrong but "lunch" isn't a meal in the south is it? You have breakfast in the morning, dinner mid-day, followed by supper in the evening. So I wonder exactly what is being prohibited?

What made the sign even funnier is that I saw some folks picnicking in the lodge. Well actually it was on the lanai, ok maybe we aren't that far south, the sun room then. There were a few people sitting at the table with a soft-sided cooler on it surrounded by food on paper plates, looked like a picnic to me!

Picnic rules aside, I think I will stay at Blackwater next time I come out here.

By now it was lunch time so, since I failed to bring a picnic, I headed back down the road to a pizza joint I'd found - Big John's Family Fixin's - it's right by the Canaan Valley Resort and I'm not sure why I hadn't gone over there before now....it was damn good and it had a fun atmosphere, reminded me of Fuddruckers, but they serve mostly pizza - I highly recommend it if you are in the area!

After lunch it was time to head home. As I was heading south on 32 I decided that I'd round out my West Virginia experience by stopping at the DQ in Petersburg. I decided that a blizzard was definitely in order and began thinking about what flavor I might want - Butterfinger? Oreo? cherry? They'd had a banana pudding one once - bananas and Nilla wafers. Or maybe cookie dough?

I continued pondering the blizzard choices as I made my south east. The snow had mostly melted, but there were places where the sun doesn't shine that were still covered in snow or slush. It seems that WVDOT doesn't actually remove snow from the roads - they just sprinkle rocks on it to improve traction. One of the places still covered with snow & slush was the backside (eastern facing side) of Allegheny Mt, the top of which is the Eastern Continental Divide. The road down the backside of this mountain is steep - 10% grade - with a number of hairpin turns! There are dire warnings to truckers about testing their brakes. I would not have liked to be on that part of the road yesterday. Makes me wonder just how bad the road that goes through Dolly Sods must get if this is the "preferred" and "safer" route!

I stand corrected about the name of the tourist trap in central WV - I'd called it "Smoke Hole Cabins", it's really "Smoke Hole Caverns" - I stopped to check out the gift shop and use the facilities - I did not go for a tour.

Smoke Hole Caverns is about 15 miles from Petersburg so when I got back in the car I began thinking in earnest about what flavor blizzard I would get. When I arrived in Petersburg and saw the giant, and I mean ginormous, DQ sign - the sign is probably larger than the DQ - I was ready. I pulled in and immediately noticed that there were no cars in the parking lot. Then I noted that the chairs were stacked on the tables. Then I noticed that the drive thru menu had plywood covering it. OH. NO. The DQ was closed. I was denied. I guess it is January after all, I forget that in some places DQ is "seasonal". :( Not that it's a huge big deal, there's a DQ within walking distance from my house and about 4 others close by as well, they just aren't WV DQs.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful. It's a nice drive and a quick drive, even with all my stopping I was able to get home in under 4 hours. I didn't have to sit at one traffic light until I got back to Prince William County. I didn't have to sit in bumper to bumper traffic until I got to Prince William County. I didn't see any Wal-Marts or Starbucks until I got to Front Royal. Which lead me to a new "You Might be a Redneck if...":

You might be a redneck if the nearest Wal-mart requires an overnight stay. In your pop-up trailer. In the Wal-mart parking lot.

Overall it was a great little trip! I can't wait to go back and check out things I missed - always good to leave wanting more! :)

Thanks for reading along and enjoying it with me!