My foot was bothering me, so this was a fairly low-key day as far as hiking went. But it was an enjoyable day, all the same.
First up was Beartown State Park. Beartown is a small day-use park that features large rock formations of the Pottsville sandstone (locally known as Droop). The park features a half-mile boardwalk that winds through large boulders covered with moss and lichen and erosional cavities. It was hard to get pictures that really show the unique beauty and whimsical feel of the park. But we tried just the same.
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The road into Beartown State Park. We had another beautiful day of blue skies and no rain.
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| The area was named Beartown because early settlers thought it had many good dens for bears among the rocks. |
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| Many of the rocks had ferns growing along the edges, appropriately named fringe ferns. |
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| The boardwalk went up, over, and down between the crevices. |
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| They said some of the lichens growing on the rocks were over 100 years old. |
We visited a few other places as we wandered around the area. |
| In Hillsboro, we saw the birthplace of Pearl Buck. Unfortunately, they closed early, so we didn't get to view the house or museum. |
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| Next, we tried to visit the Pocahontas County Museum. It was also closed when it should have been opened. The people at the visitor's center said there had been an illness in the family of the volunteer who runs the museum. |
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| We explored the small town of Marlinton, the county seat of Pocahontas County, WV. |
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| On the other side of the building was a mosaic of tiles made by people in the community. (The tiles were ~ 8x8") |
Then it was back to our condo for leftover spaghetti and a couple of mystery books. The next morning, we packed up (after we finished our books. Didn't want to be left hanging with the "who dun it") and headed home.
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| On the way home, we stopped at Seneca Rocks State Park. They always impress. |
Currently, we're home, have done our laundry, and have most of our things put away. Now it's back to the realities of everyday living, like mowing grass and paying bills. But we had a wonderful time on our little getaway. Until next time...
