Ward and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary by going to Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia. That's where we spent our first night as a married couple many, many years ago. When we got married, Ward was working in New Orleans and had only been at his job a few months. He hadn't earned any vacation time but his company gave him a couple of personal days to come to WV to get married. Because of time constraints, we got married on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Following the wedding, we drove 3 hours to Blackwater Falls to spend the night. The next couple of days were spent driving to New Orleans where Ward returned to work and I immediately began a new job.
We have visited the Falls since then, but more as a passing-through stop than to stay, so we decided it was time to have a longer visit. We rented a small cabin and when we weren't working puzzles or reading, we spent time exploring the park. The weather was cold and ice and snow covered most of the trails. Even though the the snow was not deep, footing could be treacherous at times especially considering all of the roots and rocks to maneuver around. There were a few slips, but no falls. Yay!
Below are pictures from our hikes.
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| Deer outside our cabin. |
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| I didn't think there were many pay phones around these days, but we found one in the woods. |
Happy Anniversary! I'm glad you got to spend a second honeymoon. :) The photos show beautiful scenery; I think my favorite photo is of the frozen waterfall! I'm glad you didn't fall on the icy trails (I, on the other hand, don't need ice to fall in my garden! :D)
ReplyDeleteThe scenery was really quite beautiful, however the camera never quite captures the beauty I see. The worst fall I have ever taken was when I was doing gardening. Luckily, I didn't break anything either.
DeleteOooh! I recognize many of these locations! My husband asked if we are going there now. :) It would be fun to see the park in different seasons. SO beautiful. Did you stay on the grounds of the park or outside of it? Did you try the ski lift at Canaan Valley (since you were the one who put me on to it in the first place)? I suppose that it's being used for actual skiing now instead of sightseeing.
ReplyDeleteA good friend of mine (who is my age, so, young! Or young-ish ....) fell over the weekend while walking on slippery pavement and fractured her arm. She may need surgery. I'm glad you and Ward were safe when you were out wandering. I discovered the joy of YakTrax last winter and wow, do they make a difference, both in where I can go hiking in the winter and in how safe I am when I do it. Might be a good Christmas gift for you and Ward .... tell your sons!
I'm sure you knew I would love this post. What a great way to celebrate your anniversary. I was thinking about that area of WV today at work--I had a patient who originated from Maryland so I mentioned that we drove through a little bit of MD last summer on our way to WV.
We stayed at the park in small, but cozy cabin. We didn't visit Canaan Valley this time. We explored Blackwater Falls more than we have had in the past and hiked several of their trails. The trails were difficult at times, but the snow added another element to the beauty.
DeleteWe practically had the park to ourselves because they were between seasons. Fall leaves were over and skiing (cross country) and sledding hadn't started yet although we did see them getting the sledding run ready. I will look into Yak Trax. Maybe they would get me out of the house more in winter if I had them.
Oh my, the falls are gorgeous! How far did you hike to get to them? Why was that payphone out in the woods?
ReplyDeleteFor the actual big falls, they have built a serious of steps (200)down a ravine to view them. Some of the smaller falls involved short hikes of a mile or so. The pay phone was fairly close to a road in the cabin area. There is no cell phone coverage there, so I guess that's one reason there is still a pay phone.
DeleteHappy anniversary! Who’s going to use the pay phone 😂
ReplyDeleteI don't know. Maybe it was put there before there were phones in the cabins. But like I said, there was no cell coverage to be found, so maybe it does get used.
DeleteThat's a great place for an anniversary! I'd love to go there, for sure, but I would probably drive my wife nuts because I would want to be looking at the rocks all the time (especially since they are Carboniferous)! None of that out here. November seems like the best time to go there (maybe, only a geologist says that). Anyhoo, glad you both got to spend your anniversary at your original place.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to travel with someone who also likes looking at rocks. :)
Deletehappy anniversary, love the pictures.
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