My Babies Are Back

 My first shot of the season :-)

I think the little one looks like a dolphin in a tree!

This post is linked with:

Wild Bird Wednesday

NFWinged

Bird D'Pot

The No-Tell Motel

Let me begin this funny story with, “Buddy made all of the plans! He assured me he knew what he was doing :-)” The race was way out in the country, and he told me there were no motels anywhere around it. Being that this was his third trip to that neck of the woods and he had stayed here in the past,  I took him at his word. He assured me the motel was great hiker accommodations  (I should have been immediately suspicious) and at a great price - $50.00 a night  (that, too, should have been a signal) - and the only one for miles. OK...I bit, and then about 8:00 at night we drove up after a LONG and tiring drive. 

Click and click again to enlarge if you feel the urge to get a closer look at the No-Tell Motel.

Here is what I named the No-Tell Motel signage.  The first thing I saw driving up was the vintage half-working neon sign. As you can see, Bud went in, paid the bill, and walked out. I wondered where the key thingies were but didn’t say anything. He is always wearing yellow for safety!!! The picture of the sign when it was off was taken about 5:30 in the morning as we were leaving for the big race.

The photo on the left is the front, the middle one shows the “funeral home” metal awning connecting the room building with the office section,  and the one on the right was the back where we had to enter our room.The catch was we were NOT to enter from the front. Only people on the second floor used those doors. We had to drive around back and use that door. Our room was the one in the middle without an outdoor light. The bottom shot is the one pretty thing about the area....the gorgeous view with the rain and fog. There was only one car there when we drove up that night. The next day the place was filled with hunters in all of their garb.

As you can see, my question about the key thingy was answered when we got to the room....an old fashioned key hanging in the door plus the signs for NO SMOKING and NO PETS. The threshold was in disrepair, and when we got inside there were cigarette burns on the rug. Fortunately, the room did not smell of smoke...just HOT. I called the lady at the desk asking if it really was a non-smoking room, and she was put out with me that I was even asking the question. Of course, it was NOT SMOKING. COULD I NOT READ THE SIGN??? Then I noticed much to my dismay that there were no chain locks on either of the doors...just those push-in thingies like on a bathroom in your house. UGH!!! My daddy was a safety engineer who checked everything for safety, so I immediately freaked out. I was beside myself...but there was no where else to go at that point. I shoved Bud’s pack onto a chair which I wedged under the door handle of the door we were told to enter from, but when I went to the other door, the handle was too high for the chair to work. UGH, AGAIN!!! To add fuel to the fire, I could not understand why I was burning up...like menopause at 74. I turned on the AC, but it didn’t help. Then, Bud looked up and discovered something sticking out on the wall. It was the ****heat control halfway up to the ceiling. Fortunately, I knew to take my own sheets, blankets and pillows, and I took 2 bottles of sanitizer. Trust me, I sanitized that room from top to bottom before we brought in anything and made up our beds with OUR stuff. I am on high alert for bed bugs whenever we go on a trip. Actually, the beds were firm and the bathroom and bedroom were nice and clean.There was an old TV and a working phone. No more hiker motels for this gal. The ultimatum has been given.  I want a place with inside entries and what I call proper door locking machinery. Hey, it was cheap, and we did sleep well for two nights. I wasn’t about to drive another 50-100 miles in rainy fog around the WV curvy mountains to go try to find a better place. Next year I will stay at home, and Bud can make his return trip for the big run #2.

The FIRE alarm was located right outside our door...that was nice...note the cigarette on top. I neglected to photograph the butts on the concrete. Sorry about that.

As we were leaving town Sunday morning, we passed this little restaurant. I spotted the sign and just had to stop and take pictures. MOE FATZ...interesting name.

This happy/silly post is linked with Lesley’s Signs2.

Bud Out and About in Rockbridge County

Today Buddy and I went to Crabtree Falls near Vesuvius, Virginia. Usually, the pictures I post are little blobs with him running in a race or from the rear hiking in front of me, but this time I got him to turn around for me to take the picture…all 5’6” and 140 pounds of him. This is the beginning of the walk to the falls. I was all bundled up in multiple layers of clothing, and here he is in a short sleeved shirt and shorts. So typical of him.

Rural Virginia and West Virginia

Click on any picture and then click again to enlarge.

1. Race Spirit Booster and an Unusual Container

This girl with her funky car would move from place to place all day long cheering on the runners through their LONG rainy run. She asked me what my husband's name was so she could be sure to yell out his name. I told her he would be the last one...way, way back from the pack, and wearing yellow :-) She had the biggest, cutest grin.

Now, to the container. Does anyone know what it is? There were many of them out by the highway. Some were wood and other plastic. I am thinking they were place to put your garbage bags for pick up.

2. A Quilt Barn

Of all the farms and barns we saw, this was the only quilt barn. The home place and all the outbuildings were beautifully kept...a very pretty rural scene.

3. Cows

All along the highway we would pass farms with cows grazing and little sheds like this one. This time we were able to pull off the road so I could get several shots of the same farm.

4. Finally, a Green Gate

5.Solomon's Chapel ~ U. B. Church (United Baptist???) It was tiny.

6. Ingalls Overlook ~ Virginia

We stopped here on our way home. The fog was finally lifting and the rains were gone. The views were out of this world. Buddy is that little yellow blog to the left of the "sharp turn" signage shooting

the Blue Ridge Mts. with his trusty iPhone.

7. Train Tracks in the Little Town of Goshen, VA
When we got here, we were about 5 miles from the house. As always, we had to stop the car,  go stand on the old tracks and takes pictures. It is something we always do when we go through the little town.

This post is linked with:

Macro Monday 2
Mosaic Monday

Our World Tuesday

Rurality Blog Hop

Friday Fences

Skywatch Friday
Scenic Weekends

Weekend in Black and White

Inspired Sunday

Lexington Presbyterian Church

Lexington Presbyterian Church

The Greek Revival structure, designed by Thomas U. Walters, was completed in 1845. General Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson was a member of this church from the year of his arrival in 1851 as a professor at the Virginia Military Institute until his death in 1863. Until his departure from Lexington in April of 1861, Jackson taught a Sunday School Class that was well-attended by the town's African-American population. Jackson's next return to Lexington was for burial in the Presbyterian Cemetery on 15 May 1863. The cemetery has since been renamed the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery.

This post is linked with Inspired Sunday.

James River Foot Bridge

James River Foot Bridge at Snowden, Virginia.

The James River Foot Bridge is the longest pedestrian-only bridge

 on the Appalachian Trail, according to the Appalachian Conservancy. 

Sometimes when we are there, we are lucky enough to see a train crossing 

the river on its tracks. It is in pretty rough condition.

This post is linked with:

Friday Fences
Weekend in Black and White

Weekend Reflections

Scenic Weekends

Shadow Shot Sunday2

Sunday Bridges

WV Tires for Sale

It is time for Signs2 over at Lesley's blog.

This is a bit of local color from my drive to put Buddy onto the trail for his big run. It was just around the curve from the "Chapel in a Home". West Virginia had lots of interesting sites along our drive :-) 

Note sign on door...Help Yourself to Tires...Cameras in Use 24/7...Security System. Don't think I would be helping myself to anything there. What they did not mention was the rest of the security system was around the curve...

a vicious barking dog.

It's Time for Serious Bird Feeding

Linked with Wild Bird Wednesday

West Virginia Trilogy III

Pictures of Bud at the WV Trilogy Run

Before the race getting a bit to eat.

I took this after 2 miles. They did a loop to get warmed up before hitting the real woods. He waved at me and off he went. No time to stop and chat.

Water Break (shot taken by volunteer at check-in station)

Gettin' Warm (shot taken by volunteer at another check-in station)

 Selfie at End of Race

The Trusty Shoes

Shots from the Race Route

(The skies never opened up, but it was still beautiful.)

 Runners' Tents

Many runners stayed in tents in the fields...
lots of them ran all three races...

Not Buddy! One was enough.

Path after Start of Race 

He had to cross several streams...one up to his knees. It scares me to death being that he is one of those that never learned to swim.

 It never stopped misting rain...sometimes heavier than others.

 There were many SERIOUS climbs

 with LOTS of slippery rocks to get across.

 He was happy to see this footbridge :-)

 His race color was the red.

 I was driving out after the race started when I spotted this fascinating rock.

 There were rain droplets over all the grass. For some reason this is my favorite shot of all the ones I took around the race site.

This is the road I was driving on and the one the runners ran on. There were several places where there were rubber thingies sticking up. Am assuming that was to help with mud wash and pothole prevention from all the rain.

Serious Fog...

This was taken just a bit farther down the road. 

 This is the one shot Bud took that really made me grin.

He said these horseshoes were in the path at the finish.

What a great idea!

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, and Water World Wednesday, and Skywatch Friday,. Check out these blogs for more beautiful pictures from around the world.