To There and Back Again

As I mentioned last time, I was recently in West Virginia visiting with my mother. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Although we drove through rain most of the way, were still able to make decent time--7 hours with stops.

It was still raining when we got there, so we spent a while outside with my mother just listening to and watching the rain. It was very pleasant and yet another thing that you don't think about missing until you realize it through someone else's perspective.

My mother's nursing home is on a hill surrounded by woods. There is a paved walking path outside that we took her on 2-3 times a day. We saw lots of birds, bunnies, deer, and this millipede. After seeing this creepy-crawly, I figured out the difference between a centipede and a millipede. Centipedes usually have one pair of legs attached to each segment. Millipedes usually have two pair of legs attached to each segment. If you look carefully at the picture, you will see two legs attached to each part. Sometimes of them are together and sometimes of them are apart 

Every time we go to visit my mother, we sort through some of the things in her house. This time I found old papers containing this Easter Card I made in 3rd grade. The interesting thing about all of this sorting is just when we think we have found all of something, we find more. Just like I thought I had already gone through all of my things and then found more of them this time.

We decided to take the back way home and make a few stops along the way. The main destination was Blackwater Falls. This is where Ward and I spent our honeymoon, so to speak. A better description would be this is where we spent our wedding night and was the first stop on our 3-day drive to New Orleans where we were going to live. Neither of us remember much about that time other than how tired we were. So we wanted to visit the falls when we had time to relax and enjoy them.

We also saw rhododendron in the woods. Rhododendron is native to West Virginia and became the state flower in 1903.

This is the base of a rhododendron and it brought back memories of geology field camp. There were huge thickets of rhododendron, so large that you couldn't find a way around them, so you had to go through them. However, the branches were just big enough that you couldn't bend them but big enough you couldn't break them making the traverse quite difficult. Oh, and to top it all off, there were usually greenbrier vines with thorns laced through out. Fun, fun.

There's the first part of the trip. Tomorrow, I'll show you the rest. Until then...

Another trip down memory lane and elsewhere

Since you haven't heard from me for a while, you may have been wondering where I've been. Or maybe not. Anyway, I know I sound like a broken record, but I've been very busy with my houses leaving little time for much else including posting. However, I have started a few posts where I was going to catch you up. Let's see if I can finish the first one.

Over the holidays, Ward and I spent several days visiting my mother. While it's always good to see her, these trips can be intense both physically and emotionally. So, I've tried to make sure that each trip has something included in it just for fun.

This time we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and took an afternoon hike. We hiked along a trail that has been in my town for many years. When I was younger, I remember walking along it and playing in the stream and looking at wildflowers along the way. Always a pleasant experience. This time, decades later, was no exception. Except instead of wild flowers, we saw ferns and moss and mud. Lots of mud. But with some detours off the path, we avoided the worst of it.

We also took some night walks with my mother on a walking path they have where she lives. We looked at stars and the bright eyes of deer in the dark. It has probably been years since my mother has been outside at night (except in an ambulance), so these walks were special for her. Sometimes you forget about the little things like seeing the stars at night that enrich your life.

All in all, it was a good trip and a nice break from all houses, all the time. Here are a few pictures.

The trail followed a little stream most of the way.

We were lucky that in some places crossing the stream was easy. Other places it took a bit of jumping.

The ferns and moss were a nice contrast against the browns.

The deer didn't have any problems with the mud.

After the hike, we joined my mother for dinner. Her nursing home is on top of a big hill and has beautiful sunsets.

By the time dinner was finished, it was time for our walk in the dark. 

The trip home went smoothly. This time of year we usually encounter some ice and snow when we cross the mountains. However, this time all we had was a little rain and fog.