So Michael’s conference was at Huntington Beach in some really expensive resort hotel.

Really expensive resort/hotel. But I was lucky enough this trip that the hotel was NOT in the middle of nowhere, so I was able to walk to find other (more reasonably priced) places to eat.

If you know me, you are probably aware that I do not much care for the sun. So I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the beach far more than I would have expected, mostly because I found watching to surfers to be fascinating and somewhat mesmerizing.

And there were a LOT of surfers.

I was on the pier at 5:30 AM and noon and sunset, and the water was always full of surfers.

I also noticed that not only did males predominate, but when there were female surfers, it was first thing in the morning, or late afternoon (say, before work and after work), which I found quite interesting. Mind you, it was a very small sample size.

And I also liked walking along the beach at sunrise and sunset. Water is very relaxing, and walking along the water without the sun beating down on me or massive crowds was quite pleasant.

And the birds!

I kept watching the Sandlings and giggling with delight as they’d walk down to the water line, and then scurry back from the tide.

Plus, a pelican that had almost no fear of humans.

And I did get to spend some time with this guy:

Where have I been? GLAD YOU ASKED! I have been on VACATION!

Michael’s conference this year was in California, so we made a vacation out of it! We took the train to California, went to his conference, then went to Joshua Tree National Park, then headed back to the coast and spent time with friends. We, of course, took the train back, so it was a very relaxing two weeks. (I’ve got a ton of book reviews I finished writing and posted need to post, because the train is perfect for reading, when you’re not staring out the windows at the passing scenery (which I did quite frequently).

Despite most of our trains being delayed at some point (including spending the night in Toledo) I still greatly prefer taking the train to flying. And with a roomette, we had a place to lie down and included meals, so WAY better than flying.

Because everyone has asked, here are the sordid details:

Capital Limited: Pittsburgh (11:59 PM) to Chicago Union Station (8:45 AM) – This leg is always delayed and running late. Plan for it. Also, I think next time I want to leave from Cumberland, because the Pittsburgh Amtrak station is AWFUL. Plus, we’d leave earlier and get back later. This will be our plan next time we take the train.
Southwest Chief: Chicago Union Station (3:00 PM Fri) to LA Union Station (8:15 Sun) – This was two nights on the train, with meals included. It went through: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado (south-east corner), New Mexico, Arizona, and California. We went through a LOT of desert, which I found fascinating to see.

Coming back we took:
Pacific Surfliner: San Diego to LA Union Station – This had long stretches of views of the ocean, which I really enjoyed. We got this last minute, so our marvelous hostess didn’t have to drive from San Diego to LA.
Southwest Chief: LA Union Station (6:15 PM Mon) to Chicago Union Station (3:15 PM Wed)
Capital Limited: Chicago Union Station (6:40 PM) to Pittsburgh (5:05 AM)

The total cost for both of us was ~$2,000, and (with the exception of the Surfliner) included the roomette with breakfast, lunch, and dinner (as applicable to that part of the journey). And the roomette was a single fee, not a per person fee. Plus, our luggage was free.

So the trip was, essentially, 3 1/3 days each way, and we got to see parts of the country with which we were unfamiliar.

Currently, a non-stop flight from Pittsburgh to LA is ~$570 / person and takes 5 hours.
Flights with layovers are currently:
United, 6h 40m, $336
US Airways, 5h 45m, $360

That’s with no checked luggage and no sustenance included.

Here are some of the views I enjoyed: (Please note, all pictures were taken from a moving train, through a thick window, with a cell phone.)

Because I turned on location services for most of them, you can click through to Flickr to see where most of the pictures were taken.

So, is it more expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? For me? Hell yes. Especially being able to actually see the landscape as we went by.

ADDENDUM the First:
Because it might be helpful, here are two pictures of the roomette, both taken by Michael (obviously).

Well, it was more casual strolling than hiking, but both of these are places you shouldn’t miss. Although it was only the 4th of October, it was 42 degrees at Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, and there were a few snow flurries. So the weather there can be quite different from the weather elsewhere.

Which means I was wishing that I had worn much warmer pants.

Location: Falls of Hills Creek and Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
Trails: Cranberry Glades Botanical Area & the Falls of Hills Creek
Distance: Cranberry Glades Botanical Area: 0.6 mile; Falls of Hills Creek: 1.3 miles
Elevation: Falls of Hills Creek: 367 feet

Cranberry Glades Botanical Area

The Cranberry Glades Botanical Area is a flat boardwalk, so it is accessible to everyone. Although it is only a 0.6 mile loop, there is incredible biological diversity in that small area.

Yup. Snow.

Cranberry Wilderness Area

This area was in an area not in the boardwalk, but similar botanically, and the light was a lot better.

The Falls of Hills Creek

The upper falls are accessibly by a gently sloping path. They were also kinda boring without much water going through the area.

The rest of the path was a lot of stairs. But utterly worth the hike.

The Middle Falls

The Lower Falls

The stairs are quite steep in places.

Cranberry Glades Botanical Area GPS map
Falls of Hills Creek GPS map

Hiking WV: Coopers Rock State Forest: Raven Rock

The weather was too nice not to go hiking, so we went to Coopers Rock, which is the park I visited so many times as a child, but weirdly, rarely hiked. We’d wander beneath the overlook and climb rocks, but didn’t much hike any of the trails.

Raven Rock is a nice climb to look out down the mountain, however, there are a couple reasons it’s far less popular than the main overlook. 1) It’s a relatively steep walk up unpleasantly rocky terrain. 2) Power transmission lines. 3) To the north you can see power plant stacks and steam. The latter two are the bigger irritation to me, not that my ankle was well-pleased with the rocky terrain.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Raven Rock Trail & McCollum Trail
Distance: 2.9 miles
Elevation: 743 feet

This is what the Raven Rock trail looks like pretty much the entire way.

My ankle is displeased with me, because walking on ground like this is a lot more uncomfortable and difficult than you’d think–you have to watch the ground, and even so, smaller rocks slide out from under your feet.

All of which is why we took the McCollum trail back as soon as it branched off.

And the reason it looks like an old road, is because that’s what it is. This is how they got all the equipment for the power lines up the hill. So perhaps this is Mother Nature’s revenge.

Looking east, over the Cheat Canyon.

Looking west:

Looking North. You can see the overlook to the right, and in the background the Longview and Fort Martin power plants.

The power lines and towers kinda ruin the view to the south. (Looking south west here.)

Ferns are quite tenacious.

We were trying to remember where this rock fell from. No place obvious.

GPS Map of Raven Rock hike

My hydrangea took a significant amount of damage last winter, so although it survived, I got no flowers. So I decided to snap a couple pictures of the last hurrah of this hydrangea outside the Purple Fiddle in Thomas.

And just because I adore it so, my favorite building in Thomas.

After discovering the WV Dept of Forestry Fall Foliage Map, WV State Parks Fall Foliage Map, we decided that a trip to Blackwater Falls was in order.

I wanted to visit my favorite overlooks and falls, so we went to lots of different places. (This would have been more energy efficient if we’d had bicycles, however, we only had a couple hours, so we were in and out of the car instead.) The last time we hiked most of these trails, it was early spring and had also been raining for two weeks straight, so there was a LOT of water. This time we were able to hike along creeks that were flooded last time.

It was a gorgeous fall day, temperatures in the upper 60s to 70–perfect for hiking–and the skies were clear. It was a perfect day.

Location: Blackwater Falls State Park
Trails: Pendleton Trace Trail, Dobbin House Trail; Pase Point Trail; Lindy Point Trail
Falls: Elekata Falls (off Elekata Trail); Blackwater Falls
Distance: Pendleton Trace to Dobbins House to Pase Point and Back: 2.9 miles; Lindy Point: .8 mile
Total Distance (including going off trail): 4.9 miles
Elevation: Pendleton Trace to Dobbins House to Pase Point: 261 feet; Lindy Point: 66 feet
Total Elevation (including going off trail): 911 feet

Elekata Falls (here it was in the spring)

Blackwater Falls (here it was in the spring)

Oh look! A turkey vulture!

This sighting was followed by a discussion of the difference between a vulture and a buzzard. Answer: in the US–the terms are interchangeable.

Pendleton Lake

Wait… what’s that?

A heron!

Lindy Point. This is an easy hike for a spectacular view.

Pendleton Point

Pase Point

The river below Dobbin House Trail (here’s how things looked in the spring)

This area was completely inaccessible in the spring.

On the Dobbin House Trail someone had set up a silent walk. About a quarter of the signs were botany and nature related, the others were exceedingly touchy-feel. (Look around at the colors. How do they make you feel?) But THIS sign made my day.

Will no one rid me of the troublesome philosopher?

I am easily amused.

Dobbins House Trail + Pase Point Trail GPS map (with bonus Pendleton overlook and going off trail)

Lindy Point Trail GPS map

Go ahead. Say it: WA-TOGA! WA-TOGA! WA-TOGA!

You’re welcome.

Location: Watoga State Park
Trails: Honeybee Trail, Buckhorn Trail, Dragon Draft Trail
Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation: 920 feet

At Watoga there’s a lake:

As you can see, the leaves are just starting to change:

There’s also an arboretum:

This is a tree (still alive) that has been attacked by some kind of insect, which was then rooted out by woodpeckers.

We hiked the outside of the trail, then cut into the center, where the arboretum trail crosses back and forth across the creek:

It’s fascinating, the amount of stone and rock in the creek bed, that has been uncovered over time, and shifted around every time there’s a hard rain.

There’s also access to the Greenbrier river:

It was a lovely park, and as it’s the end of the season, it was quite empty and quiet (which I always enjoy).

GPS map of hike

Due to events beyond our control, we arrived at the park much later than expected. That, combined with the heat, meant we only took a partial hike along the Left Fork of the Holly River.

It was utterly gorgeous, and I very much want to go back and hike the Potato Ridge trail complete, as well as other trails in the park.

The park office provides maps with distances as well as an elevation graph.

Location: Holly River State Park
Trail: Potato Ridge Trail (partial)
River: Left Fork Holly River
Distance: 3.6 miles (we only hiked 1.7 miles)
Ascent:

This trail is NOT going to be accessible after a rain or when the river is running high. Not unless you want to get your feet wet.

The Potato Ridge trail abuts private property, so local residents will ride their 4-wheelers off park territory to visit the river. When we got to Shupe’s Chute, there was a father with his young son (probably about 4) sitting on the rocks watching the water. When we arrive, the son excitedly told us that the water was VERY fast, and picked up leaves to throw into the water.

It was, in fact, very fast.

Shupe’s Chute was pretty fascinating. I’ve tried to stitch together three pictures so you can see it in its entirety, but I don’t think it worked really well.

Then when we mentioned we were going to hike down to the lower falls, he begged his dad to go down to the lower falls too. When we passed them later (them heading back, us heading down) the boy excitedly told us that if we crossed the river, we could even go UNDER the falls.

He was delightful.

Cooler weather and an influx of horrific traffic to Morgantown got us on the road again, this time to Audra State Park.

The Girst Mill (it’s earlier use) is long gone, except for a grinding stone, but the Alum Cave trail along the river has multiple paths to wander down to the water, where you can swim and sunbathe in relative isolation if you’re willing to hike a bit.

I really like Audra. It’s not a particularly strenuous hike (we went out and back the same way, because I prefer to walk closer to the water) but it’s very pretty, and has lots of options for going down to the water.

Location: Audra State Park
Trail: Alum Cave Trail
River: Middle Fork River
Distance: 2.9 miles
Ascent: 497 feet

I love the board walk. It’s more solid than it looks.

We had a long discussion about this root formation:

Rotting logs can be absolutely fascinating:

And lots of paths to get down to the water:

GPS map of hike

But it was better than all the other trips this year!

Ice cream was made…

…and eaten!

There was walking…

…and jumping.

Rocks were picked up and checked under.

Big sticks were found and carried.

Stairs were climbed…

…as were rocks.

It was a marvelous day.

We went to Frostburg to have dinner for my Dad’s birthday, and I talked my parents into stopping by The Ark!

Look! Here we are!

Ta DA!

We’re in luck! Clear skies!

It’s large, but it’s not THAT large. Guess that’s why the dinosaurs couldn’t fit.

I’m guessing this is the ramp for the animals to go down into the hold. Not much headroom for the elephants and giraffes.

All the cement is crumbling.

The footers (again, crumbling) were poured for a much larger structure than the existing steel super structure.

There you go! A closer look at the Ark, a structure that has provided hours of amusement over the years.

There are several more pictures if you click through to Flickr.

Location: Cedar Creek State Park
Trail: Stone Trough Trail
Distance: 3.0 miles
Elevation: 814 feet

The trail was slightly problematic at two parts. At the sealed oil well pipe, when coming up from the stone trough, it took us a long time to pick the trail back up. (You head right, and then head back up the hill.) And towards the end of the trail (for us) the trail suddenly went down a very steep hill. The rest of the trail was relatively easy, but this part was not.

This is not the sealed gas/oil head. This was a random, rusting piece of machinery.

“Yes, you’re really going that way.”

That was moderately steep.

Yeah, a bit steep here.

“We’re not kidding. You go pretty much straight up here.”

GPS map of the trail.

Yeah, so, I’m stretching things this week. But they were flowers once!

There were a LOT of recently downed trees, as well as a lot of recently downed snags.

Like many females on the planet, I am uncomfortable with how I look in a swimsuit. I sometimes cringe when I see a picture of myself dressed, so bathing suits are like an explosion of self-loathing.

However, I’ve refused to let that stop me from swimming, because the only person who cares about what I’m wearing is Jules, who needs me to be able to swim and horse around with her.

We also went to Valley Falls.

It was a very good day.