The Side Trip

Before winter sets in, the holidays come and a few other things on the agenda, I was off to Kentucky for a few days to see my youngest brother. Weather is always concern when driving over the mountains of West Virginia this time of year.  But it was a good day for an 11 hour drive.

A stay at a hotel for one night...

A stay at my favorite Air BnB the rest of my visit.

My Father was in the Army and was originally from Texas. My Mom's family roots are from around the little farming community of Yeaman, Kentucky located about 100 miles southwest of Louisville in Grayson County. There are mostly farms along the country road to get to a church that is just as I remember it growing up.  Next to it is a small cemetery where my Grandparents and other family members are buried. One headstone had the below quote, that I thought was worth remembering.

My visit ended all too soon, and I was on my way back to Virginia.  Heading out of Charleston West Virginia, on Route 60, there is the classic section of what is known as the Midland Trail that begins as Charleston’s downtown skyline disappears.

It stretches 120 curving miles and is a road full of West Virginia scenery and history that you miss by taking speedier interstate.  The two photos below are of Kanawha Falls that drops over a cofferdam built to redirect the river’s flow toward an old hydropower house at the left edge of the photo.

My favorite stop is Hawks Nest State Park.  

It's a peak on Gauley Mountain in Ansted, West Virginia. The name came from the many fish hawks which inhabited the massive cliffs. When the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway railroad began blasting in the area in the 1800's the hawks left the area and never returned.  Travelers like me stop to see the beautiful view of the river below. 

And for this building...  The bathroom...

The side trip slowed down my return home -- And when it was getting dark and I still had a ways to go, I was regretting that I'd made that decision.

But all that vanished when I finally got home.