This is the back road to my sister's farm in Hardy County, West Virginia. Unfortunately, development is moving into the area as people from the Northern Virginia/Washington DC are discover these beautiful hills.
The road is paved now, but I remember it when it was dirt, washboarded, dusty and tricky to travel. It's still tricky because it is one lane and some people drive too fast--they haven't learned the slow pace of rural life yet.
Old black crow soars easily on the air currents on Big Ridge. In the case of this area, the economic slowdown is a good thing (to me, anyway!) because development slows down.
Daggone Virginians! You would think they would stay where they are! Hey, don't give me that "the road is tricky because it's one lane and people drive to fast", I know who drives too fast on it and it isn't those flatlander Virginians! :) Just kidding you Sue, it is a beautiful road and I am sure I will recuperate eventually from our trip to Dolly Sods. Love you. tm
ReplyDeleteWhere in Hardy County does your sister live? Mom is originally from the Trough area near Romney.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean by the DC's (not pronounced Dee Cees, but another way). They tend to think the upper eastern panhandle is part of Va or DC. They really need to slow the heck down and enjoy life.
I was reading somewhere that crows can be taught to speak and speak better than parrots...
ReplyDeleteLove your photos!☺
Wow, what a view. I agree that anything that slows development can't be all bad!
ReplyDeleteAhem. Jason, some of us Northern Virginians wander over to your neck of the woods because that's where we can slow the heck down and enjoy life. We try to slow down where we are, and we become road kill ... [grin]
ReplyDeleteBut it's like with any other temporary wanderer-through: the ones you notice are tourists; the ones you don't are visitors. We visitors are the nice ones. ;)
-- A Northern Virginian who works in DC
Very true, Theresa and Markin. It's never right to lump all people into one category. There are many good people who travel over the mountains into our state because they love and respect it. Like me! I came from there to here, and have never wanted to leave. Jason and I are both guilty of being a little myopic--we don't want the natural beauty to be spoiled, and we don't want the small communities to change. But as we all know change is inevitable. Encouraging the right kind of change is the key. I can't blame anyone for wanting to live on Big Ridge and enjoy the view, but what so often happens is that so many people crowd in and change the area so that the natural beauty becomes buried under new homes and planned landscaping. But that is one point of view and there are others who argue that the money brought in by new residents is keeping the locals, well, local because they can continue to stay in the area because there is more work. It's a Catch 22, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, Theresa! Me? Drive fast? How can this be??? I thought I was being quite sedate on that trip!
I was actually just teasing your friend / acquaintance / total stranger Jason, not giving any sort of lecture. :)
ReplyDeleteI spent my teenage years within hollerin' distance of the Virginia Blue Ridge, first in Waynesboro, then in Charlottesville (longer holler), and I still live close enough that a half hour's drive will at least bring me within sight of a faint haze on the horizon (really big megaphone distance). In that little space of time, those mountains somehow became part of my soul, always there on the periphery even if I seldom have a chance to go back. Believe me, I don't want any part of that range developed, even by nice people, if there's any way around it. I know just how you feel.
Have a great weekend, all of you. [logs off, humming Chuck Brodsky's "The Come-Heres & the Been Heres"]
I understand. As a child, if I went up into the attic of our home in Manassas and looked out the half-circle window at exactly the right angle, I could just see a little of the Bull Run Mountains in the distance. I spent a lot of time in the attic, looking at the mountains. I knew one day I would live here. So I know that longing and love for a place that wasn't mine but a place where I belonged. I've been here 35 years now, and my roots have grown deep. I understand why people want to be part of the mountains.
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