No hiking here. But we DID visit.

Here is, pretty much, the entire state park.

Here you go! The headwaters of the Potomac!

We took advantage of our location and took a short hike at Dolly Sods Wilderness. It was the opposite side of the area than we’d hiked last time, and it was much much busier than our last visit (as in, last time we saw one person, and he was on the road, not the trail).

One reason there were so many people is because there were fields and fields and fields of ripe wild blueberries. Amazing amounts of wild blueberries.

An added bonus to a beautiful hike.

Location: Dolly Sods Wilderness
Trails: Rocky Ridge, Blackbird Knob, Breathed Mountain Trails
Distance: 3.4 miles
Elevation: 3908 – 4175 feet

While waiting for people to show up for our hike at Canaan Valley State Park, we decided to check out the Canaan Wildlife Refuge.

I immediately decided that we had to take the small people on a hike there. The trail was flat, relatively straight, relatively even, went through woods and fields and several different kinds of plant life, and there was a huge field full of wild blueberries.

It. Was. Awesome.

Location: Canaan Wildlife Refuge
Trail: Beall Loop (partial)
Distance: 1.1 mile
Elevation: 3217-3307 feet

We took a gorgeous hike at Canaan Valley State Park (checked that one off the list!) and although it was muddy in spots (it has rained for seemingly two months straight) it wasn’t difficult to get around the mud (ie, no impassable rhododendron).

Location: Canaan Valley State Park
Trail: Middle Ridge State Park
Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation: 3210-3501 feet

We spent Thursday through Saturday in the Blackwater Falls / Canaan area, and it was beautiful. Our hikes were shorter than normal, mostly because many of them had people not used to hiking. (Hikers ages ranged from 4 to 90, so, not so much with the long hikes.)

Along the Blackwater Canyon trail were old coke ovens, from Thomas’ industrial days, and then Douglas Falls, which were gorgeous, and well worth the scramble down to the water.

Location: Thomas, WV
Trails: Allegheny & Blackwater Canyon Trails
Distance: 3.8 miles
Elevation: 2743-2946 feet

Bonus: Wild black raspberries.

They were very delicious.

Here’s how things looked today!

Here’s how things looked today!

These are taken coming down University (heading south).

These are taking walking south on Beverly.

Michael: I bet the rent is dirt cheap.

As I was taking pictures with my phone, I was unsurprised that this picture didn’t turn out as I wanted.

When I looked in the hole, I could see water rushing by.

This is taken at the Y, standing on University and looking down onto Beverly.

And there are today’s updates.

FINALLY we could get back out to Coopers Rock without having to hike in rain and storms.

The streams were running high, which meant I had to be careful traipsing through the water.

I was, and it was gorgeous.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Rhododendron, Mont Chateau trails (plus splashing through a very cold stream)
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation: 874 feet

I believe that’s the most water I’ve seen coming through this stream.

And now a brief rant/whine.

I don’t dislike bicycles. In fact I have one and enjoy riding it.

However.

Some of my favorite trails at Coopers Rock are a muddy mess because of mountain bikers.

It’s been raining, so of course the trails are going to be wet in areas–especially where the trail is also part of a watershed run-off. I expect that.

The problem is that when people bike through these areas when it’s this wet, the entire trail becomes a churned up mess that is messy and ugly and not very fun to hike. There are sections of trail where the churned up mud is twice as wide as the trail, because of mountain bikers.

I don’t mind getting my feet wet (obviously), and I expect the trails to be muddy when it’s been raining as frequently as it has been. But I think it’s ridiculous that whole sections of trail are almost impassible unless you want to slog through a couple inches of mud.

As hikers, we have the ability to go off the trail, to try and avoid the nasty mess, but that’s not in the best interest of the forest.

Yes, the forest is open the everyone–that’s one of the many joys and benefits of living in WV. But I don’t see why bikers can’t use a little common courtesy and not tear up the trails when they are wet and muddy.

They’re ruining it for those of us who want to take our time and enjoy the scenery as we go past.

OK, done ranting.

Here’s some more gorgeous stream to close on.

Well, state parks and state forests, but since the state park was technically in a forest, we’ll just let it go.

Pictures are from Stonewall Resort and Coopers Rock.

The rhododendron are in bloom!

Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)

Are you a mushroom? No! I’m a fun-gi!

And here’s Stonewall Resort State Park

Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

Wild Bergamot / Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)

Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata)

Stonewall Resort State Park is probably the best maintained park we’ve visited.

Of course, after a month of rain, there’s not much they can do about all the high water and mud, though they did try.

Location: Stonewall Jackson Resort State Park
Trails: Hevener’s Orchard, Cairns, Lakeside Trails (this map is NOT up to date, last check)
Distance: 3.9 miles
Elevation: 719 feet

(SUPER fancy blazes!)

We dubbed this trail, the Canada trail.

Hmmmm….

Nope.

I can see why you might make that mistake, but still: wrong.

Points to anyone who knows WHAT is wrong, and why Michael and I giggled this entire section of trail.

It’s still raining, which is why I didn’t wander down to see the destruction yesterday. But there was a break in the weather this evening, so I got to see what’s happened.

They’re moving quickly.

So University Avenue is going to be closed for a couple months (so they say) so they can drop the road 5 feet for a flat intersection with 3rd street.

The construction started yesterday, so today I walked down to see what has happened so far.

The placement of this sign is apparently to ensure the maximum number of cars ignoring it.

And having to turn around here.

You didn’t think I was going to obey that sign, did you?

This is, I am guessing, the section of road that will be dropped 5 feet.Yes, it is already relatively steep. No, I don’t know what they were thinking.

I am not at ALL sad to see this building go.

Current state of the intersection. I presume nothing is going to happen until that house is down.

3rd Street

Beverley. Weirdly, there is a hole in the ground here, behind that pile of gravel.

That’s just me being easily amused.

My supposition is that this is where the re-grading will start.

There you go! The current state of the University Avenue construction project!

I read more than expected this June, mostly because it wouldn’t stop raining, so very little hiking.

Bah humbug.

I seem to have read a lot of meh books this month, and finished off some anthologies I’d been reading (some for years).

The best book of the month was Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older, which is a collection of short stories, set in the same world, and slowly intertwined.

This was a very nice book, and I purchased his Resurrection Blues based upon it. You should really check it out.

Supernatural Fantasy

  Salsa Nocturna (2012) Daniel José Older (8.5/10)
  Pocket Apocalypse (2015) Seanan McGuire (7/10)
  Werewolf Smackdown (2010) Mario Acevedo (4/10)

Fantasy

  Magic Lost, Trouble Found (2007) Lisa Shearin (7/10)

Historical Mystery

  The Mayfair Affair (2015) Tracy Grant (8/10)

Historical Romance

  Miss Grimsley’s Oxford Career (2012) Carla Kelly (8.5/10)
  The Soldier’s Dark Secret (2015) Marguerite Kaye (7.5/10)
  Widow’s Gambit (1998) Tracy Grant (7/10)
  Lucien’s Fall (2011) Barbara Samuel (6/10)

Anthology

  Fiction River: Hex in the City (2013) edited by Kerrie L. Hughes (9/10)
  Vampires: The Recent Undead (2011) edited by Paula Guran (7/10)

So here’s how the stats came out for the month.

I read 11 books, all of which were eBooks.

Genre-wise, mostly split between fantasy and historical romance.

Fantasy: 6
Romance: 5
Anthology: 3
Mystery: 2

Gender-wise, women continued to lead the pack, and the year, with 57% of this year’s books written by women.

Female: 7
Male: 2
Anthology: 2

And that’s the month of June in books.