Traveling West Virginia: In the Eastern Mountains

We spent the past weekend in the mountains of Pocahontas county, West Virginia, where I was presenting a workshop on telling and writing ghost stories.

It is hard to put the beauty of this part of our state into words, so I am leaving it mostly to the photos to do the talking for me.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at our favorite roadside park just outside Richwood. We were surprised to find the park already closed for the season--couldn't drive in, and the restrooms were locked up, but we could still walk in and use the picnic tables. Some of the trees were showing color; this year fall has been a big disappointment so far, with leaves still green in many areas, or just turning brown and dropping.

On the road to our b&b for the night, we spotted the lovely waterfalls below, and the old truck hiding in the woods.

One doesn't expect to see longhorn cattle here! There were others in this field, one a massive brute, but camera shy.

In Hillsboro, WV. I think this might have once been a bank? Banks in older times often had corner entrances like this. In case of robbery, they had a quick view of the streets. It also allowed them to see who was coming easily.

This gorgeous building is for sale for a mere $67,500. I'm almost tempted!

My workshop was at the Pearl S. Buck Homeplace, and it went very well. I heard stories from the participants, and we talked and talked about stories and folklore, and then they began the process of writing their stories. No photos--I was so busy and absorbed that I didn't think to take any!

That evening in Hillsboro at the Pretty Penny Cafe (a restored general store now operating as a restaurant, the incredible musician Rachel Petty was performing. We had planned to go home after my workshop, but friends convinced us to stay for Rachel's concert. I am so glad we did! She plays fiddle, guitar, banjo, and who knows what else, also sings beautifully. She is based in D.C. now, but is from Fairmont, WV.

Three other inducements to stay: first and best, time with friends we don't get to see often enough. One offered a bed in her home and the opportunity to see her night-blooming cereus open. Who can resist that! So time to talk, sing, and enjoy being together, and the opening of this exquisite flower on top of all that? It was fascinating--sometimes you could actually see the petals move, other times we'd turn around to see it had unfolded more while we weren't looking.

Another reason to stay: the weather. Very high winds, cold and snow were in the forecast for the mountains, and we didn't feel like fighting all that to get home. So we stayed put, snug and warm for the evening. In the morning, it had indeed snowed a little, and the roads were icy in places. We started across the Highland Scenic Highway, but decided to take the safer route as this one is very curvy and gets more ice and snow than the main routes in the valleys below.

Back off the mountain and on US Route 219, we were out of winter and back into fall.

And then, home. Today, I leave again, this time for Mannington in the northern part of the state, for more ghost stories. We are planning to take a route we haven't traveled before, so I'll have my camera ready!


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