Lost River Sinks

I've been going to West Virginia all my life. After all, it is the first state to the west of Virginia.  When I was a child, we'd visit various state parks in the mountains of West Virginia. One of them was Lost River State Park and among the home movies that my dad took was a scene showing the place where the river became "lost." There was a sign there that said "Lost River Sinks" and I looked for it about 10 years ago and didn't find it. However, I recently learned from a post on Facebook that the current sign says "Lost and Found." (Thank you, Friends of Lost River State Park.) With this bit of information, I was able to find the exact location on Historical Marker Database.

Here the Lost River disappears under Sandy Ridge. Two miles away on the other side of the mountain the stream is “found” again as the headwaters of the Cacapon River. This stream has the Indian name for “Medicine Waters.”

This spot is along the "old" route 55 and at this point you can see the new superhighway overhead, WV 55 which is also US 48. The new road is part of West Virginia's Corridor H, and to further confuse motorists, signs indicate it is the "Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System." Senator Byrd served for many years and had enough influence in the U.S. government to get this multi-million dollar highway funded. Although some called it a "road to nowhere," it is a beautiful and impressive road. And it does go somewhere, of course, although the places it goes so far are not well known outside of West Virginia. 

Corridor H as seen from the Marker

Sharing with Signs Signs and Look Up, Look Down

Corridor H Seen from a Parking Spot Closer to Baker

Art at Lost River.

Crafty Random-osity Plus a Founding Father.

The Good: Hardy County has a barn quilt trail now, so let's begin this post with a barn quilt at Lost River.

Monday Murals.

We were there Saturday and saw the finished "Greetings from Lost River" mural. 

I photographed it a month ago, not realizing it was not yet completed. For one thing, the large lettering had not been added, and perhaps you will spot other changes from the earlier version.

The Random: An artist was working on a painting when we entered the Lost River Artisans Cooperative. I recognized it as Chimney Rock, which you pass if you continue southeast on Route 259 toward Broadway, Virginia.

For those who have not been to eastern West Virginia, the town of Lost River is named for the nearby river, which disappears under Sandy Ridge and reappears as the Cacapon River.

Here are a few sights from inside the art center.

Mosaic Monday.

The Fun: Look who showed up there! Ben Franklin!

Actually, I had timed our visit to be there for Ben's presentation. He talked about his life, his inventions, and his important role in convincing the French to help us out during the American Revolution.

At the end of the program, he confessed that he is portrayed here by Leon Alexander

Cowboy Cow

This bright figure stands in Wardensville, West Virginia. Although the store is named the Lost River Trading Post, it is not in the town of Lost River. However, it is not far from the Cacapon River, which is the same body of water as Lost River except that it is the part of the river that reappears after being "lost" under Sandy Ridge. If that's confusing, check out this post from last year.

By the way, the trading post sells coffee, antiques, and art.

Sharing with Run-A-Round Ranch

P.S. I just found out her name is Cowlamity Jane! The store is celebrating their 3rd anniversary today and posted some pictures on Facebook.

Five Scenes in West Virginia

I've enjoy going to West Virginia since I was a child. The mountain scenery is so pretty! I still have pictures left from our visit there on Saturday so here are five for Tanya's Willy Nilly Friday.

1. Does this first scene remind you of a John Denver song? Country roads... take me home...

2. I've written about Lost River before as a place I went as a child. Lost River is the name of a river, a community, and a state park. This sign refers to the community, which is not incorporated but which has an art gallery, some historic buildings, and a couple of restaurants. 

"Settled before 1750. Nearby was Riddle’s Fort, frontier outpost. Here Battle of Lost River was fought in 1756 between company of Virginia frontiersmen under Captain Jeremiah Smith and band of 50 French and Indians."

3. I grew up thinking of West Virginia as all mountains and rural scenes. I was aware that there were coal mines, of course, but I didn't see much of industry there as a child. 

4. West Virginia has a reputation of being a poor state, partly because it struggles in comparison to Virginia. Many young people leave to find opportunities in other states. I've had friends from West Virginia who say "it's a good place to be from." But they also call it "God's Country" because it is so beautiful, and it represents a place of refuge.

5. I've known people who moved to West Virginia because they love it! And there are signs of growth and a thriving art scene. And here, literally, we see a sign of community involvement, a protest in Wardensville:

Public Safety before Paddle Boats... Fix the Culverts.

Sharing with Signs, Signs and Good Fences and Willy Nilly Friday

A Photo Show in Wardensville and a Church in nearby Baker.

Today I drove across Great North Mountain to deliver three photos to the Lost River Trading Post. This is a coffee shop, store, and gallery in Wardensville. (I don't know why they named it Lost River when it is not in that town nor is it on that river, although it is on the Cacapon River which is the same water by a different name and in a different valley.  (More about the river's unusual story in my 9/10/2015 post.)

Anyway, the photos are part of an exhibition with a "Travel" theme. Eight members of the Shenandoah Chapter of Photog Friends are participating. The photos will be displayed until September 20, with luck. Our last show ended very early with the Covid19 lockdown.

The Trading Post is trying hard to keep customers safe. They even have a hand washing station near the entrance. The spigot is operated with a foot pedal.

I'm including a picture of a pretty display of glass. Did you know that West Virginia is famous for its glass?

By the way, I learned that Wardensville was once named Trout Run after a local creek.

After I left the store, I drove across the ridge to Baker. I happened across this United Methodist Church there.

More Scenes from Lost River State Park

Howard's Lick

Earlier I posted some pictures from Lost River State Park. I decided to share a few more, this time in black and white.

A new footbridge allowed us to cross Howard's Lick from a parking spot to a pretty trail. A lick, by the way, is an old term for a spring or creek.

The park offers more than hiking. There's a swimming pool, playground, the old Lee Cabin, and horseback riding. See all my Lost River posts.

I see Black and White Wednesday is having computer problems, but I'm still glad I turned these into grayscale images. It motivates me to look critically at the contrast and tweak it in Photoshop as needed.

Sharing with Wednesday Waters and
Cathy's Not-So Wordless Wednesday. 

Heritage Weekend is Coming.

September 28-30, 2019
Hardy County, WV.

I always look forward to Heritage Weekend which takes place across the mountain in West Virginia. Here are some scenes from our visit to the Lost River Valley in Hardy County in 2017.

Inspired Sunday.

Ivanhoe Presbyterian Church is a small country church just off the main road in Lost City. It is across the road from the location of the area's first church, which was torn down some years ago. That original church was a log building built prior to 1797.

We toured the Inn at Lost River. The "General Store" is next door and there are farm buildings on the premises.

The Barn Collective.
Shadow Shot Sunday.

June in Hardy County

Willy Nilly Friday.

1. These views are between Baker and Moorefield, starting with a wildflower planting along Highway 48/55. 

Friday Bliss, Floral Friday.

2. The rest of the scenes are along the road that crosses a ridge between Lost River State Park and Moorefield. This curving driveway caught my eye.

Black and White Weekend.

3. Mountain laurel lights up the woods.

4. The mountain views provide a good excuse for driving this winding road. It is steep in places but it's paved. I did not recognize this road but I probably crossed the mountain on it with my parents many years ago. We stayed in a cabin in Lost River State Park more than once. It's quite possible that the road was not paved then.

5. Fences: I don't know if you can see the rocky outcroppings. I liked the curve of the fence and the flowers growing over it.

6. Skywatch: Does this driveway go to a farm or someone's vacation home?  Maybe a full-time residence? A surprising number of people like living along a mountain road, even though it takes a while to get to town and may be impossible in icy weather. The views are spectacular.

Along WV 259

The Lost River Valley is a scenic area in West Virginia. WV Route 259 continues into Virginia as VA 259, which passes through Broadway and down to I-81 at Mauzy.

Here we see the Lost River United Methodist Church, which I am sharing with InSpired Sunday.

I've seen a number of red-winged blackbirds this year. I managed to click the shutter as this one flew off.

Sharing with The Bird D'Pot

Inside the Lee Cabin at Lost River

Lost River State Park, Mathias, WV 

Inside the old Lee Cabin, some of the rooms have been furnished to look they might have back when the Lee family owned it. However, the naturalist who was there told us that the floor plan was changed back in the CCC days in order to make the stairway safer and at the same time to make the cabin's rooms more the size of those in a typical residence.

It was nice to get inside the cabin because we had seen it from the outside before on a day when the interior was not open to visitors. It looks fairly comfortable for a home that's 200 years old!