Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Geowoodstock!

We couldn’t find a place closer to Morgantown, WV to camp, so ended up in far southwest Pennsylvania in Ryerson Station State Park. It was a very quiet park. We arrived on a Monday and there were only two other folks camping until Wednesday, leading into Memorial Day weekend. It was a bit of a wild ride to the campground. We got off the highway in Wheeling, WV and took back roads, up over hills, down into hollers, and around. It was definitely country roads and different than any part of Penn we had ever been in–I think I heard banjos at one point. We hit a stopped line of traffic along the way. As cars ahead of us turned around, we got closer. No chance for us to turn around on those narrow roads. It appeared a truck went off the road on a curve and knocked out a telephone pole, leaving wires across the road. The campground was small, quiet and no cell coverage. Finally talked Jim into a card game!

Tuesday, we had gotten tickets to Falling Water, the Frank LLoyd Wright house. It was about an hour and a half from where we were camping. We stopped and had a picnic lunch at Ohiopyle State Park, which had a wonderful waterfall and good white water rafting. The town and area looked interesting too, so we shall return! Two other things in Western PA I would like to visit are Shanksville and Johnstown, both were further and didn’t work out this trip, but next time! Fallingwater was lovely, it was just like I’d pictured it, except a bit time worn. They were doing some construction on the top floor and some painting outside, so it will be spiffed up for summer visitors. I can’t imagine the upkeep with all the water and moisture. It was lovely. We took the architecture tour and then wandered the grounds for a bit. Jim did stop at Walmart in Waynesboro and bought StarLink to see if it worked for internet, it did! He’ll bring it up to Moosehead this summer to use.

On Wednesday we headed toward Pittsburgh, which neither of us had ever visited–guess we still haven’t. When Jim was working on his 50th HS reunion last year he got in touch with a classmate that he was close to in high school. Tom couldn’t make it to the reunion, but here, we were close. We went to their home, met his wife Louise, and had a great visit. We then went to a nice restaurant for dinner. We’ll have to try to get back before 51 more years pass.

Thursday, I had friends beginning to gather in Morgantown before the big event on Saturday. Jim drove me to West Virginia and I caught up with a caching friend Steve and we spent the day caching. Jim came back for a mini event later that afternoon, we all went out to dinner afterwards. It had been wet, the trails were muddy and slippery. I did get West Virginia’s Cache Odyssey cache! On Friday you could get to the GeoWoodstock site and browse vendors, look at exhibits etc.. We went in the afternoon, guess it was quieter than the morning. Caught up with many more New England friends. There was a pre-event at the Waterfront, we walked the river trail, getting caches and catching up. Headed back to Penn for dinner, as Saturday was a big day. I’ve been to six previous Geowoodstocks with friends in Warren PA, Asheville, NC, Hagerstown, MD, Cincinnati, OH, Denver CO, and Abbottsford, British Columbia. Jim had never been to one, so I got him a shirt this year. There were over 5000 people who logged will-attends. I think a lot of the foreigners didn’t come, sadly. There was still a very good crowd of thousands from all over. I didn’t do as much caching as when I traveled with friends, but it was good to see folks and catch up. Altogether a very good day. Jim and I stopped in Waynsboro and went to 4 PM mass, about half an hour from camp. Two couples across from us were also geocachers, so we had a campfire with them and talked about life and caching.

Sunday was quiet, I drove 45 minutes to get to a laundromat in Moundsville, WV, then did a bit of caching. The large native mound site was closed on Sunday, but I was able to wander around the old state penitentiary in town. They offered tours, but I declined. Worked my way home and we had a nice dinner and started putting stuff away. The campground got busier for the holiday, but still quiet. Sadly, I went up to the shower house, opened a door by the dishwashing sink and found a lovely washer and dryer, sigh… next time!

Monday morning we were off to our final destination, Watkins Glen, NY with our Alto group.