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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Road trip: Boone County and Traveling North

Wharton Elementary, deep in the heart of Boone County, West Virginia and coal country.

It was Harvest Day, and the children dressed up to represent the various cultures and heritage of our area. Some had creative ideas about who lived in these hills.



This conveyor to a coal tipple was a typical sight on this trip. There were several big mines--some deep, some strip mines--along Rte 85.




Rain hit as I traveled north on I-79. One thing I saw that almost made me wreck my car--a big bobcat making its slinky way across a small patch of grass along the road and into the woods. As long as I have lived here, I have only heard, but never seen one of these cats. Their scream is terrifying, but I did not expect the cat to be so big. Usually nocturnal, the one I saw was out in mid-afternoon--perhaps his resting place had been disturbed by the rain? Of course, there was no way to take a photo because it was raining, I was going fairly fast and a semi was passing me. Darn.



The fog was beautiful but dangerous, so dense it was difficult in places to see the road ahead. But as I crossed the Eastern Continental Divide in Pendleton County, the rain vanished and the roads were clear for the rest of the four-hour drive.


2 comments:

  1. Wow - the foliage photos are just beautiful. The colors in the last one are stunning - my favorite time of Fall is when the greens and the oranges are mixed. We have a super long conveyor belt like that on our way to the mountain place, and I have always wondered what they were mining.

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  2. The colors were incredible, Mouse. I could have spent days just taking pictures. There are many more I just don't have time to post. It's addictive, taking pictures! I would bet your area is ablaze too--I've only been in NY state once, and it was late October. The colors were striking even then in the wine country where we were.

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