Pictures of the Week 2009-9
Hello All,
On our return trip from Vermont to Alabama we had planned on visiting Shenandoah National Park since we didn’t have great weather on our trip north. However, we changed our minds and decided to go to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in West Virginia instead. One of the wonderful benefits of being retired is we are not tied to a strict schedule. Many of our friends have taken the train ride at the park and highly recommended it. They told us of it traveling high into the mountains with wonderful scenic views--sounded great to us.
To say Cass Scenic Railroad Park is remote would be an understatement. It is in the sparsely populated mountains of east-central West Virginia, which stands to reason, as the purpose of the railroad was to transport timber out of the mountains. After searching on the internet we settled on a motel in Lewisburg, WV, as our base for exploring, even though it was about 50 miles from the railroad park.
Upon arriving in Lewisburg we checked into the motel. And, since it was early afternoon we decided to explore the area. After all, we had only been driving for three days to get there from Vermont!!
Wow, are we ever glad we took a ride. While driving down a country road we came across a sign advertising Beartown State Park. We decided to check it out. We found it to be a most unusual place.
Beartown State Park is a natural area of 107 acres. It is located on the eastern summit of Droop Mountain, seven miles southwest of Hillsboro, WV. The land was purchased in 1970 with funds from a Nature Conservancy and a donation from Mrs. Edwin G. Polan, in memory of her son, who lost his life in the Vietnam War. Development of the park has been minimal in order to preserve the natural attractions of the area. However, basic facilities are provided, and a boardwalk permits easy access. Interpretive signs along the boardwalk guide visitors and provide information on the area.
The name Beartown was chosen because local residents claimed that the many cave-like openings in the rocks made ideal winter dens for the black bears of the area. Also, the many deep, narrow crevasses were formed in a somewhat regular criss-cross pattern and appear from above like the streets of a small town. Massive boulders, overhanging cliffs, and deep crevasses stirred the imagination. Pocketing the face of the cliffs are hundreds of eroded pits, ranging from the size of marbles to large enough to hold two grown men. Mossy vegetation clings tenaciously to the rocks. It was an awesome place!!
On our return trip from Vermont to Alabama we had planned on visiting Shenandoah National Park since we didn’t have great weather on our trip north. However, we changed our minds and decided to go to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in West Virginia instead. One of the wonderful benefits of being retired is we are not tied to a strict schedule. Many of our friends have taken the train ride at the park and highly recommended it. They told us of it traveling high into the mountains with wonderful scenic views--sounded great to us.
To say Cass Scenic Railroad Park is remote would be an understatement. It is in the sparsely populated mountains of east-central West Virginia, which stands to reason, as the purpose of the railroad was to transport timber out of the mountains. After searching on the internet we settled on a motel in Lewisburg, WV, as our base for exploring, even though it was about 50 miles from the railroad park.
Upon arriving in Lewisburg we checked into the motel. And, since it was early afternoon we decided to explore the area. After all, we had only been driving for three days to get there from Vermont!!
Wow, are we ever glad we took a ride. While driving down a country road we came across a sign advertising Beartown State Park. We decided to check it out. We found it to be a most unusual place.
Beartown State Park is a natural area of 107 acres. It is located on the eastern summit of Droop Mountain, seven miles southwest of Hillsboro, WV. The land was purchased in 1970 with funds from a Nature Conservancy and a donation from Mrs. Edwin G. Polan, in memory of her son, who lost his life in the Vietnam War. Development of the park has been minimal in order to preserve the natural attractions of the area. However, basic facilities are provided, and a boardwalk permits easy access. Interpretive signs along the boardwalk guide visitors and provide information on the area.
The name Beartown was chosen because local residents claimed that the many cave-like openings in the rocks made ideal winter dens for the black bears of the area. Also, the many deep, narrow crevasses were formed in a somewhat regular criss-cross pattern and appear from above like the streets of a small town. Massive boulders, overhanging cliffs, and deep crevasses stirred the imagination. Pocketing the face of the cliffs are hundreds of eroded pits, ranging from the size of marbles to large enough to hold two grown men. Mossy vegetation clings tenaciously to the rocks. It was an awesome place!!
This tree with a natural heart
on the trunk caught our eye. It surprised us that someone hadn’t etched their
initials into the heart.
We spent about an hour and a
half walking through the maze of boardwalks. They wound in, around, and through
the rock formations. It was a great experience. You just never know what you
are going to find cruising along the back roads.
After a good night’s sleep we checked out of the motel and were on the road to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park at 6:00am. We had to be at the park no later than 8:00am to pick up the train tickets we had reserved. We figured the two hours would be adequate time to travel the 50 miles and we had our handy little GPS to keep us from getting lost.
After traveling for an hour and going from a two lane paved road to a single lane paved road to a single lane dirt road, we still weren’t there!! The road climbed higher and higher up into the mountains. We had gone too far to turn back and try to find another route. So we persevered and put our fate in the hands of our GPS (doubting her all the way). In the windy steep mountains the GPS lost the signal from the satellites for short periods of time, which further added to our frustration. Finally, an hour and half after departing the motel we came out on a two-lane paved road and were only a couple of miles from the park. We breathed a sigh of relief and chalked it up to “making another memory.”
The logging company town of Cass is nestled in the mountains of West Virginia. Cass Scenic Railroad is the same line built in 1901 to haul logs to the mill in Cass. The park offers railroad excursions that transport you back in time to relive an era when steam-driven locomotives were common. Locomotives in use today are the same Shay geared locomotives used at the turn of the twentieth century. And, many of the passenger cars are old logging flat-cars that have been refurbished.
We took the full 4 ½ hour trip to Bald Knob at the top of the mountain. The train uses a switchback process to quickly gain elevation. It passes through a switchback, reverses up a steep grade, and ascends to a second switchback where the process is repeated. This procedure allows the train to traverse grades up to 11 percent, or 11 feet in elevation for each 100 feet of track. A 2 percent grade on conventional tracks is considered steep!
After a good night’s sleep we checked out of the motel and were on the road to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park at 6:00am. We had to be at the park no later than 8:00am to pick up the train tickets we had reserved. We figured the two hours would be adequate time to travel the 50 miles and we had our handy little GPS to keep us from getting lost.
After traveling for an hour and going from a two lane paved road to a single lane paved road to a single lane dirt road, we still weren’t there!! The road climbed higher and higher up into the mountains. We had gone too far to turn back and try to find another route. So we persevered and put our fate in the hands of our GPS (doubting her all the way). In the windy steep mountains the GPS lost the signal from the satellites for short periods of time, which further added to our frustration. Finally, an hour and half after departing the motel we came out on a two-lane paved road and were only a couple of miles from the park. We breathed a sigh of relief and chalked it up to “making another memory.”
The logging company town of Cass is nestled in the mountains of West Virginia. Cass Scenic Railroad is the same line built in 1901 to haul logs to the mill in Cass. The park offers railroad excursions that transport you back in time to relive an era when steam-driven locomotives were common. Locomotives in use today are the same Shay geared locomotives used at the turn of the twentieth century. And, many of the passenger cars are old logging flat-cars that have been refurbished.
We took the full 4 ½ hour trip to Bald Knob at the top of the mountain. The train uses a switchback process to quickly gain elevation. It passes through a switchback, reverses up a steep grade, and ascends to a second switchback where the process is repeated. This procedure allows the train to traverse grades up to 11 percent, or 11 feet in elevation for each 100 feet of track. A 2 percent grade on conventional tracks is considered steep!
Another thing we found interesting was that the
locomotives push the train cars rather than towing them. Wow, were we ever
thankful for this! The coal smoke coming out of the stack of the locomotives as
they labored up the steep grades was amazing. Once in a while a wind current
would carry a bit of the smoke our way. Trust us when we say we didn’t want to
be breathing this stuff all the way up the mountain!
At one point on the trip the
locomotive made a stop at a spring to take on water.
At an elevation of 4700‘, Bald Knob is the third
highest point in West Virginia. The overlook there provided spectacular views
of the surrounding area. We ate our picnic lunch while at “the knob.” Deer in
the area were so used to people they walked right up to people looking for handouts.
It was a very enjoyable trip.
If you are ever in West Virginia we recommend it as an enjoyable day excursion.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns