In POCO

57°f/14°C, light breeze, mostly clear.

POCO is the local slang for Pocahontas county, WV. It is one of the most rural and most picturesque areas of our state.

Below is the cabin my son rented for last weekend.

And inside:

and looking outside:

Just a charming place, well restored and modernized.

These are scenes from the road leading to the cabin.

The fish hatchery:

The Rev. Bernard Coffindaffer apparently passed through on his mission to put three crosses on prominent hills throughout the state. While many have fallen into disrepair,  these are still in good shape. 

Offices of the fish hatchery:

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

More Race Photos

49°f/9°C, clear, light breeze.

A few more photos from Saturday:

Above, Aaron in the center, with his team members. One is a preacher, the other works for the power company. So, power and "higher power"! 

Below, granddaughter Grace (very bad photo, sorry, Grace), daughter-in-law Jaime,  and granddaughter Sarah sport their medals.

Granddaughter Haley used to compete when she was a teenager and would like to get back into it, but an ankle injury sidelined her this year. On her shoulders, maybe a future competitor, her nephew and my great-grandson Ryland.

In the beginning...

Nina drove all the way from Colorado to be in the race, and did pretty well. She is a good friend of Sarah's,  and used to live in West Virginia.

Sarah, after race refreshment!

The Greenbrier River looks so calm, the kayaks like a shoal of bright minnows. There were other craft in the race, too---I saw canoes, a rowboat, and even a paddleboard. There were two-man kayaks, an inflatable kayak and a homemade wood one. And regular kayaks of every size, from long and thin to short and wide. With over 400 competitors,  I guess there was something for everyone!

Son Derek came to cheer on his brothers. His daughter Hannah was there too, and that's her boyfriend and her son beside Derek.  Derek is a pretty good grandpa--I think it's a role he loves. He used to compete too, and maybe one day he'll do so again. 

The racers gather before the start. Quite a crowd! Competitors ranged in age from 13 to 79. Some parents had their children with them. One Dad ran the whole 3 miles pushing his 2 children in a stroller. Others had their children as team members riding in the kayaks or on the bikes. There were many who, like my nephew, were not there to win but to just do it. Which I think is pretty cool.

Nephew John crosses the finish line. What an accomplishment for him.

And here comes Nina!

Grace cruises in.

Jaime was completely intent as she finished up.

I almost missed George's finish, he was there so soon after the first few finishers. Sarah was only a few minutes behind him and I did miss getting a photo of her finishing up.

This makes the 15th year our family has been in the race. Sometimes it was just one or two, other years, like this one, there are quite a few. Next year, who knows? There may be more, but I know one thing for certain: I am perfectly happy to just cheer them on and take photos. 

Weekend Fun and Beartown Rocks

A hot day today, 86 when we got back from our trip to the mountains. Apparently there was some rain while we were gone.

We spent the last few days in Pocahontas county, WV, to attend the Allegheny Echoes Masters Concert of the finest old-time and bluegrass musicians in the state, and to visit with the many friends we have made at Echoes over the years. I think I've been attending for 15 years, since 2006, with the exception of a few I had to miss. Our house guests came with us, and they had a great time too. Echoes is like a big, welcoming family. 

On the Greenbrier River

I was especially happy to see my friends Kirk and Dave, both poets, with whom I often stay when I'm at Echoes. This year we stayed at Kirk's camp on the Greenbrier River again, and I was able to have some good conversations with these two good friends. Kirk is usually the teacher for the Creative Writing class at Echoes and has been my mentor, and my prod, for all these years.

We hung out with friends, cooked good food, did a lot of talking, porch-sitting, campfires, and singing. I was thrilled to meet a guy who is new to Echoes who also sings ballads. Ballad-singers are few and far between, and it was so good to talk ballads and sing them again. I haven't sung since the beginning of the pandemic, and the pipes were starting to get rusty. They got a good workout last night.

Today on our way home we stopped at Beartown State Park. This natural rock formation is truly magical, and I wanted our visiting friends to see it. I thought you might like to see it too. I know I've posted photos of the rocks before, but some things just need to be shared again. 

I always expect to see fairies or gnomes here, and you can see why. There are deep, deep fissures that would probably be fatal if one should fall into them, natural tunnels, small caves and holes in the rocks that look for all the world like they are manmade, but are actually part of a natural process of erosion. The air at Beartown is cool and damp and the whole world just looks green. Magic.

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