At Cass

43 and chilly this morning but a bright beautiful day now. Fog over the Greenbrier River early on, and a heavy dew on the grass.

As you might be able to tell I am not home today. I am at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in Pocahontas County, enjoying some perfect Fall weather.

This is not my first time here but its probably been 10 years since I last saw this place and it has changed a lot. For those not familiar with Cass, this is an old former logging camp with many company houses. The state bought the town in 1961 and has been slowly restoring and renovating the buildings ever since. Last time I stayed here the houses had no heat, but now they have central air and heat pumps, nice kitchen and bathrooms, etc. 

I chose Cass for a getaway because while I love all the state parks I thought it would be a good change to stay in a small town. We live in a remote place and our house is pretty much a cabin, so what I wanted was the opposite of what most people seek in a getaway location.

It's lovely here. Cool and dry, and the leaves are already changing. There is a huge maple outside our rental house that is almost entirely a glorious yellow.  Each house has a white picket fence in front.

There are plenty of things to do, if I wanted to do them. The big attraction of course is the train ride to the top of Bald Knob. I've been on the train, and told stories at its first stop on the mountain too. There is also a museum...where I've told stories as well. Then there's the very cool company store, tgins here, the river for fishing and kayaking,  lots of interesting places within a short drive.

But I don't want to go anywhere. I am happy to wander around the town, explore a little of the trail, watch the train leave, 

and sit in the swing on my porch under the big maple. Larry's been fishing and happily talking to lots of people.  Right now I am going to make some tea and then take another wander. 

Here are some photos from my morning meander. 

An as yet unrestored house.

Ruins of the old sawmill.

The water tower that supies the steam engines.

More of the old sawmill.

An engine taking on a load of water.

By the river 

View from the porch

More ruins

Train on the way!

The depot

On the back porch

opyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.