Since we made an actual weekend of our trip (staying overnight instead of just a day trip) we had our leisure to visit several of the parks and recreation areas.

Spruce Knob is West Virginia’s highest peak. We did not hike to the top, but instead drove (I believe it’s an 11 mile hike).

Despite being the end of May, it was quite cold–there was even ice on the ground under the observation tower. But it was also gorgeous, and there were not many people, so one could actually get a sense of the isolation of the area.

It’s nice to be in a mostly wild area, and not see or hear other humans.

Mind you, it’s not quiet in these areas–nature isn’t particularly silent–just peaceful.

Coming back down from Spruce Knob, we made the mistake of listening to the GPS, which kept wanting us to turn down roads marked “Private! No Trespassing!” or overgrown dirt roads.

On the other hand, it was an absolutely gorgeous drive.

We also took a short hike at Dolly Sods

We also saw many signs of Superstorm Sandy. There are some trails throughout the various state parks that are still closed, and we had to clamber over several downed trees on some of the trails.

And there was plenty of beauty to admire.