Climbing the Mountain

HIKING!

My most favorite activity in the whole wide world!

Tyler puts it like this:

Getting dropped off at the bottom of the mountain.

Walking UP the mountain.

Walking DOWN the mountain.

Coming home and saying "BOY that was fun!" as you collapse from exhaustion.

Come on though, there's something just fun about conquering the steep climbs!

Especially when you have biggest-or-smallest-acorn-finding-contests along the way. There were just loads of 'em all over. So why not?

And the trail goes up and up and up...

Morale is still high...but some were getting tired of the steady climb.

Kate taking a hard-earned break.

Tyler daring Sam to invade his log territory.

Actually, Tyler was more than happy to take LOTS of breaks...he was quite exhausted from carrying that BIG camera around. Weren't ya bro?

And the lovely view from the lookout tower at the top of our mountain.

Here's everyone trying to find the oldest "two-legged termite" mark.

I'd have to check with Sam...but I think it was 1941. Just before America entered WW2. 

This thing's been standin' a good while.

And this is the grave of the man who worked in the forest(s).

Actually, it's the grave of a man who was probably a child when his family lived in the cabin in the pictures a bit further down. They moved to California, but I guess he requested to be buried at his old home.

Hikin' down to Jesse's Cove.

Hard to imagine this was a place the family poured their lives into, trying to make a living in the mountains. Father Workman probably strode down this path to go out hunting or...cut logs...whatever he did. The little Workmans probably ran up and down this path alllll the time. With mother trying to keep tabs on them all while doing her own many tasks.

Things don't really change that much.

:)

I'm sure you all know what this is.

Probably the first thing Father Workman built, after all their long travels, with the children saying,

"Are we there YET?!?!?"

"I'm hungry!"

"I have to go to the baaaathroooom."

Like I said...do things change much?

Well okay, so maybe the average house size has changed a little.

And you really can read this if you zoom in and are interested.

Kind of a dark little place. I hope they had plenty of candles 

I would just love to know who the families were that lived here, and what life was really like for them here.

But onward! After another break.

WHAT!?!? The lookout is STILL 3 miles away?

But wait...we've already been there...which means we're now at the other trailhead!!

Now we just have the walk down the road back to our cabin. 

Lovely way to spend an afternoon!



Droop Mountain

Stonewall Jackson was here.

Somewhere.

150 years ago.

:)

It really is hard to believe there was a war that happened in these States only 150 years ago. Everything looks so peaceful and beautiful. Men were actually out there shooting each other. It was whole different kinda place for them those years ago.

But we sure enjoyed the peace and beauty that's there now!

Especially the wee one, who has decided she likes grass.

Hopie liked running up and down the lookout tower.

I personally liked reading all the inscriptions carved into every last inch of the wood. One of these days the whole thing is just going to give out from all the chipping away that's gone on for the past 50 years. Two-legged termites, that's what they are.

Glad to sit down after a busy day.

There are a lot of people in that group, aren't there? It's kinda nice though. People sometimes see us coming and decide to move on rather than feel crowded...leaving the whole place to us!  :D

I HAVE said what beautiful weather we enjoyed, right?

Ohhhh...grass!!

Miss Innocence...don't let her fool you.

Trying the old "I was just picking it for YOU, Mom!" trick.

"La di da...just picking the grass...no need to pay attention to little ol' me, Mom!"

"Rats...caught."

A nice playground for the CHILDREN to enjoy.

Hmmm...

And then back to our cabin we went, for an evening of games, star photo shoots, flashlight walks, popcorn, laughter, hot drinks, and sleeeeeeep.

Altogether, a very satisfactory day.



Beartown

The first morning did NOT include sleeping in.

I was sleeping in a room with Grace and Abbie, and asked Grace to make sure I got up at 6am, so I'd have time to get dressed, read, and eat some breakfast before a morning bike ride.

At about 6:30, after hitting snooze a couple times and telling Grace I was defininitely about to get up, I finally got up, managed to bump into about everything worth bumping into, accidentally slammed a door, and completed all said activities by 8am, at which time the boys were all up and ready to hit the descent.

The cold descent.

Imagine flying down twisty curvy roads with 50 degree winds thoroughly waking you up.

It was delightful. :)

Except that I knew we would have to climb back up later, when the breezes were warmer, and I was tired-er.

But 35 miles later, we did just that, and were back in time for lunch before heading out for a hiking excursion.

Nobody said this vacation was going to be REST-ful, necessarily, just a change of pace. :)

So on to the Beartown Boardwalk!

Cameras were out en-force that day.

Trying to capture the beauty of all the chasms and potential bear-homes.

It just isn't possible!

All MY pictures still just look flat compared to the real thing.

And you'd never guess, driving up to the place, that there was something like this hiding among the trees.

Pretty neat. :)

Maybe these guys captured it better with their super-duper cameras. :)

Dead wood.

Michelle, this is your souvenier from the trip.

:)

Just love my siblings. :)

One

Two

Three

Did I mention we had just gorgeous weather?

And a nice cool drink at the end of the trail.

You'd think she walked more than anybody!



But the day isn't over yet!

Next up, Droop Mountain.

Getting away...

Doesn't get much better than spending a few days in the beautiful mountains of WV with one's family. :)

Especially when the weather was THIS nice the entire time!!!

Clear skies.

Cool temperatures.

Fall colors.

The only downside was we had to LEAVE and go back to normal life afterwards. :) But this was definitely a great place to recharge for a busy couple months ahead.



Very sad...

It can't be true!

Did it really happen?

*sigh*

My precious little baby sister just turned

ONE!!!

To console myself, I made this:

I'll post some pictures in a future post of how Miss Selah liked it...

:)