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| Beautiful Blackwater Falls State Park in West VA (Bottom right is Blackwater Falls; You can see it flowing through the rugged canyon; You can also see the Lodge where we stayed on the left side toward the top. What a gorgeous place to 'get-away' from life for a few days!) |
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Dear Family and Friends, I hope that everyone is still HEALTHY and staying SAFE through this COVID-19 pandemic..... George and I are fine ---and hanging in there waiting patiently (????) for this to be OVER and GONE....
Today--I'll take you on a few hikes we took on our little trip to Blackwater Falls State Park in northeastern West Virginia the week of George's Birthday!!!! I'm glad we were able to make this trip before the 'stay at home' order started... Before his Birthday--I asked George what he wanted to do this year to celebrate. He said that he wanted to see some waterfalls and to do some hiking... SO--the Blackwater Falls trip came into being, and is now just a wonderful memory!!!!
On George's actual birthday (March 9)--- here are some of the things we did:
-Hiked on the Gentle Trail to get an overall view of Blackwater Falls
-Crossed the river (North Canyon Rim Road), parked at the Trading Post, and hiked down lots of steps to get an up-close-and-personal view of Blackwater Falls
-Hiked to the Pendleton Point Overlook for a view of Elakala Falls (on the other side of Blackwater Canyon)
-Walked around the Pendleton Lake
-Back across the river; now on the South Canyon Rim Road passing by the Lodge; Stopped at an overlook showing another view of Elakala Falls
-Checked out the Cabins for Rent on the Southside Area (We will rent a cabin the next time we come here. The lodge rooms are MUCH too small for us.)
-Took a longer hike on the Balanced Rock Trail
-Took a nice hike on the Lindy Point Trail to the Overlook
-Hiked to the brink of the Elakala Falls from the lodge
I know this is WAY too much detail --but I do a lot of my Blog posts so that I can look back at previous posts to see what we've done.... March 9th this year was a FUN day for us --and I'm so glad we did SO much that day... BECAUSE---the next day, it rained all day long (so no more hiking for us on that trip)...
I will do a separate Blog Post showing all of the waterfall pictures we took while there. BUT--today's post will show you a few pictures from some of our walks/hikes.... Hope you enjoy!!!!
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| The ICY "Gentle" Trail which was defintely not very gentle on this day..... This is a neat trail for those who cannot do much hiking since it is flat and paved. It's also good for someone in a wheelchair... You can see Blackwater Falls from this overlook. |
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| While driving on the North Rim --we stopped at an overlook and could see the back of the Blackwater Falls LODGE ---where we were staying... Our room was on this back side.. |
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| A 'zoomed' picture taken from the Pendleton Point Overlook --of the Blackwater River --as it flows through the canyon. |
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| Pendleton Lake is a neat little recreation area in Summer. There is another waterfall off of Pendleton Lake --but not accessible. |
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| This is our hike on the Balanced Rock Trail... Gorgeous area --but EXTREMELY slippery in spots. George took this picture of me on a little icy bridge... |
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| Little friends spying us on the Balanced Rock Trail; They probably laughed when George took a tumble on the ice... Somehow, I didn't fall --but it was close a few times!!!! |
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| BALANCED ROCK in the Blackwater Falls State Park, West VA --3/9/20 |
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| Pretty trail (except for the ice); The Balanced Rock Trail would be great to see in the Summer when the Rhododendrons were blooming. |
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| George at MY Favorite Trail of the day, the hike to the Lindy Point Overlook; This trail was not as slippery --most of the time! But--it's more popular than the Balanced Rock Trail ---hence a few more people around. |
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| Look at this tree 'bench'---just made for me (along the Lindy Point Trail).... |
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| AH---we made it to the overlook!!!!! Now you can see why this is my favorite trail/overlook.. SO SO SO gorgeous!!!! You can see the Blackwater River below, along with the train and some hiking trails. This is virgin area ---and there's so much land around to explore!!!!! |
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| My Sweetie Birthday Boy on his 78th birthday ---at Lindy Point Overlook, 3/9/20!!!! |
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| Amazing rock formations all around us... Our platform was built around these rocks. Now you can see a hiking trail on the left side. This would be an awesome place to be at SUNSET. |
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| Not my picture --but wanted you to see what the mountains here look like in Summer.... This makes me want to come back SOON!!!! |
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| A panorama showing more of the Rock Formations all around the overlook! |
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| The two Lovebirds ---at the Lindy Point Overlook, Blackwater Falls State Park, 3/9/20 |
Our biggest complaint was the lodge rooms... The rooms are very very small, with barely enough room to turn around comfortably... SO--the next time we go, we'll rent a CABIN (which is only a few dollars more per night)--but has A LOT more room in it!!!!!
I will have one more post from this wonderful little trip... In that post, I'll feature our waterfall pictures mostly...
Hope all of you are staying healthy through this Pandemic. If you are like me, you are SO READY to get things opened back up again, seeing people go back to work, and all of us just being back to normal again (whatever normal is)..... In the meantime, let's continue being patient --knowing that this too will pass!!!!! We'll have many stories to tell to future generations about the COVID-19 CoronaVirus Pandemic and all of the ways it has affected our lives.
Have an awesome week---and remember to share some LOVE and HOPE and PEACE this week.
Hugs,
25 comments:
I would love to hike in that area. It looks so beautiful. Lucky that George's birthday was before lockdown. Enjoy your memories of this wonderful trip and let's hope it's not too long before you can get out and about again.
Yes, I'm ready for this to all be over with and things to get back to normal. I think we'll be seeing a different normal than we had before though.
What a wonderful trip you had to celebrate Georges birthday. That looks like such a beautiful place to explore. I wouldn't be crazy about the ice though
I'd almost forgotten how much we did on that one day. Now I'm tired just reading about it. You got some great pictures to remember the day.
Love seeing your pictures. I'm an armchair traveler these days and so glad when my friends post travel pictures. Take good care and love to you and to George.
All that snow and ice. Those trails sure looked slippery. So glad you had such a nice time for George's Birthday. Good that you got to go before the places closed.
Take care you two. This will be over eventually and our part is staying out of the way.
Hello Betsy, I am glad to hear you and George are doing well. I think we all want this Covid-19 over and done. Your hikes for Georges birthday sound great, love all the photos. The blogs are a good way to look back over past trips and events. Fun memories. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy healthy new week!
Betsy, Beautiful photos! I especially like those deer...very striking. Those icy trails look pretty scary to me though. As for dropping photos, I found that Blogger has dropped photos from some of my older (3 -4 years ago) posts. Not happy about that! Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
As always, I love to see your pictures showing your hiking escapades. If I ever get the chance, I certainly want to explore Blackwater Falls State Park. Thanks for showing us around. I don't always have time to comment but do know that your beautiful flowers are enjoyed immensely.
What a great place to hike. I love all the pictures. Hanging in there with this "stay at home" thing. Not happy it got extended for another moth.
I'm glad you had such a wonderful time for Georges birthday. I am sorry he took at tumble though. There are some beautiful photos to remember the trip by.
Blogger hasn't been playing nice with photos with several of my blogging friends recently. They have had the same issues you had. Hopefully they have it fixed now.
Thank you for sharing your trip with us. I hope we can all get back out and doing things soon, especially those that need to get to work again.
Blessings,
Betsy
What an awesome birthday he had! I am so glad you were able to fit this trip in before yo had to be cooped up. The rocks are wonderous! And you kept your gorgeous header, one of my favorites. I always put my pictures in one at a time, didn't really know you could do it any other way.
Happy belated birthday George. It looked like a wonderful trip - so freeing - which is what I need now! The deer looked so pretty. Glad he didn't hurt himself in the fall. Sandie
Looks like you found the perfect spot to celebrate George"s birthday. Those trails would be spectacular a little later in the year. So far I have had no problem with Blogger and I hope it stays that way.
A great place for hiking - if I lived a little closer!
Gorgeous scenery! You both are in such wonderful shape! I don't think I could do what you did on this trip!
Love all the images of the hike you did on George's birthday and glad to know you are both well. Stay safe and well
I admire your stamina and determination. I plan to go back to Blackwater Falls after this epidemic is under control. Right now most restaurants are closed and even finding bathrooms would be a challenge.
Hello Betsy
I did enjoy seeing all of your photographs here.
I think many bloggers are experiencing dis-appearing or missing photographs at the moment! Hopefully things will sort themselves out.
Stay safe and well in these rather strange times.
Blessings to you and your family.
All the best Jan
That sure is an idyllic area. Away from the hustle and bustle but het there isn't any more is there? You sure did a lot of hiking and the views are gorgeous. I doubt that we'll ever get back to what was normal in our life time. The economy has been hit too hard and until there is a vaccine and medication the virus will stay with us.
Wonderful photos and happy memories of a great trip in the mountains. Glad you were able to get there and you have lots of amazing photos of the scenery and you two looking happy to put in the album.
look at that ice....glad y'all were careful. So much beauty for the eyes to see and I can only imagine how much wildlife you see. I didn't realize that our little great grandson has the same birthday as George, until today. Two great guys!! Stay safe and keep washing hands...
I'm so glad that you and George got to spend some time in Almost Heaven West Virginia before they shut everything down. Your pictures are amazing as always. I also seen a few things that I haven't ever seen because I can't do the long walks because of the sciatica I have... But even just driving through the park is breathtakingly beautiful to me no matter what time of year we drive through it. I just wish it wasn't a 4 hour drive because I would go more often than we do. We used to spend at least a week there on vacation but started going to the beach. This year we are going to cancel our beach trip. Hoping to get our money back but we didn't take out the travel insurance so we might be out $250. We just don't feel comfortable going and from what we are hearing is if you do you they are telling that you need to bring food for 2 weeks. I don't want to haul food up and we always eat out at least once a day on vacation because it's my vacation from cooking! lol
Angela
Lovely photos, Betsy. Looks like a beautiful place to visit (although I wouldn't care much for the ice on the trails). Happy belated birthday to George.
What a lovely place to hike, although I would have been very afraid of the ice. I'm so paranoid about slipping and falling.
You got some really great pictures. A couple of my favorites were the deer, and that big mounted rock.
P.S. I meant to say balanced rock--not mounted, LOL. And that's a wonderful shot of the overlook.
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