Birthday Falls

 

It was my birthday week. Even though the fact is that I am now officially old and creaky, I had a most glorious couple of days.

We started out by going to Pickett CCC Memorial State Park which is just down the road from Kathy's place. Besides having lovely hiking trails, Pickett has been designated as a Silver-tier International Dark Sky Park. I don't think there are very many Dark Sky parks out east – way too many people and lights. If there is even a little street light on, it diminishes the stars. But...we were not there during the night, we were there to hike. We brought all the dogs and we allowed them to run off-leash. They had a blast. It was such a nice day and I was very happy to be out walking in the woods.

Almost to the Pickett Cave

dfdf

Amazing what Flora does to survive and grow. 
This was on the edge of a rock overhang.

On my actual birthday, Kathy took me to the big metropolis of Cookeville to Mauricio's Restaurant. Great Italian food served in a renovated residence that was built in 1910. The atmosphere was atmospheric – they played some of my favorite music from the 40's and 50's. That set me off later on a Louis Armstrong/Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin listening binge.

You can't have a fancy meal without dessert

We had such a leisurely lunch that we almost didn't make it to the next adventure on the list. Burgess Falls State Park...Why you ask? Waterfalls – four of them! First waterfalls of this year's road trip! What a spectacular way to spend a birthday. We arrived at the park about 3:15, the park closes at four. Not only do they close at four, but there were several signs about how they were going to immediately tow your car at four. The trail along the falls is 1.5 miles but is listed as moderately strenuous. Kathy and I are up for the challenge. In hindsight, I would not classify the trail as all that hard, but it was a fun trail. It felt so good to again be in the woods, with the added bonus of the falls. Just as we were climbing the last hill to the parking lots, two rangers show up and tell us, in no uncertain terms, that the park is closed.  I think we were one of the last cars in the parking lot.  We made it without getting towed. 

The first falls - a 20' cascade

30' Upper Falls

80' Middle Falls

The Grand Finale
130' Lower Falls

 Thanks Kathy for a great birthday.

Time Spent In The State Pen

 

I spent the next few days putzing around western Virginia. Again I was surprised by the topography. Lots of mountains all dressed in their Fall colors. Gee, I'm almost poetic there. I drove up to the little town of Clintwood, in the heart of Appalachia, to the Ralph Stanley Museum. For those of you who don't know, Ralph Stanley was one of the pioneers of bluegrass/mountain music. Pioneer is rather a strong word though because mountain music has been around for centuries. Perhaps I should say that Ralph was instrumental in popularizing and bringing it to the general public. He has a special place in my heart because Tony and Dave opened for him in Saint Paul during his Saints and Sinners tour. He played Saturday night in a bar and Sunday he was playing at the House of Mercy church. It was a good museum and an excellent docent.

The campground I stayed at in Big Stone Gap had lovely surroundings,
but I couldn't use their water - it was brown and nasty looking.

The ex-owner of the campground repurposed all of the dead trees

Big Stone Gap had a three mile trail that surrounded the city. Miko and I hiked it every day.

Western Virginia is right next to Eastern Tennessee, so of course I had to stop in and see my friend Kathy. Lots of laughing and eating as is the norm when we get together. Another reason I like stopping there is that one of Kathy's friends is a diesel mechanic. My beloved truck had a milestone birthday when she crossed over the 100,000 line. I was able to get all the necessary maintenance items taken care of, which takes a load off the ol' mind.

Our first field trip was to the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. This is a maximum security prison where they sent the “worst of the worst”. Their motto seems to be “Brushy was the Damnation of many of an evil man and the Salvation of a humble few”. James Earl Ray(MLK's assassin) was one of the inmates. The prison was active from 1896 to 2009. The prison itself is nestled right into the mountains and the landscape is so pretty, the prison not so much. I could not believe how shabby the interior has gotten (perhaps it was always peeling paint?) in the few years since it closed.

James Earl Ray escaped into those hills and lasted 54 hours before the bloodhounds found him.

The entrance hall - so very inviting.

Some inmates had sentences of 200 years.

The guys in solitary had one hour a day to exercise here.

There was a restaurant and I got the "Killer Potato"
Pulled Pork, Bacon, Cheese, Sour Cream, BBQ sauce
I didn't have to eat for days!

A Little Culture In The Big City

 

I was planning on spending a week in Washington D.C. But then I started looking at extended forecasts. It looks like all across the central U.S., temperature highs are going to be in the fifties and lows in the thirties. I thought that I had better start moving a little bit quicker (but not too quickly) in a more southerly route. So, Washington D.C. is off the books.

You cannot go to Richmond Virginia without a visit to the Edgar Allan Poe Museum. Richmond was where Poe spent his early years as a foster child. Poe made a decision early on that writing was what he was supposed to do with his life, hence he had rather a hard financial life. Although he is mostly known for his poetry and short stories, he is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. Interesting facts: He married his thirteen year old cousin (move over Jerry Lee Lewis). The cause of his death is not known, but there were some very strange circumstances. What I found extremely interesting though is that I've always heard that he was a drunk and never-do-well. Turns out that is not totally true. He had a rival who loathed him. After Poe's death, this person spread all sorts of sordid rumors about him and his character which have become “established” facts.

The Museum of Fine Art had a wonderful exhibit on Man Ray: The Paris Years. He was a pioneering photographer, although he considered himself more a painter than a photographer. What was cool was that when he lived in Paris , he did portraits of many of the art movers and shakers of the twenties and thirties eras. To see these artists and be reminded of their influence on modern day life, most of them in their prime, was a treat. Picasso, James Joyce, Salavador Dali, Gertrude Stein, among others.

I particularly liked the glass exhibit, especially as it contrasted with the Oglebay glass that I had seen a few days earlier. From the spectacular everyday glass in Wheeling to the Chihuly and Tiffany glass in Richmond.

Tiffany

Chihuily

This was sort of an optical illusion.  See the next picture.

Look how skinny it is looking at it straight on.

Of course in a town like Richmond, there had to be some Junior Ranger opportunities. First up was the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site. Ms. Walker is known for the first chartered bank in the United States founded by a black woman. I got confused because I was thinking that I was going to the C.J. Walker site (another black woman who has the distinction of being the first self-made woman millionaire). I was surprised that I wasn't where I thought I was. Maggie L. Walker was a good charitable, god-fearing woman.

My other Junior Ranger opportunity was Richmond Battlefields. There are multiple visitor centers but only a few are open. I went to the Cold Harbor site. The entire visitor center was a tiny little building with a few displays with one lone little ranger. Now, let me be upfront in that battlefields are not my favorite. Since I was the only one there, Ranger Nathan took me under his wing and explained the ins and outs of the Cold Harbor battle. I have to say that Ranger Nathan brought it to life with his enthusiasm. At one point, I was on the edge of my seat..will General Lee prevail? Will that no-good McClellan hold forth. I felt like I was there watching the battle unfold. Well done Ranger Nathan.

I know I'm back down south when I can get my Pimento cheese.  The Fireball is just a bonus.

I Can't Keep Track Of Where I Am

 

Driving thru northern West Virginia is a little strange. The northern border is not laid out very straight. I was almost dizzy reading the signs as I drove down the road.

Welcome to West Virginia.

Welcome to Pennsylvania.

Welcome to West Virginia.

Welcome to Maryland.

Welcome to West Virginia.

The drive itself was beautiful, the leaves were at peak and the mountains were full of color.

I stop for the night at another Harvest Host. This one is a Creamery and restaurant. No cows here, but good food.

I stopped for two nights at the Hollywood Casino, not to gamble but it was a free place to park and it was close to a site I wanted to see. This is my fourth night boondocking with no electrical hookups. Normally, this is not a problem, but it has been four solid days of cold, cold rain. My solar panels have not been able to keep up with charging my batteries. Eventually the sun came out but I found it rather stressful, watching my battery power going down, down, down.

Harper's Ferry is a National Historical Park. Harper's Ferry is considered a Historical Park and not a Historical Site, Memorial etc because there are so many facets to it. You have George Washington choosing to establish an armory here, innovations that fueled the Industrial Revolution, Civil War (the town changed hands eight times during the War), and we cannot forget John Brown who helped propel the nation toward the Civil War. There was much, much, much to learn here. It is situated right on the corner of West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.

A picturesque town Harper's Ferry is

This is where the Shenandoah and the Potomac River come together 

John Brown's Fort - where he made his last stand

The sun came out finally and I landed at another Harvest Host site - The Suttler Post Farm Clydesdales, the home of Maryland's only six-horse hitch. I picked this place because it was close to my friends Phoenix and Jag. They came over to the farm and joined me for a farm tour and then brought me home with them for a stellar dinner.

Well Hi!!!

I like this picture of JAG

These guys are huge - look at the size of this horse shoe

It wasn't all giant horses.  Meet Clyde, an 18 year old African Tortoise.

Side note: I was at the Clydesdale farm for one night. It took me almost a whole week to get rid of all the flies who decided they wanted to travel with me.

What More Do You Need?

 

We've got glass, carvings, toys, buttons, injuries and dead people.

I'm moving east and I'm traveling quickly. Well, quickly is a relative term. I only like to drive 2 ½ – 3 hours at a time. JoggerCat and Miko do not like to be in the truck and being the good mom that I am, I indulge them. I'm actually pretty happy only traveling that fast also but it means that getting across the country is a slow, slow process.

I lucked out and was able to score four days in a state park. Being able to do this was amazing as most state parks are booked out a year in advance. I was in Salt Fork State Park, Ohio's largest state park. I did something rather stupid when I was there. My first day there, I take Miko for an evening walk. I was planning on just walking around the campground roads, but then I saw a trail head. Wow, just ¾ of a mile, piece of cake. I did not take into account that it was starting to get dark, that it was drizzling and I had no idea what type of trail it was. The trail was marked by Orange squares on the trees. It started getting so dark, that I could hardly see the orange. Then it started pouring rain, which made it even darker. Have I mentioned that it started lightning and thundering? Not off in the distance, but like right on top of me. I started trying to run thru the woods, trying to get to the end of the trail quickly and my foot caught in a root. Bam, went rolling down the hill. All in all, I made it out, but my leg is bruised up and swollen. Oh well. The rest of my days at the park went well, got some hiking in and only ended up with two wood ticks – one on Miko, one on me. It still was enjoyable.

I made a side trip up to Dover, Ohio to see the Ernest (Mooey) Warther Carvings Museum.  Warther was a self-taught Master Carver.  He was particularly fascinated with trains.  Each train was anatomically correct with thousands and thousands of pieces.

Made totally out of Ivory.  He would only use ivory from elephants that had died natural deaths

Ebony and Ivory

Functional pliers all made from a piece of wood shaped like the bottom. 
Mooey could carve a single set of pliers in under twenty seconds

Mooey's wife was no slouch either.  She collected buttons.  

In this room, there were over 73,000 buttons

Ok, we all know I'm a sucker for "Specialty Museums".  Also located in Dover, Ohio is the Famous Endings Museum.  It is located in a mortuary.  Evidently, the owner of the mortuary started collected memorial programs for famous people and decided to display them.  There were astronauts,  generals...but the ones I found most interesting were the ones for people in the entertainment business.

I head for Wheeling West Virginia to another Harvest Host business. This one is the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum. I will have to tour the museum as part of the Harvest Host deal, but I'm not particularly excited about it. What I am excited about is the Oglebay Glass Museum. Love, love, love glass. I unhook the truck from the camper, kiss the animals goodbye and head up into the mountain. West Virginia doesn't have very many flat surfaces. The Oglebay Glass Museum was interesting in that it was not focused on “art glass” but on everyday glass. Evidently, Wheeling WV was the glass making oasis of the east coast.

Pretty

Named after the First Lady Frances Cleveland (late 1880s)
Frances is not a pattern but a decoration characterized by a yellow rim on frosted glass

Wheeling Peachblow

Iridescent glass with a metallic finish.  It was developed in 1908 and became widely popular until World War I.  After the war, it was given away as prizes at fairs and carnivals, hence the name. 

I just thought this was pretty

The Kruger Street Toy Museum was not particularly interesting to me. That said, there were some little tidbits that entertained me. It is located in an old school and it was rather dark. On the positive side, they had four free pinball machines that you could play as much as you wanted.

Lots of different train layouts where the trains were actually running.  
This one was made all of Legos

I've become a sucker for beautiful old cars