Valley Falls

Downstream several miles from the Tygart Dam, the Tygart Valley River flows through over some small, yet picturesque waterfalls. This series of falls is called Valley Falls, and is located about halfway between the towns of Grafton and Fairmont off of WV Highway 310. I got out this morning to get some photos, even though it was overcast. It was definitely very cold outside, and later in the day we got some snow, but not enough to stick to the ground.

This first shot shows the largest falls in the foreground, and another just a bit further upstream. The Tygart Valley River flows into the Monongahela River, which ends at the Ohio River, which in turn drains into the Mississippi and on to the Gulf of Mexico. This part of West Virginia is just west of the Eastern Continental Divide, which separates the drainage areas that end up in the Gulf of Mexico, primarily via the Mississippi/Missouri River System; from the water that flows eastward from the Appalachian Mountains directly into the Atlantic Ocean.


Valley Falls, WV

The next view is the same set of falls from a little further downstream.


Valley Falls, WV

You really can't top Mother Nature for arranging a scene. Sometimes, she has it laying on the ground right in front of you. This red maple leaf lying among the other colors of autumn caught my attention as I walked by.


Red Maple Leaf at Valley Falls, WV

Finally, on the way into and out of the falls area lies Rock Lake. The next scene popped out at me as I drove by, so of course, I had to stop and capture it.


Rock Lake near Valley Falls, WV

Railroad Switch

Sometimes a small component can be a very large point of failure if it doesn't operate correctly. One such instance is that of the railroad switch. While small in comparison to many of the other pieces of a functional railroad infrastructure, the switch has the job of making sure the trains get onto the right track. Disaster can occur if a switch malfunctions or is placed into the wrong position.

Here is a picture of a switch that I took this week. This is a manually-operated switch. A person has to actually be there to rotate the handle and put the tracks of the switch into the proper configuration to route a train to the track it should be on.

Manual railroad switch at the CSX yard (formerly B&O) in Grafton, WV

As is easy to imagine, snow can get in the way of the proper operation of a railroad switch. The snow either has to be cleared by hand, or in some cases, heaters are installed to keep the rails at a temperature above freezing.

The animation below demonstrates the operation of a railroad switch:


Animation from Wikipedia Commons

Anyone who has played with the layouts of toy electric trains should readily recognize these small, but vital component, of the railroad infrastructure.

Goofy Products Sold on TV

The nighttime TV ads for new products continue to amuse and amaze. Two of the latest "As Seen on TV" products are hitting the airwaves with a heavy rotation of spots. One looks like it might be moderately interesting, while the other appears to me to be a total crock of B.S.

The interesting one is called Tater Mitts, a product that looks like rubber gloves with the palm side being coated with an abrasive surface. One supposedly takes a potato and rubs it while wearing Tater Mitts and holding the spud under running water. Then like magic, the peeling strips right off the potato. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. But I am not willing to plunk down $19.95 to find out.

The other one that seems to me to be a load of bull, is the Baby Bee Bright System, a speaker on a belt that a pregnant woman can wear to play CDs to her fetus, and a microphone to talk to it. For only $99.95 you can have this little gem of a product. Why not just lay a speaker on your belly? The TV ads are so ridiculous that I thought this was a parody of a late night TV ad, but no, it's real alright. Maybe it's that I am a skeptic by nature, but this is proof that some people will buy any fool thing. Perhaps the Baby Bee Bright people should also remove their stock price from their website. Today's six-tenths-of-a-cent price per share doesn't lend confidence in this company. But if you want to shell out a hundred bucks to talk to a fetus in utero, knock yourself out.

Tour of Downtown Grafton

Here are some more pictures from the historic town of Grafton. Sadly, Grafton is in a state of serious decline, as evidenced by the condition of its central business district. Even more sad is the fact that this is a common state of affairs in small towns across the nation, as the jobs of American workers continue to be exported to slave labor in China and other developing countries.

In any case, let's take a look at a few pictures. As always, click on them for a larger version.

This first one is the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, also known as the International Mothers Day Shrine. This is where Mothers Day originated, when Anna Jarvis started the holiday in honor of her own mother. Ironically, Ms. Jarvis was never a mother herself. Today, Mothers Day is celebrated in many countries, and this is where it all started.


International Mothers Day Shrine - Andrews M.E. Church


Taylor County Courthouse. Notice the doors at the top of the tower on the left. Watch your step!


Taylor County Clerk's Office inside the county courthouse


Typical brick alleyway in Grafton


An odd, hand-painted flag with 22 stars & 11 stripes in a Grafton storefront.


A signpost for every sign means a forest of posts at the corner of US 119 & US 50 in the Blueville area of Grafton.


US 119 South heading out of downtown Grafton


The US 119 shield on Main Street is long gone, but at least you still know which direction you are going.


On the south end of downtown is St. Matthias Episcopal Church.


Grafton's Post Office, built in 1913


A typical house in downtown Grafton


Watch that first step! Grafton seems to have a lot of doors with a big first step!!


A downtown law practice


A rusted bridge over the railroad tracks


An asset plaque on the bridge shows it was built in 1950. Guess they couldn't afford paint.


The Grafton B&O Station

Tygart Lake

The Tygart River flows through Grafton, West Virginia; and just to the south of town is the Tygart River Dam. The dam was built by the Army Corps of Engineers as a flood control project. Here are a some pictures of the area around the lake.


An interesting shelter beside the road that goes to the lake.


The road that goes around the ridges surrounding Tygart Lake.


A view of Tygart Lake.


Tygart River Dam, Taylor County, WV

Grafton CSX Rail Yard

Two of the main industries in the state of West Virginia are interdependent. Coal and the railroad have long driven the economy of this state, as the rails are used to transport coal from the mines to the places it is used to produce energy; be it individual coal furnaces to major power generation plants. The town of Grafton has been a major hub for CSX Transportation (formerly Chessie System, formerly B&O Railroad) for decades. While the town has been in a state of decline for many years, and the railroad has lost much prominence, Grafton still has a railyard where you can see the trains at work.

The first picture shows a diesel locomotive in the Grafton railyard. This is just one of a number of these large vehicles that were there this afternoon. (Remember, to see a large picture, just click on the small version below.)


Diesel locomotive in Grafton

There were coal cars linked and ready to roll with their loads of coal, and others that were empty, and headed back to be refilled with the black fuel that still powers much of the American economy.


Coal ready to roll

Below are the empty cars that were on a track at the railyard. They obviously were ready to be loaded with their next batch of cargo.


We want coal!

US 50

US Highway 50 has been dubbed "The Loneliest Highway in America", because in its journey across the country, it goes through very few large cities. Its eastern terminus is in Ocean City, Maryland, and its western end is in West Sacramento, California. One of the towns it passes through is Grafton, West Virginia, where it crosses US 119. Just to the west of Grafton, US 50 has a short duplex with US 250.

Today, I went out and about a bit around the Grafton area, and took way too many pictures. I have processed just a few for the web, so here they are. As always, click on the small photos to view full size.


Old house on US 50

Perfect for Halloween, this looks like it would make a perfect haunted house. This structure was probably a very nice home back in its time, but with neglect and vacancy, its time has come and gone. Still, I think it makes a nice picture.


A once-common sight . . . roadside cabin motel

Back in the middle of the last century, America took to the highways. As motorists traveled across the country, they needed accommodations for those nights on the road. This little cabin-style motel could probably tell quite a few tales if it could talk. This is located on US 50 just a stone's throw from where US 250 branches off to the north toward the town of Fairmont.


US 50/US 250 split near Grafton

The next picture is looking toward the west from a vantage point near the motel. This is US 50 West toward the towns of Bridgeport and Clarksburg, some 12 miles or so ahead. At the curve, the road you see branching off to the right is US 250 North.


An old fruit stand on US 50

This old fruit stand is on the north side of US 50, just to the east of the old house in the first picture. I believe this one is still in use during part of the year, but it would be hard to tell from the way it looks neglected and abandoned. I would imagine this location would be quite a good spot to sell fruit to motorists on the old highway.

Roadgeekin' in the Alleghenies

Alrighty, we are cooking on high-speed Internet in rural West Virginia. I got my mother-in-law's cable modem set up, hooked up a wireless router, and now we are on a faster connection than I have back in Colorado. So let's take a look at the first batch of roadgeekin' photos. Bear in mind, these are not the quality I would be proud of for any photo contest. They are taken with my little "point and shoot" digital, through a dark windshield, and with a sun low in the sky; all while driving down the highway. But all that aside, I think I did pretty good with these. As always, click on the photos for the large versions.



Let's get started as we leave Pittsburgh International Airport. These signs are a dark gray color with arrows on green stick-on panels. A bit unusual. Also, you see on the sign to the right, a reference to "Moon Beaver". No, it's not talking about any kind of moon beaver...it refers to two little towns, Moon, PA and Beaver, PA.



Once we get off the airport property and onto PA 60, we see the signs look more traditional. Pennsylvania is installing some road signs in Clearview font, but these are not them. But you will notice that the exit tabs have rounded cornered borders. Looks a little strange to my eye.




PA 60 Business route goes into Moon Township at Exit 3.




PA 60 is a fairly short highway between the Airport and two Interstates, I-279 and I-79. These unusual orange directional signs are in a construction zone along PA 60 eastbound. We will be taking the right lane to get onto I-79 South toward West Virginia.




Once on I-79, the first city indicated as a destination is Washington. If you are not a local, you might think this means Washington, DC, which is about 230 miles away, but you'd be wrong. It is Washington, PA, a town where I-79 duplexes with I-70 for a few miles.




Here is a reassurance shield mounted on two wooden posts. I almost missed this one, since the shutter lag on the little camera is significant, unlike my DSLR. However, the live view on the small camera's screen makes it more suitable for shots while driving.




Apparently, Pennsylvania used to number exits consecutively, rather than based upon the mile marker number. This was changed, and the state has little signs indicating the old exit number below the main sign. Here we see that current Exit 45 used to be numbered as Exit 10.




Here is a sign anticipating the merge with I-70, which will duplex with I-79 as we go through the town of Washington. If I was so inclined, I could take 70 West from here and go back to Denver. I think I'll pass on that for now, although that road is very familiar to me. I have made that drive many times in the past.




Here we are approaching the merge with I-70 one mile ahead. I-70 West to Wheeling, Columbus, St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver. East will take you down the Pennsylvania Turnpike though New Stanton, PA and the Maryland cities of Hancock, Hagerstown, and Baltimore. I-79 South will split back off in a few miles and head south toward Morgantown, Clarksburg, and Charleston.




And speaking of how I-79 splits off, here is where it happens, just east of Washington. We'll be exiting to the right.




As noted in my previous posts, we see here that West Virginia is "Open for Business" as we leave the Keystone State and enter the soon again to be Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.




Morgantown is home to the University of West Virginia. Here is the main exit off I-79 to WV 7 that takes you to the campus. The funny thing is, the two interstates in this town run along the edges, and you wouldn't know there was a town nearby if you were just driving by. It appears to be far out in the country as you drive down either I-79 or I-68.




On the southwest side of Morgantown, we come to one end of one of America's shortest Interstate routes...I-68. It runs from its western terminus here at I-79, east through Cumberland, Maryland, over Sideling Hill and joins I-70 at Hancock, Maryland. It is promoted as a free alternative to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.




And just a few hundred feet down the road from the last picture is the actual split. I-68 begins at this exit, while I-79 continues south with the next major towns being Fairmont and Clarksburg.

More photos to come as I take them.

Trip to Pittsburgh

Yesterday, flying out of Denver, we had a good trip. It started out with an odd occurence. We had seats in Row 22, but when we got to the back of the plane, the rows ended at row 21! It turns out there was a change of aircraft, so they moved us to Row 8.

Now our good financial luck for this trip was on a roll. Our round trip tickets to Pittsburgh were the result of our giving up seats on a plane to Houston back in May, so they were free. Now we were in the section of the plane with more legroom that they had offered us for $78 extra, but we had declined. So now, we got them anyway at no extra cost.

The air was turbulent about half an hour out of Denver, and lasted for about another half hour or so, as we went through the cold front that had gone through the night before. But once we got past that, the view was nice. I saw the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers near St. Louis, MO. I also saw in rapid succession, the cities of Indianapolis, Columbus, Wheeling, and Pittsburgh as we went by. We actually passed the Pittsburgh airport to approach from the east, and I wish I had my camera in hand. Out my window was the most spectacular view of downtown Pittsburgh with the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers forming the head of the Ohio River.

Now we come to the Pittsburgh Airport rental car saga. We had reserved a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but all they had left at Thrifty was minivans. The lovely spouse doesn't like minivans, so after some checking around, we got Dollar Rent A Car to transfer a Murano to Thrifty for us (both are the same company). So, we get the Murano and head out down PA 60 and get about 5 miles, when we both started getting a headache and hurting lungs from a funky smell in the car. I think someone had smoked in it, and tried to cover it up with some kind of scent, but it was horrible. SO...back to the airport. They got a new Pacifica back in, so we took that. We had rented one in Los Angeles last year, and they are very nice. By the time it was said and done, the young man at the rental counter gave us about half off our weekly rental rate, so for our trouble, we ended up with a nice car for the week at a great price.

I do have some road pictures to share from the trip from Pittsburgh to Morgantown, so those will be up soon. Stay tuned!

Geese, Hawks, and Owls

The onset of cooler weather brings another visitor to Colorado every year...the Canadian Geese. These beautiful birds cross the sky in their familiar "V" formation, and congregate wherever a pond can be found. As I was leaving work today, I had to stop and let a gaggle walk across the street. While in flight they swiftly cross the sky, making their familiar honking sound. On the ground, they take their time walking along. If they start crossing, it is good not to be in a hurry, as they will continue single file until the entire group gets across.


Gaggle of geese crossing the street. Click for large version.

They are such nice looking animals, but they do tend to poop all over the place. Last year, the sidewalks at my office were hit pretty good with goose poo. I guess this gives rise to the expression "like sh*t through a goose"!


One of many geese

Another type of bird that makes its home where I work is the hawk. They circle around, lazily enjoying the air currents, sometimes with two of them, each tracing the opposite side of the circle.

Also, a while back I posted pictures of the owls that live on the building's exterior. Today, I got a photo through the window close to an owl's nest. I think they may have moved on, as I haven't seen them for a few days. The nest is quite impressive, as it is made not of straw and grass like small birds' nests; instead it is made up of some substantially-sized tree branches.

The picture below shows the owl's nest built between some of the ornamental girders that enclose the top of our buildings. This shot was taken through the window and between the spacing of the girders. Still, it gives a nice view of the nest up close.


Owl's nest. Click for the large version.