Hiking on George's Birthday 3/9/20

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!)

UPDATE:   Blogger has done something to my pictures.  I've lost almost all of the pictures on my last several Blog Posts... I hope you can get the pictures today.  I had trouble getting them in --and had to put them in ONE BY ONE.... I am not a happy person right now!!!  Why does Blogger do this to us?
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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!!!!

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.

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..

A 'zoomed' picture taken from the Pendleton Point Overlook --of the Blackwater River --as it flows through the canyon.

Pendleton Lake is a neat little recreation area in Summer.   There is another waterfall off of Pendleton Lake --but not accessible.  

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...

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!!!!  

BALANCED ROCK in the Blackwater Falls State Park, West VA --3/9/20

Pretty trail (except for the ice);  The Balanced Rock Trail would be great to see in the Summer when the Rhododendrons were blooming.

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.

Look at this tree 'bench'---just made for me (along the Lindy Point Trail).... 

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!!!!! 

My Sweetie Birthday Boy on his 78th birthday ---at Lindy Point Overlook, 3/9/20!!!!

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.

Not my picture --but wanted you to see what the mountains here look like in Summer.... This makes me want to come back SOON!!!!

A panorama showing more of the Rock Formations all around the overlook!

The two Lovebirds ---at the Lindy Point Overlook,  Blackwater Falls State Park,  3/9/20

WELL---did you enjoy seeing the pictures?  Does that make you want to take a little trip to Blackwater Falls?   IF you love nature --and being away from the crowds,  this may be the place for you.  We love it here,   so I'm sure we will be back again sometime.

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,