Leave No Road Unexplored

Hubby and I are on an unofficial mission to explore as many roads in West Virginia as possible. That is, after all, THE reason we bought a piece of land and built ourselves a cool little house.

While we aren't completely finished every single thing there is to do on the house, we've decided to put work on the back burner and enjoy the place for a change.

After all, during the summers of 2005, 2006, and 2007, we slaved away. Although, truth be told, we did do quite a bit of work this year, too. From January through mid-May, we worked quite a few weekends. We did take a couple weeks off for our trip to Alaska in late-May/early-June. The rest of June and most of July weren't very productive for various reasons.

We felt a little guilty for slacking off. But we have all winter to finish all the little things we need to do. And not many good riding days left. So we're taking advantage of it while we can.

The ultimate destination was Spruce Knob (highest point in WV at 4,863 feet above sea level). It is south and west of Romney in the Monongahela National Forest.

We didn't make it. We got close, but the road was closed. I should have done some research first. It was still a fabulous, but long, ride (we did 211 miles!). We even stopped at Seneca Rocks for a photo.

One weird thing happened. There's this tourist train in Romney called the Potomac Eagle. We have been driving past the station, frequently, since 2005, but not once had we seen it move. Until Saturday.

We see lots of people and/or cars at the station. And we live close enough to hear the whistle. But no movement.

Imagine our surprise on Saturday when we pulled into Petersburg, about an hour and a half southwest of Romney, in search of lunch and saw none other than the Potomac Eagle. Finally. It was sitting still at first, but by the time we parked our bikes at the restaurant, it was moving.

It's about time!