Day 2 - Summer 2014 weekend in Laneville

After a great night sleep, we woke a little after 7 am.  It isn't often that we sleep beyond 5:30, but the sound of Red Creek was very relaxing and we were tired.  The neighbor’s rooster crowing didn’t even disturb us.  We had yogurt and muesli for breakfast as well as tea made from bottled water that we brought with us.  We left the cabin around 8 am and drove to the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center where we took a quick look and decided to come back in the afternoon when the rocks weren't backlit by the sun. 

We drove east toward some places than we had never visited.  When we picked up a cell signal, we had to put out some fires at work.  I needed to finalize a submission to IRB for a grant proposal we are preparing, and Mary needed to make some work calls.  We parked at the McDonald's in Petersburg and used their WiFi to take care of some small tasks for work.  We drove on through Grant County and into Hardy County through Moorefield.  We saw a flier earlier for Trout Pond Recreation Area near Wardensville which is considered the only natural lake in the state.  The park was very nice and had a beach area in the small two acre pond.  There were picnic areas and walking paths.  We didn't stay long but just drove through and moved on.

Our next stop was to Lost River State Park where the headwaters of the Lost River are located.  Lost River eventually goes underground in a sink near Baker, WV, and travels underground for two to three miles before emerging near Wardensville, WV as the Cacapon River.  The facilities at Lost River State Park were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1934 to 1937. There are 26 cabins than can be rented, a swimming pool and many well marked trails with CCC bridges and rails.  Within the park was a house owned by “Stonewall” Jackson’s father Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee.  The house was built in 1800 as a summer home for the Lee family.  The Lee Sulphur Springs house has been restored by the CCC in the 1930s and was in very good shape.

A sulfur spring was nearby that was considered very healthy in generations past.  The Lee summer home was likely built in this location because of the cool summer weather and the presence of the spring.  The water in the spring had the strong rotten egg odor that is so characteristic of sulfur springs.  We both smelled the water but neither of us was tempted to have a taste.  We had a nice lunch of peanut butter, crackers, carrots and grapes while sitting at a picnic table in front of the Lee cabin. 

We left Lost River State Park and drove the 90 minutes back to Seneca Rocks to take a GigaPan photo of the rocks, hopefully while climbers are visible on the rock face.  We set up the GigaPan and took a panorama of the rocks that should stitch up to a GigaPanimage that is over a gigabyte in size.  There were several groups climbing Seneca Rocks, making their way up the Tuscarora Quartzite rock face on the many routes to the summit.  There was also a group visible on the observation platform along the walking path near the top of the rock outcropping.

We drove up to one of our favorite places, the Bear Rocks Nature Preserve at Dolly Sods.  This area, owned by the Nature Conservancy, is well used by a number of tourists and provides a great view from the Appalachian Plateau into the valley below.  The sky in the area typically holds a great deal of mist and softens the view of the valley and surrounding countryside,  The air is always cool and refreshing at that altitude, and we enjoy just sitting on the lichen covered rocks and watching the clouds roll by.

We left the Bear Rocks area and started down the mountain through Laneville toward Davis.  As we drove the bumpy gravel road at around 4000 feet we saw something move in the road.  Turns out it was a timber rattlesnake.  She was a gravid female that was just under a meter in length but was swollen in diameter because of the babies she was carrying.  Perhaps the most remarkable thing about her was her color.  She was almost entirely black.  Except for the part of her body where the bulk of offspring in her stretched her skin, she was coal black.  Most of the rattlesnakes that I have seen in the mountains have been dark, probably an adaptation to the lower temperatures.  However, this snake was unusually dark even when compared to others in the area. She was stretched out in the road in a sunny spot.  

We were concerned that she would be hit by a car, perhaps intentionally, so I got a stick from the side of the road and moved her into the wooded area a few yards from the gravel road.  She wasn't very happy about having to move from her sunny spot but hopefully she will survive to deliver her young.

After coming down the mountain and arriving at Davis, we had another wildlife encounter.  Near some of the homes on Laneville Road toward Canaan Valley, we saw what we thought was a black cat playing near the road.  We were already driving slowly on the bumpy, narrow, winding road, but we slowed more to avoid hitting the “cat” in the road.  Turns out, it was a young skunk!  We moved by very slowly to not get a spraying before our dinner.  The skunk ambled away, and we drove on to Sirianni’s Café in Davis for our dinner.  Mary had the Rosa’s special which is spaghetti with grilled chicken, mushrooms and broccoli covered in a clear wine sauce.  I had angel hair pasta with marinara sauce and Italian sausage.  Both of us enjoyed our meals.

We drove back to the cabin after dinner and read while until I fell asleep in my book around 9:30 so I decided to just go to bed.  A slow rain started that night and tapped on the roof as we slept.

  

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