Traveling West Virginia: In the Mountains

This past weekend we were in the mountains. Where we live is really the foothills of the Allegheny range, and elevations, while steep, are not all that high. This trip took us to Randolph and Tucker counties, West Virginia, where some of our state's highest mountains are located.

The first day was a storytelling day at Elkins High School. I was there to present Appalachian stories and ballads to English and Creative Writing classes. We had a blast! The students were so receptive and willingly interacted with me, something that can be hard to find with this age group. We talked, I told, they told me stories, and they even joined in on the chorus of the last ballad. What fun! At the end the teacher asked those who wanted to take part to be in a photo with it. It was flattering to see how many of them crowded onto the stage, and some hurried so they could stand beside me. Talk about feeling at home! As I left the building a tall boy came up and gave me a high five, telling me how much he enjoyed the stories and songs. I left with a glow that could have melted snow.

That evening we tried out the Venezuelan restaurant in Elkins, El Gran Sabor. I was so surprised to hear that there was a Venezuelan restaurant in the state, especially in the small mountain town of Elkins! As some of you might remember, our daughter-in-law in Miami is Venezuelan and has prepared food from her country for us and also took us to a Venezuelan restaurant when we visited. So we were anxious to try out El Gran Sabor.

It was delicious. Funky, comfortable atmosphere, with a nice dining area in front and a bar with a large lounge in back, where they offer live music several times a week. I wanted music so we headed to the back. We had chachapas and arepas, with Latin rice and black beans and it was all delicious. The band was a loud rock threesome, not our usual style but we enjoyed it anyway.

We stayed overnight in town, and next morning at breakfast met two men whose stories are vastly different from each other. The first, who looked to be in his 50's, came stumbling in looking like he'd had one wild night. His hair was sticking up all over and uncombed, his pants falling down almost to his knees and his eyes were puffy--his whole face looked pretty tough, honestly. He sat at a table beside me and pulled out his wallet, and began counting his money. He had a LOT of money, mostly $100s. I laughed and asked, "Is it all there?"

"Nope," he said, "my girlfriend stole $300 from me last night."

"Ex-girlfriend, you mean?" I asked.

"Man," he said, "I don't know where my jacket it. Or where my truck is either. I'm from Akron, Ohio---gotta figure out how to find my truck..."

He got up and wandered out, hitching up his pants. I wondered if that $300 had gone up his nose or down his throat the night before. What a mess he was.

The second was a young man from Texas. He told us he was in town to repair some wind generators that had gone offline.

"Really?" I asked. "How do you get up there to them? They're awfully tall."

He explained that there was a ladder inside the tall pillars on which the generators are mounted. He went on to tell us all about his work, as we had many questions. I'd never met anyone who did that kind of work, so I was fascinated. He told us he'd been a police officer for five years, but burned out fast and went to a college in Texas where he got a two-year degree in wind energy technology. I did not know such a degree existed---there's a new career path for today's young people!

After we left the motel, we wandered downtown. I had hoped to see two museums--the railroad museum and the forestry museum. Sadly they were both closed. The volunteer at the visitors center was friendly and helpful though, and we enjoyed a long chat with him about Elkins history.

Near the depot was an old historic building that housed arts and crafts, antiques and a coffee shop. We browsed around, enjoying all the beautiful work. I bought a small blue glass Blenko tree to add to my collection.

The pottery was really stunning. I wish I had noted the artisan's name.

We stopped at a Dollar General for a few things, and in there I met a third man, who was buying several cans of sausage gravy. Who knew that you could get it in cans?? Not me. He was quite elderly and I took him to be in his 70's, but he said no, "I'm 88! And I work every day and never get sick!" He wasn't even wearing glasses. Amazing.

We left town to head up to Blackwater Falls then, as the weather was getting colder and snow was predicted. The rain was freezing on the trees as the road climbed.

We checked in and found that the park naturalist had booked us a cabin to share with my storytelling partner Judi and her husband Tom. This was one of the views on the way to our cabin.

The cabin itself had obviously had some updates recently. and was so cozy and nice.

This is the view out our windows.

And in the kitchen cabinets--Fiestaware! Made right here in WV by the Homer Laughlin China Company. That was pretty cool to see.

Larry and I wasted no time getting a fire going.

Tom and Judi soon arrived and we went to the Smokehouse Restaurant in the park lodge for dinner. They had a large buffet with many choices; the dining room is glassed in with lovely views over the Blackwater Canyon.

Our performance went well, with a good audience. This time the presentation was Celtic stories and ballads, so all day I was doing a mental shifting of gears from the Appalachian material to the Celtic.It was good to revisit this material as it's been a couple months since we've had a performance for this particular set of material.

Next morning, the promised snow had arrived and was falling as we prepared to leave the cabin.

The vehicles were iced over and the men had a challenge getting them open!

Our little cabin, Number 13. It wasn't bad luck at all.

Tom cleaning their car as Judi makes her careful way to the door.

The restaurant was cozy and welcoming, the breakfast buffet was plentiful and delicious, and the waitress came by regularly to fill our coffee cups. Heaven.

The snow continued to fall so we waited a bit before leaving to let others track it in.

Not far out of Thomas, we met this sight:

I thought it was a wreck, but it turned out to be a flatbed tractor trailer that had run out of diesel fuel in the middle of the road. How in the world he let his tanks run dry I cannot imagine, but there he was, being re-fueled in the middle of the road. We waited, talking with the State Roads truck driver who was also stuck there. He was a nice guy--and took the photo for me.

Miraculously, the tractor trailer started after getting fuel--miraculous because often when a diesel runs out of gas it's the very devil to start.

All along the road were ice-coated, snowy trees, so pretty.

We followed the salt truck all the way to Parsons, and honked a goodbye and thank you to the driver.

Our van is all-wheel-drive, so it goes very well in bad weather; still it was nice to have the truck ahead of us preparing the road.

Once down off the mountain, the roads were fine, and we were home right when we had planned. Here the house was a little chilly, but we soon had it warmed up and spent the evening by the fireplace with our dogs, who were very glad to see us back. We had had a good time, but we were glad to be home too.


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

Blackwater Falls

It was a fine way to start off my birthday: a visit to West Virginia's grandest waterfall.

I was at Blackwater Falls State Park Saturday evening for a storytelling performance. I love this park--the thick evergreen forests, moss-covered rocks, the river, and the lodge are all worthy of posts of their own. We slept well, then had breakfast in the wood-paneled, window-wrapped dining room. Such food! Light fluffy biscuits with crunchy bottoms, a fresh fruit salad, excellent coffee, eggs, sausage, pancakes--you name it, it was on the breakfast bar and it was all delicious.

Then we visited the falls. It has been a couple years since I was there. I stop whenever I'm in the area because one cannot witness such beauty too many times in a lifetime. The falls were running full after all the rain we've had the past week or so, and they were a tremendous sight to see.

There were many smaller but no less spectacular things to see on the way down:

And finally, the falls:

You can hear for yourself how it was:

I did not venture all the way to the lowest viewing platform on this trip--the steps were a bit slippery from the rain and the humidity was so high it made breathing a little difficult. But I got close enough to satisfy my needs.

Goodbye, Blackwater, until next time!

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

Beautiful Blackwater

We've been on a short road trip the past two days, this time to Blackwater Falls, WV, home of the waterfall and the state park. I was invited to perform for the September Fest/Senior Fall Fling group at the park's lodge, an opportunity I was happy to accept. Blackwater Falls is one of the prettiest places in our state, located in an area of forests, small communities, fast-running rivers and scenery to take your breath away.

It has been several years since I performed at the park, and it was just as beautiful and welcoming as ever. We made a beeline for the falls on arrival; I knew we'd have to leave early in the morning and I didn't want to miss a chance to see them.

And there they were, just as I remembered:

Nice shelvin' rock along the path to the falls reminded of the story of the Carpenter family of central West Virginia (still part of Virginia at the time), and how they sheltered under such a rock until they could get their cabins built, back when this state was first being settled by white pioneers in the late 1700's.  One of them, Sol I believe it was, wrote a tune about it, called Shelvin' Rock. You can hear it played by Ernie Carpenter in 1987 here.

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

Wordless Wednesday: Where I was 5 Years Ago on This Day

 I bet some of you know where this is--just look at the power of that water!

Did you guess right?

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Wind Farms and Blackwater

Yesterday we journeyed to Tucker County, WV to tell stories at Blackwater Falls State Park. Travel north on Rte 219 and you may be startled to meet one of these behemoths as you top a hill.
The wind farm is not without controversy--residents say they are noisy, and deadly to bats. I must admit that the wind generators fascinate me. They seem so out of place, ghostly as the blades whisper through the mountain air. It was a rainy, foggy day yesterday, and that contributed even more to the unearthly appearance of the wind farm.

I can understand why locals might not like these machines. They are visible for miles in an area of almost pristine wildness. I listened very carefully and have to say I did not notice the noise they are blamed for, but perhaps down in the valley below it's a different story. I like the idea of clean energy, yet I have to wonder if our state is actually benefitting or if, like so many of our natural resources, the wind energy is shipped out to east-coast cities, while we continue to pay higher electric bills than surrounding states less blessed with energy resources.

Turning away from the wind farm this idyllic view greets the eye. The rising fog might explain why we have so many ghost stories here. Early evenings when the mist rises in the hollows can trick the mind and the eye into believing something else is coming out of the dark.


The Falls themselves were thundering as we drove away this morning. Heavy rain for the past few days has swollen the Blackwater River to almost flood stage. It's a welcome relief from the summer's drought, and the Falls were at full throttle. The brown color is the source of the river's name--the tannic acid from the surrounding forests color the water a deep, almost black color. When the rain is heavy, the deep amber water is lightened, as in these photos.

I've visited Blackwater Falls many times, but never have I seen them like they were today--no rocks visible between the cascades, and the falling water so forceful that it was creating its own rainstorm in the valley.



A close-up of the falling water. How to describe such power? We stood in awe until an approaching storm drove us back to the car.

Oh, the storytelling? Amazing! A good crowd of about 65 people turned out to listen, and the stories flowed like the water in the river. I'd told Larry that I didn't feel up for it, and he reassured me that it would be fine. He was right. Once again I found people genuinely interested in the coal mining items I'd brought, and several commented later on the ballads. The audience was all ages, children, babies, some handicapped children, adults, and seniors. And yet all listened, and storytelling put its spell on us once again. What magic this is.