Today’s word is: chocolate

I have eaten chocolate ice cream and chocolate truffles and lemon ice cream…

…and I still miss Grandmom.

Location: Blackwater Falls
Trail: Pendleton Trace Trail, Dobbins House Trail, Pase Point Trail and into Monongahela National Forest
Distance: 3.9 miles
Elevation: 513 feet

This hike was actually three trails, that lead one to the other: Pendleton Trace Trail, Dobbins House Trail, and Pase Point Trail. We actually continued past the end of the Pase Point Trail into the Monongahela National Forest, where the trail is not maintained by the WV State Park system, but is in good shape, and not much more difficult than the Pase Point Trail. (At some point, I’d like to follow the path out and back.)

We started at the parking lot by the Pendleton Point Overlook. From there, to where we turned around (in the Monongahela National Forest) the hike was 3.9 miles. The elevation ascent was only 513 feet and 0.8% grade.

Here is the trail end:

Pase Point Trail (starting from Pendleton Point)

It rained for the better part of two weeks, so I was expecting a fair amount of water at Blackwater Falls. What we saw was more water going over the falls than I have ever seen. I didn’t even go down to the bottom of the falls overlook, because we’d have gotten soaked by the spray.

You can see Ekelata Falls in 2012 and in 2013.

Here’s what Elakala Falls looked like Saturday:

Here are some previous pictures of Blackwater Falls in 2013, 2010, and 2011. Seriously, go look at those pictures and compare them to what we saw Saturday.

Here’s a look at Blackwater Canyon, going away from the falls.

This is Pendleton Creek beneath the Pendleton Lake accessed from Dobbin House Trail. This was a difficult hike down to the creek, but well worth the view.

There is a bridge just below Pendleton Lake, and you can pretty easily get down to Pendleton Creek . It’s all shale, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I took (approximately) a zillion pictures.

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We went to the Arboretum today, to hike with some friends (both grown and kids). Got a couple pictures of the flowers.

White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)

Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum umbellatum

Rhododendron (Rhododendron )

Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata)

Dame’s Rocket/Dame’s Violet (Hesperis matronalis)

Saturday we went to Blackwater Falls. It has rained for the better part of two weeks, which is why there was more water than I have ever seen coming over the falls. But those pictures will come later. Here are some of the flowers we saw.

Bluets (Quaker Ladies) Houstonia caerulea

False Solomon’s-seal Smilacina racemosa (I think)

Painted Trillium Trillium undulatum

Moccasin Flower Cypripedium acaule

Golden Ragwort (Senecio aureus) (I think)

Today is Broken Ankle Day.

It’s strange, how one single step could have changed not just my life permanently, but also the lives of others so drastically.

For me, there is the obvious change–I live with regular aches and pains associated with the hardware that remains screwed into my bones.

But it was the other, less obvious changes, that had an even greater impact.

After I returned home from the hospital, it was glaringly obvious that Michael couldn’t take care of me and help Grandmom with her day-to-day things. So on the 16th, she packed some bags and my parents drove her to my aunt’s house, where we figured she’d stay until I was (literally) back on my feet.

Then Grandmom fell and broke her femur, and things changed yet again.

She spent months in rehab, and we were suddenly traveling to the DC area every three to four weeks. We eventually realized that Grandmom wouldn’t be coming back to live with us, and that meant changes for my aunt and uncle, as they arranged their home and lives for her.

I never thought, that Friday evening, as a grabbed my camera and went out to take some pictures of flowers, that my life would change so drastically with a single step.

And that’s what I try to remember today. Not the pain, not missing Grandmom (well, ok, there is that), but the realization that things can change in an instant. We cannot fully control our lives, and we can never take back things once they have happened.

We can only accept them–the good and the bad–and move on, making the best of what we have.

After all, if Grandmom hadn’t been in VA, I’d never have taken my two favorite pictures of her, and my memories of those days.

So, on Broken Ankle Day, I have no regrets, only acceptance.

I love you and miss you Grandmom.

It’s Broken Ankle Day! The day in 2010 when I broke my ankle and life as I knew it changed.

Today’s word is: titanium

It’s Primary Election Day, so after doing our Civic Duty, we headed out to Coopers Rock for a hike.

We hiked the Ridge Trail down to the Mont Chateau trail, hikeed the Mont Chateau trail, and then came back to Rock City via the Rhododendron Trail.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Ridge & Rhododendron
Distance: 4.3 miles
Elevation: 959 feet

At the bottom of the Mont Chateau trail, I went off the path, and clambered along the creek. It was simply gorgeous–the pictures do not do it justice. (All GPS location stats are available if you click through to Flickr.)

It was a gorgeous hike.

Hike Map

Hike Stats:
4.3 miles
2 1/2 hours
959 feet elevation rise

Sunday we (again) hiked the Scott’s Run Trail at Coopers Rock. It was a gorgeous day, and the ground wasn’t nearly as muddy as we were expecting.

Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Scott’s Run Trail
Distance: 4.5 miles
Elevation: 758 feet

You’ll notice that I take a lot of pictures of water. There are two reasons for this: first, I love running water, but second, because I continue to appreciate these clean clear streams, something we didn’t always have (and some areas of WV still don’t have). It like noting these positives.

All pictures are tagged with the Geo-coordinates if you click through to Flickr.

Out hike was 4 1/2 miles, and we ascended 758 feet, most of it rocky terrain.

Scott’s Run Trail

Here are the flowers we saw along our hike at Coopers Rock today.

Trillium

Violets

I’m not telling you what this is–you have to guess. But it’s a plant that is far more interesting than most people suspect.

Today’s word is: strawberry

Sunday we hiked the Henry Clay Iron Furnace trail and then from there on the Mont Chateau Trail. Both were, of course, lovely.

Two types of flower pr0n today. A quick peek at my yard, and some flowers I saw on our hike at Coopers Rock.

It was cloudy for the first part of our hike, but there were still tons of flowers.

And here are the pictures taken around the house.

Here’s my herb garden–everything except the chives was planted in the past month.

I was shocked to see this rose bush is coming back. Not only was this a hard winter, but this bush was run over two years in a row, when cars ended up in our yard (and to be honest, I think a couple more times this winter, from cars that were stopped by the snow barrier).

And here is my lavender bed. When we cut everything back, one single plant was coming back from the roots. The others were dead. So I replanted, and managed to find about five different lavender cultivars. How exciting!