Moving and Christmas Knitting

Since July of 2009, I have been living with my grandmother after moving out of an apartment in Ceredo, WV. I love my Mamaw, but frankly, we do not see eye to eye. She is an utter neat freak, while I see nothing wrong with having things on the floor if there is no other place around my to put them. This mostly includes books, various knitting projects, and occasionally dishes. She tends to freak if everything is not 'in its place'.

So, this week, I took steps to relieve both of us: I rented an apartment. I told my older brother, Bruce that I was looking for a place and he told me that the apartment above his is empty and that the landlord wanted to rent it out to me for less because I was Bruce's sister. We checked it out on Monday and I signed the lease. It is a very nice apartment, a one bedroom, and I also have the attic space for storage. I got the electric on on Tuesday and the water today. I also had to have a fridge put in, but it is now there. Also, the last tenant left a couch behind because the stairs are steep and narrow and he didn't want to deal with moving it out. Now, I just have to deal with moving my stuff in. I am trying to get my Uncle Chris to help with the furniture, so Daddy does not have to. He is 56 and moving the love-seat, and dresser (the largest stuff I own) is hard on him.

Also, it gives me more time for knitting. I am now living within walking distance of Marshall University, and on 25 minutes away from work, as opposed to 45 minutes away. So, it will save me a lot in gas.

And speaking of knitting, I am currently in the middle of knitting Christmas gifts. I have finished one, have two on the needles and am planning several more, although most of them are small enough to finish in a day (I hope). Here is the breakdown for my Christmas knitting:

Mamaw Mary: Twisted Cable Scarf-50%
Mamaw Rose: Clapotis-finished
Bruce (brother): fingerless mitts-planned with yarn in stash
Hunter: scarf-planned with yarn in stash
nieces : Ruby Bear-one 75%, other one planned
everyone else: soap socks-planned

Cass Scenic Railroad Trip

Last week was fun. As a long time resident of WV (meaning I have never lived anywhere else), I am a huge fan of the numerous and different state parks. But one of the best and most unique state parks in all WV is Cass Scenic Railroad. Cass used to be a logging town back when most logging in the state was done by railroads. There used to be 3000 miles of railroad tracks throughout the state, but now there is only 11 miles left, built in 1901, and they are at Cass.

When the company that owned Cass closed down, it seemed that the town of Cass would become a ghost town as people moved to find work, but in 1961, Cass was purchased by the state and designated a state park. Since it opened to the public in 1963, giving people rides to the timber camp if Whittaker Station, then to Bald Knob, the third highest point in WV, in 1966, and then to the ghost town of Spruce, which used to be owned by the same company as Cass, in 2004.

Well, last week I had a day off from work, and decided to go to Cass before the season ended at the end of October. I decided to make it a two day trip because driving to Cass from home is about five to six hours. So, I got online and found a neat little bed n breakfast called the Old Clark Inn, in Marlinton.

The Old Clark Inn is an alternative to standard hotels and motels. You can rent a bed, a room with the bathroom in the hall that you share with others, or a room with its own bathroom. I ended up picking the room with the shared bath.

I left Huntington at around 12:30. I would have left earlier, but I had a midterm to take in one of my classes and could not miss it. I decided to avoid I-64 and the other, more main roads past Charleston, so I left the interstate at the town of Chelyan, and got in Rte 60 until I reached the town of Gauley Bridge, then took Rte 39. I stopped in the town of Summersville to use the restroom and also, to check out their quilt shop, which had moved to a much larger building since I was last there in June.

I then continued on into Marlinton and after having to backtrack once, I found the inn fairly easily. I checked in, got my room key and then signed the register. While signing the register, I noticed that the people who had registered before me were also from Huntington. I mentioned it to the innkeeper, who said that they had checked in about 15 minutes before I had. I wondered if I would bump into them. I then went outside to get my bag from the car, and as I was walking back in, I saw a woman in the dining room of the inn. I stopped to say hi and ask were she was from; as it turned out, she and her husband were the couple from Huntington.

Their names were Betty and Peter and they had spent the week visiting family in Virginia, mostly on a motorcycle. They had decided to stay at the inn because it was motorcycle friendly. Peter was a retired minister and Betty a retired teacher and they were both alumni of Marshall University. I spent a few minutes talking with them, then mentioned that I wanted to get something to eat. All I had had that day since breakfast was two apple, a bag of chips and a candy bar. Somehow, without any of us saying a word, we decided to go eat together. The inn had provided menus for guest use, and we decided that a local restaurant called Dories sounded good.

It was only a few blocks and the weather was nice, so we decided to walk over. After arriving and sitting down, we all decided that the spaghetti sounded good. what followed was one of the most pleasant evenings I have had in a long time. We talking about everything, including their faith (both were members of the Anglican Church) my classes, history in general, Cass and a dozen other things. They decided to split a piece of pie and we then headed back to the inn. On the way back, I noticed the most interesting mural on the wall. It depicted different things about the area, such as Cass, Droop Mountain Battlefield, skiing and fishing.

After we got back to the inn, I headed to bed. I slept ok, for being in a strange place. I woke up around 8:00 and headed down to the continental breakfast offered by the inn. I spoke some more with Betty and Peter, and also some other people who had stayed at the inn. They were bicyclists riding on the Greenbriar River Trail, a 78 mile long trail that used to be a section of railroad tracks, but has been converted for use by hikers, bikers and horseback riders. No motorized vehicle are allowed, except for motorized wheelchairs.

I got on the road to Cass at about 9:30 and got there just at 10:00, about an hour before the train I planned to ride left. I had decided to go on Friday because that is the day the train to the ghost town of Spruce runs. I have been to Whittaker Station several times and Bald Knob once several years ago, but had never been on the Spruce train.

I spent a leisurely hour poking around the gift shop and ordered a box lunch to take with me on the train. Also I found another knitter, or maybe I should say that she found me; as I was standing in front of the depot waiting for the trian, an older woman walked up to me and performed the knitter's handshake: she started petting the shoulder of the handknit vest I was wearing. She clearly was an experienced knitter as well, she was only one size off of the needle size I used.

At about 10:30 to train pulled into the station. The train that would be taking us up to Cass that day was Shay 6, (also called Big Six), the largest Shay engine still running in the world. For a video of Big Six pulling up, check out this video on YouTube. Also, here is a picture taken from the steps of the gift shop.

Here I am in the engine! We left the station at 11:00 and headed up to Spruce. First we headed up the track to Whittaker Station, which took about an hour. We stopped there for a restroom break and so some people could go to the concession stand, which is claimed to have the best hot dogs on the mountain.

We were at Whittaker for about 20 minutes before continuing on. There were some phenomenal views of the distant mountains, including the boundary between West Virginia and Virginia and the leaves were already turning at the higher elevations. I was able to get a little knitting in during the trip.

After about two hours, we arrived at the ghost town of Spruce. There really isn't much left after all this time. Spruce was developed for the production of pulpwood and was active from 1904 until about 1950, when it was abandoned. While active, Spruce was one of the highest towns in the eastern US. All that is left now is the foundations for the mill and some other buildings.

We wandered around the site for about an hour, and then headed back. We didn't stop on the trip back, except on one of the switchbacks so that the 2:30 train to Whittaker Station could pass us. We stopped just short of the switchback and the Whittaker train, pulled by Shay 5, went into the switchback, then we entered the switchback behind them and pulled onto the next section, while they continued on up. We got back to Cass at about 3:15 and I decided to buy a few of the things I had been looking at earlier. I got a coffee mug and a hiking stick medallion. I then headed home, with a detour through Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park. They were having a reenactment that weekend, but were still setting up when I got there. So, I decided that it would be easiest to go home by I-64. I stopped at Tamarack and had a very nice chicken potpie for dinner and arrived back home at about 10:00.