Blue Moon Diner
Catfish with Macaroni&Cheeze
postcards from the road
Canaan Valley ~ White Grass
Pricey snow, T photo
Before heading home we stop at White Grass, the cross country ski area we originally came for. They have a pile of snow out front, smaller than their sense of humor. But the cafe is nice, good food and friendly people.
The cafe at White Grass. T photo
Turns out Chip Chase, the guy who started the place, once spent a lot of time in Virginia, is good friends with good friends of ours from way back, and knows Scottsville.
Canaan Valley ~ Thomas, WV
At The Purple Fiddle, carved from a single log
The big loop is nearly complete at Thomas, less than 3 miles up the road from Davis. Senator Davis bought huge tracts of land here in the late 1800’s when it was still wilderness, then built towns and railroads to extract the resources. He named Davis for himself, and nearby Thomas and William for his brothers. Davis was the timber depot, Thomas was coal.
Canaan Valley ~ Otter Creek Wilderness
Swinging footbridge over the Cheat River
Otter Creek Wilderness
T photo
Leaving the falls, our route heads upstream through the water gap and across the valley. At the southern rim we leave the main road and zig-zag down into the next valley – through hollows, past small farms – on roads barely a lane and a half wide. It’s pretty country, old barns and orchards clinging to the steep hillsides. Down, down, down.
Retro Repost #14 ~Joe’s Boat
St. Michaels, Maryland
postcards from the road
Canaan Valley ~ Blackwater Falls
Blackwater Falls
First stop on the trek is right across the river from Davis, in Blackwater Falls State Park. In precise geological terms, Davis is just outside Canaan Valley. The Blackwater River emerges from the valley interior, seeping from the bogs and swamps that cover the valley floor. Gathering itself together, it meanders north where eons ago it cut a gap through the raised lip of the bowl, where it passes in front of Davis before tumbling over a set of spectacular falls. From there it carves a canyon down through the mountains on its way to the Ohio River. Canaan Valley sits on the Allegheny Ridge, an eastern Continental Divide deep in the Appalachians. Water on the eastern side of the ridge flows toward the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic, water on the west side flows north and west, into the Mississippi and down to the Gulf of Mexico.
The route taken. Link to map.
Canaan Valley ~ Davis, WV
Blackwater Falls
Another side trip (a trend I wish to continue). This one a Christmas present to ourselves. The plan, when T made the reservations a month ago, was to spend two days cross country skiing at White Grass in Canaan Valley. Alas, no snow is hard to ski in. They had a pile not much bigger than a cow pie out front of the lodge with a sign in it, selling it for $120 an ounce.
No matter. No matter even that it rained all weekend. We hiked and explored and read and ate well. No crowds to contend with. Met a lot of nice people, too.