Tourists after the Telling: Day 7

The last storytelling performance of my week was at Mt. Storm Public Library, in the high country of West Virginia. Here I am using my raccoon puppet to tell one of my favorite stories. Although this library is very rural and remote, there were 32 parents and children in attendance.

Granddaughters Kate, Cassidy and Allison were with me for the trip home, and we took time to visit the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks. The site is not along a major route--it's several miles back on Pennyroil Road off of Rt 50. And though it's not been maintained, and there is little on-site information, it made me think about the difficulties of living there in frontier times. The location is lovely, but remote.


Another side trip on the way home--a stop at Blackwater Falls State Park. The girls had never seen the falls, and we were only a few miles away, so after a great lunch at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas we made a quick stop at the falls. (The Purple Fiddle is a neat place--eclectic, comfortable, funky and lively. Definitely worth a stop, just for the great food and atmosphere).

The water level was down but as usual the falls were stunning.

Then we were in the home stretch, but one more side trip lured us off the
track. I had told the story of Burnt House at Cacapon Resort the night before, and when the girls realized we were passing so close to that community, they begged to see it. There's not a lot to see--a few houses along the road, and a church that may have been the one from which people saw the inn on fire. It's a compelling story, and kept my granddaughters speculating about its possiblities for much of the remaining two hours of our drive.