Friday, June 24, 2022

Lesson 754: A Bridge

 Hello, Readers!

Last week I had to give you an abridged version of the summer

in Lesson 753:   Abridged.

This week's lesson is about A Bridge!

This one, specifically:

This is the bridge that spans the New River in West Virginia,

which is actually one of the oldest rivers in North America.

It's the famous spot of the Bridge Day festivities,

including jumps and rappelling.

The bridge is closed for traffic every year

on the third Saturday of October.  

Here's the link if you want to check it out.

I bet it is a beautiful place in the fall!

Bridge Day info CLICK HERE

The New River Gorge is 

America's newest National Park,

earning its title in the fall of 2020.

The area interested me so much,

I rounded up my gang and planned a four day field trip

to a place John Denver referred to as almost heaven.


Our first stop on our day of exploring was to the 
Canyon Rim overlook.


It was there we could view the bridge
and actually see some people walking the expanse
underneath it on the catwalk.

Two who shall remain nameless

were weak-kneed on the secure overlook.

I purchased five tickets for the .6 mile,

two hour long bridge tour,

not originally planning to do it myself.

Someone is a chip off the old block and wouldn't come.

Eloise strapped on her camera and took the walk of her life.

Nervous smiles at the start,

somewhat relaxed halfway through--


elation at the end!


Here is how high the bridge is in comparison to other structures.
Ellen and Ryan ended up buying shirts with this image on the back.


We were tethered to a cable,
to which I said in Chris Farley fashion,
be strong, little clip.


The 33rd checkpoint marked the halfway point
where our guide allowed us to sit if we wanted to.

Only the bravest among us tried it.

Instead Eloise,

who hasn't touched a handrail since March of 2020,

gripped tightly with my left,

and clicked around with my right.

In terms of birds,

I saw only a single pigeon.

I hoped these math calculations were correct,


while admiring the geometry.

I spied some whitewater rafters, too.

The other part of the gang mini golfed at 

Mountain State Mini Golf, 

which we highly recommend.

We went back three times!

This is me as I legit beat Sam!
Honest Abe!


It really was like a little piece of Heaven,


spending time in this beautiful world with people I love.







If you journey there,
make time to stop at the Grist Mill at Babcock State Park


and check out the waterfall.


Also set a side an hour to shop at Tamarack--
the interior is as cool at the exteriors.


This weekend, find what you love.


Something that brings a smile to your face that is this big.


Fellow Yellowstone fans,
I hope this brings a smile to your face--
found in a parking lot while on vacation:


Reading brings a big smile to Eloise's face,
and I believe this book is going to be one of my 
favorites of all time.
Five stars from Eloise
in the following rubric categories:

Interesting Characters
Unusual storyline
Historical time period
Good mix of humor and heartache
It has a dog--a very unusual dog

This is the book.


It deserves its own post,
so next week
 I'll write more about why I nearly underlined
the whole back half of the book!


Have a great weekend,
Eloise

PS--While on the Canyon Rim Overlook, Jack met a family from
Florida who stopped in WV on their way to Erie.
Destination point:  to ride the Ravine Flyer!

Small world.
Beautiful world.
























Thursday, June 16, 2022

Lesson 753: Abridged

 Happy Nature Photography Day!

(June 15th)

In celebration, 

an early blog post this week!


It's been a fun and busy week
and we are looking ahead to more fun and adventures this weekend.


 I'll give you the very abridged version,
and promise you more details next week.

After a very depressing few weeks of bad news
and the ending of a long school year,
things are looking up!


Last weekend we looked in and around 


the Allegheny National Forest,


but failed to find Bigfoot!


There were sightings all around the town of Marienville.


People gathered at the town square to hear about sightings
and new leads.




The whole town embraced the effort to find him.
We even stopped to pray at the Marienville Presbyterian


(and for some Bigfoot footlongs)!


The rest of the week was about baseball


babies,




and big blooms.



While out hunting for some good nature shots
for Nature Photography Day on June 15th,
I found this messy lump.
I thought this was a nest from a rare bird.


Turns out, it was just a softball my dogs chewed up.


See you next week!



Eloise