Why Do I Love West Virgina - Reason #232

   I'm a transplant - plain and simple.  I came to West Virginia from South Jersey in 1969. I have lived in West Virginia for most of my adult life and the state never ceases to amaze me.  I have traveled around to many of the State Parks, The National Forest, numerous fairs and festivals, and small towns.  There is always something new and interesting.

   A few years back we (my wife and I) drove to Monroe county to see if we could find some property that my cousin from Philadelphia had purchased with 19 of her friends.   Our journey started out in the Monroe County courthouse where we were helped by employees in locating the property.   This was difficult since my cousin's name was not listed as the prime purchaser but as part of the group that was involved.   The property itself was on top of Peter's Mountain above Rock Camp, WV.

   We set off down the road after having a nice lunch at a cafe near the courthouse and found the road we were looking for.  The folks at the courthouse had given us the name of a man who might be able to tell us how to get to the top of the mountain.   His home was just below (Just below is a relative term).  He  was quite friendly and showed us a possible way to get up to where the property was via some old farm/logging roads.  He saw us off and we started up the mountain. 

   It was about mid-afternoon in late June and although it was sunny, we were shaded by trees as we set off.  We walked along the designated road for a while but eventually it became overgrown with blackberries and we were force to bushwhack our way into the woods where there was less undergrowth.   After following criss-crossing logging roads for about an hour we set off straight up the mountain.  Up is the key word here.  It was quite a vertical assent.  We followed old roads for as long as we could and then we would go straight up for a while until I could see some daylight through the trees.  This encouraged us to move forward struggling against the hill and gravity.

   I realized that it was getting later in the day and that  if we didn't get to the top soon we would have to turn back.  Finally, we crested the hill and walked into an area that looked like a park.  The top of the mountain was slightly flattened and there was a road right down the center of an old cobblestone pike, probably built by W.P.A. or the C.C.C.  Some of it was covered over with dirt or the stones were missing but we followed the path south through the woods.  As we neared the property, we started to see "Posted" signs signed by a friend of my cousin.  He had also put up markers for interesting sights along the way.

     Apparently at one time the group of people who bought this property had planned on building communal structures there.  The first thing we saw was the sauna.  Then further down the road was the cabin.  It was amazing to see these things out in the middle of nowhere (relatively speaking).   One sign along the way directed us to an overlook that looked over Monroe County and beyond (the other side of the mountain is Virginia).  If you are walking north on the Appalachian trail you come very close to this property and can visit.

     Knowing the journey back might be difficult, we headed back only to find a new road that was recently bulldozed.  It led to a pond near the property.  So we followed that down to the main road and stopped to visit with our new friends at their home (they let us park there while we hiked).  Reason #233 - The people are just plain nice.