Going Underground

How do you feel about going under? 90 feet or more underground?

We did this when we visited the Lost World Caverns in Lewisburg, WV.

The back story is that in 1942 some caving guys approached a farmer about whether he knew of any caves on his property.  The area around Lewisburg and north is full of caves. The farmer told the guys that there was a hole in one of his pastures that he threw dead cows down.  When he did that, he said it took a long time for them to hit bottom.

The cavers climbed down the hole with a rope ladder and discovered the caves we visited. In 1960 an opening was made at another part of the property to enable visitors to walk down into the cave.

One thing that sets this cave apart from others is that it is self guided.  Once you pay your admission they give you a flashlight just in case the lights go out!  We did use the flashlights though the lights were on to look beyond what was illuminated.

The cave is not ADA compliant.  And if you're claustrophobic I wouldn't recommend it.  If you have an exploring nature check it out.



The temperature below ground was in 50º F.  We were glad to have jackets on but did warm up as we walked up and down staircases in the various chambers and then of course on the climb out which was like climbing 10 flights of stairs.

It takes 100 years for a stalactite or stalagmite to grow 1 cm!

These hexagonal shaped rocks fell from the ceiling who knows when.

None of pursued the wild cave option.

Here's the hole in the ceiling of this chamber where the cows were dropped.

Hard to take photos that have no fuzziness in the light we had.  Also difficult to show the size of these formations.  Take my word for it they've been forming for a long time and continue to do so.  We had drips fall on us.

Fall Color in West Virginia

Fall is slow in showing itself even in the higher elevations of southeastern West Virginia where we visited last week.

Here's the Greenbriar River near Lewisburg.

There's an 80 mile rail trail along the river. We were near the southern end.

Lots of leaves underfoot but coming off the trees before coloring up.

When it started to rain we returned to the car and went for a drive.  GPS took us the shortest way which was a one lane paved road that became crush and run gravel then just gravel and dirt.  Then the GPS decided it didn't know where we were.  The two track lane with weeds growing in the middle was disappearing in front of us.  With a careful turn around we retrace our steps. 

This church, unnamed, was along that road.

Strawbery Banke

Portsmouth, NH was once called Strawbery Banke.  Named for the wild strawberries. And there is only one "r" in the berry part of the name.

Now there is a museum which encompasses the original settlement area and some of the old homes and businesses that were there from the 1600s to the 20th century.

It's a chance to time travel.

The tour begins with an orientation walk about with a guide.  Then you're on your own to explore all the buildings open - some with docents and some with re-enactors.

The wide green below was once a tidal inlet called Puddle Dock.  It was filled in at the end of the 1800s.  Sea captains' homes and warehouses once opened directly on the water where the tide rose 14 feet.

Some of the structures are still in the process of renovation.

This is the oldest building c. 1695.

 It's a time travel because you step into a house and it may be the 1600s, 1700s, 1800s, or 1900s as this one below was.  1950s to be exact.

No dial phone!

The other side of the house was an earlier century, 1790s.  The original house was divided into a duplex in more modern times. The museum has kept the halves but in different centuries.

This sign was interesting.

Flags out front helped us track the time period of the building.

In this house you could see the layers of wall paper and construction techniques.

The author Thomas Bailey Aldrich, a contemporary of Mark Twain, owned this house which once belonged to his grandfather.

We were given a tour by the "wife" of the caretaker.  The time period was 1919.

In another building was an exhibit on Vice: Change Over Time.  I had to photograph the wall paper.

The table was laid to show how items of vice have changed.

Glad our water pipes are not wooden anymore.

Another house set to show a time period of living: early 19th century and home to an English immigrant and widow.

Here's the outside of the house.

Across the alley is this grander home built in 1762 and furnished in the style of an early 19th century merchant.

Another home, this one of an immigrant escaping pograms in Russian.

This tavern keeper from 1777 was a loyalist.  He didn't know who had signed the Declaration of Independence from his colony of New Hampshire.

The Little Corner Store took us to 1943.

Mrs. Abbott explained rationing to us.

And then we were introduced to cooking over an open fireplace.

This museum is truly several windows back in time.