Views And Vistas (continued)

Virginia (continued)

Timber Hollow Overlook - el 3580'

Spitler Knoll Overlook - el 3285'
Again, to the west, Massanutten Mountain in the distance.

Naked Creek Overlook - el 3250'

Hazeltop Ridge - el 3240'
This is the last of the photographs from Skyline Drive. At about 54 miles from the north entrance at Front Royal, Va., it is slightly over halfway down the 105 mile long drive. Also, I think that this photograph show the unique character of the Appalachians, which in this part of the range are often long ridges.

West Virginia

Beaver Pond
This beaver dam, pond and lodge are located in Canaan Valley, WVA. At over 2000 feet above sea level, this valley is the highest one east of the Continental Divide. Shortly after this picture was taken, an area between Canaan Valley State Park and Blackwater Falls State Park became the nation's 500th NWR.

Lost River Valley
Located in the easter part of West Virginia, this valley is named for the river that runs through it. The river is so named because it actually get's "lost". It disappears underground on one side of a mountain and emerges on the other side as the Cacapon River. Virginia is on the other side of those mountains in the distance.

View From A Back Road
Driving along a back road up in the mountains between Mathias and Lost City, West Virginia, we came across this view, When you look at the mountains from the valley floor, you have no idea such areas are back there. These mountains are the same as those seen in the background of the previous photograph.

Howard's Lick
There has been so much rain during the summer of 1996 that every little lick, crick and run was full and flowing. The mountains were so saturated that little waterfalls were quite common. Howard's Lick, usually a placid trickle, runs through Lost River State Park in West Virginia.

Back Road Cabin
Many people live back in the "hollers" of the West Virginia Mountains. This cabin was on a hillside just off of Dove Hollow Road, somewhere between Mathias and Lost River, West Virginia.

Greenland Gap
Geologically very different and much older than the Rockies, the Appalachians have many "gaps", which were often used as passages through and around them. Many of these gaps were cut by rivers and streams over hundreds of thousands of years. This is Greenland Gap in Scherr, Grant County, West Virginia. Located in the middle of a large tract of public and private forest between Moorefield and Davis, it is owned by the Nature Conservancy. Though not when this photo was taken, we once visited in the fall, during hunting season. It was a bit disconcerting to hear the crack of hunting rifles all around us.

Dolly Sods

Located in the Spruce Knob Recreation Area, Dolly Sods is a protected Wilderness. This part of the Wilderness, seen from one of the few roads through it, shows the effect of being located in an area that is almost tundra-like. Trees do not grow very tall at this altitude and the effect of the wind can be seen on the way the branches have grown. This area is not far from Canaan Valley, discussed in some previous photographs.