Looking Down from the Storybook Trail

Burner's Massanutten Heights

Our pretty autumn weather may be over but I still have plenty of pictures left to share. These are from October 26, when we took a walk on the Storybook Trail to a spectacular overlook on Massanutten Mountain. Below us was Page Valley.

This trail is popular with families because it's paved and it's only a quarter of a mile to the top. There are interpretive signs telling about the geology of the mountains.

See my 2011 posts about this trail: A Walk Up Storybook Trail and View from the Top.

Looking Down on U.S. 211

Sharing with: The Barn Collective

and NF Inspiring Photography

Mural and View, Rappahannock High School

This delightful mural is on the side wall of Rappahannock County High School, Virginia. You can see it from US 211 if the school buses aren't blocking your view.

Oh, there are giant paw prints on the asphalt! Whose? Well, it turns out that the team is named the Panthers.

High School near the town of Washington, Virginia

Sharing with: Monday Murals

and Random Moments of Delight

Frank in Black and White

Sharing with: Weekend in Black and White

Shadows, Late Lunch

At Bob Evans Restaurant

Usually I carry a camera but I left it in the car when we went into the restaurant. The shadows turned out to be intriguing so I took a picture with my cell phone.

Sharing with: Shadow Shot Sunday

and Sundays in my City

Benny at the Vet's

Last week I took our cocker spaniel to the vet. One of his ears was infected again so they treated that. Dr. Coston checked to see how Ben's heart murmur was doing and found out that it has increased. They performed a blood test and said that Benny has heart disease, but it is not advanced enough to treat. Still, I feel concerned about it. He seems to be doing well most of the time.

Sharing with: Sepia Saturday

and Camera Critters

Lab results 

Wind Farm in West Virginia

Seen from Corridor H

Looking in the Opposite Direction

On a cloudy day in October we drove into West Virginia. After stopping at an antique show in Wardensville, we drove out Corridor H, which is the extension of Route 55/ US 48 on a new superhighway westward past Moorefield. I wanted to see where it currently ends, which is near the town of Scherr. It turned out to be only about 5 miles farther west from where we rode on it last year. But it looks like the next section may be completed soon.

There's an overlook near Scherr where you can see the wind turbines riding the ridge top for miles. It struck me as odd that these machines are working away in coal country, but I'm glad that West Virginia is moving forward in alternatives to coal, which is a finite resource and has cost the lives of many miners. Last year we drove along behind big lumbering coal trucks practically in the shadow of these new towers.

I read that the Mt. Storm Wind Farm has 132 wind turbines and extends for 12 miles along the Allegheny front, one of the windiest spots east of the Mississippi.

Sharing with: Skywatch Friday

and Orange You Glad It's Friday

Somewhere Near Sperryville

November 1st, Rappahannock County, VA

Linking to: Good Fences

A Leap Forward... and Backward

I received a kind email from a teacher thanking me for my Civil War Field Trips website. She recommended the following site, which helped her students understand the coming of the American Civil War: Eli Whitney and the History of the Cotton Gin. Whitney patented the device in 1794 and it made the processing of cotton so much easier that the demand for slaves grew, as they were the ones who planted and harvested most of it. The article contends that prior to that time, slavery was heading toward unprofitability. 

It's interesting how technology can be a leap forward in some ways but bring negative consequences at the same time. Another consequence of the increase in cotton growing was a demand for land, resulting in the "ousting of native Americans from their lands." I'm sure we can find parallels in the advances of technology today, where unintended consequences exact a great cost.

Cotton bolls

Sharing with: Little Things Thursday

Welcome to Warren County

Linden, VA

Warren County has a new sign along Route 55 not far from the Apple House. The "water" is a painting. It looks realistic in the photographs, more than it does in person. It's a cool illusion though!

The canoe is a symbol of the town's nickname, the Canoe Capital of Virginia.  I've previously pictured some of the canoe access points: at the boat ramp next to Eastham Park,  at the Front Royal Golf Course, and outside of town at Shenandoah River State Park. Right now the canoeing season is pretty much over but it will come roaring back in the spring!

Sharing with: Signs, Signs

and Reconnect with Nature

Golden Lions

Sharing with: Wordless Wednesday

and Camera Critters

Gingko Grove at Blandy

Sharing with: Our World Tuesday

and Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Good, Random, Fun... and Awesome!

The Good, the Random, and the Fun blog hop provides an excuse to post some unrelated photos that I'd like to share.

The Good

It's Veterans Day so I decided to post a picture of my dad in his Navy uniform back in 1944. He's admiring his first-born child, my older brother.

Like many people, my dad joined the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was pleased to be given the rank of lieutenant due to his college education and experience in logistics.

The Random

These two pictures are from November 3rd. Since then the excavation has closed for the winter, but I got a chance to check it out and ask a few questions. Archaeologists were seeking remnants of the Strasburg Pottery industry and did find plenty of stoneware sherds and some kiln furniture. The kiln itself stood on an adjacent property, now owned by a dairy. The dig was on property owned by the Strasburg Museum, which was once a pottery and later a railroad station before becoming a museum.

I was interested in seeing this site because I once helped excavate a pottery kiln site in Alexandria (Virginia) when I was a volunteer with Alexandria Archaeology.

The Fun

Lynn drove through the end of the rainbow! And she posted a picture to prove it!

I must say this has never happened to me. But she did not find any gold, or even Skittles. She did give me permission to repost the photo though — after all, I'm her mom.

Sharing with: The Good, the Random, and the Fun

Veterans Flag, Stephens City

This structure caught my eye as I drove up Route 11 through Stephens City, Virginia. It's in a town park near the road. The flag mural is very straight, unlike the one I saw in Front Royal.

I parked and walked closer. I could see that there is a stage and that there is writing on the painted flag. A few steps took me up onto the stage, where I could see that the writing named veterans.

Since tomorrow is Veterans Day here in the states, this seems like a good time to share this with Monday Murals.

Rappahannock Rurality

In the Hills of Virginia

The citizens of Rappahannock County prize their rural heritage. They have managed to avoid much of the urban sprawl and cheap commercial development that spread through most of northern Virginia. But don't be fooled; there's plenty of wealth and culture here.

The western border of the county rests on the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rappahannock is said to be an Algonquian term meaning river of quick, rising water and a river with that same name flows many miles from the mountains to the Chesapeake Bay.

Sharing with: The Barn Collective

and Nature's Footsteps, Catching the Light

Wickliffe Church

I took these pictures in August and did not get around to posting them, so I'm bringing them out for the church linkup, InSPIREd Sunday. We happened upon this pleasant spot by following a sign that's on Route 7 between the Shenandoah River and Berryville.  In front of the church there's another sign, shown here, telling us the present building dates to 1846. 

Shadow of a Statuette

Sharing with: Shadow Shot Sunday

and The Weekend in Black and White

Looking Out, Skyline Drive

In case you haven't noticed, I love the scenery at Skyline Drive! This is the road that rides the ridges through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It features numerous scenic views and hiking opportunities. I feel very fortunate that it's not far from our home.

Sharing with: Saturday's Critters

and Scenic Weekends

Along Wilkins Loop

The loop road at Blandy Experimental Farm provides a pretty place to ride, but locals like to walk on it or sometimes jog. This is in the Virginia State Arboretum and there's no admission charge unless there's a special event going on.

Sharing with: Skywatch Friday

and Orange You Glad It's Friday

A Dog in Moorefield

Sharing with: Thoughtless Thursday