Remember this from weeks ago?

And this?

Well, Jules’ birthday was Tuesday and Lily’s birthday is today, so now I can show you what it is!

Jules is exactly three feet tall!

If you’re interested in one, let me know. I still have a LOT of yellow paint left.

I’m saddened that no one commented upon a common item in the last two posts: Seneca Rock and Spruce Knob.

I’m obviously too subtle for my own good.

Sunday would have been my cousin Ben’s 33rd birthday. My aunt and uncle held a memorial hike along the Appalachian Trail on Sunday, but I’ve felt very uncomfortable recently around groups of people I don’t know, so Michael and I chose to hike up Seneca Rocks, which is one of the first places he climbed.

There are two ways to get up Seneca Rocks: climb the face or hike from the side. We–unsurprisingly–chose the hike.

Here are some views of Seneca Rocks:

This is the end of the hiking path: only climbers with proper gear are supposed to go beyond here.

We also made the slightly more arduous hike (because it’s not a path, but a trail) to the base of the rock. We came in from the left, so it’s looking up at the lower face on the far left. Here’s a look upwards.

This is a gorgeous stream running below the rock face. One of the nice things about visiting state parks is the water ways tend to be clean and clear and unpolluted (ie, not orange from acid mine drainage, which used to be the state of all the creeks local to Morgantown.)

Here’s the view from the observation deck:

And here’s a sign that caught my fancy. You could see several areas of erosion where people took “shortcuts.”

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.

Perhaps my interest in decay is unhealthy, but it’s fascinating to see how quickly the monuments of man disintegrate.

At Seneca Rocks.

Cool Springs Park along Route 50. We’ve stopped here before. It’s still fascinating.

Played around with processing some of these pictures as black & white. Any thoughts?

First up, the marvelous Gina, hanging out with Ricky Martin the Metal Chicken, and Ada Lovelace the Metal Chick.

So sweet!
 
 

Wednesday I went overboard.
(more…)

Earlier this year, I decided that Ricky Martin the Metal Chicken needed a smaller sibling, which is how I ended up with Ada Lovelace, the Small Metal Chick.

After a long search, I recently purchased a travel case for Ada Lovelace, because she is heavy (for her size) and has sharp bits. To inaugurate her Recreational Non-Wheeled Vehicle, we took her to the Arboretum on Saturday.

(more…)

No clothes to share this week, but I did get new toys!

Skeleton Legos and a zombie lunch box/travel home for Ada Lovelace the small metal chicken.

You can also see in the background my new Dia De Los Muertos coin purse. It’s larger than I was expecting, but since I’ll be putting more than change in it, that shouldn’t be an issue.

I got some other things from Etsy, but haven’t used them yet. (And my Day of the Dead wallet is still my favorite.)

What on earth could be in here?!

(more…)

On our first bike ride, we went around areas we normally don’t walk, which is how I got a closer look at the CPASS building.

If you’re a townie, this is going where St Francis High School went. As I was miserable in high school, I won’t lie and say I miss the old building, but it IS very strange looking. And the new building is going to be HUGE.

I put notes on the pictures, to orient you as to the surrounding structures.

Looking East

(more…)

I’m hoping I accidentally joggled a switch on my camera. If not, either I am no longer capable of taking pictures with my DSLR, or there’s something wrong with my camera. I did get a couple of interesting shots, though–some actually on purpose.

I didn’t set out to take this picture.

Tulip

(more…)

It rained Friday, we we walked to town on Saturday.

It looks like they’re trucking in (back?) dirt to level out the area.

Looking South

(more…)

Well, past two weeks, actually.

Victorian City Skirt

(more…)

I know the weather was gorgeous this weekend, but we were BUSY, so I didn’t have time to get out with my camera–just got a couple cell phone pictures.