You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.
An uneventful five-day road trip, then limbering up with some jungle walks, and
finally views of
Staunton en fête at the end of September
We're blasting pell-mell across the Michigan Upper Peninsula, 15 September 2024, bound for a first night in . . .
. . . our favorite room in the Quality Inn in Manistique on the Lake Michigan shore.
The poor kitty-cats, torn without warning from their familiar summer regime, and apparently halfway traumatized. But they'll adjust.
Over the Mackinac Bridge, bound for Saginaw. Seriously.
(Well, a pet friendly Home2/Hilton out near the I-675 ringroad)
Dinner in Shuckers in St Albans near Charleston, WV (convivial ambience, semi-cooked food)
The Chuck Yeager Bridge over the Kanawha River, Kanawha City near Charleston, WV, repainted blue and gold (West Virginia's colors) last year. Yeager was an air ace from West Virginia in World War II and the first to break the sound barrier on 14 October 1947, on the 76th anniversary of which this new paint job was inaugurated last year.
West Virginia's main claim to fame: mountain top removal for low-grade coal
We're home at last
And it's time for Choupette to get fitted out for the autumn holidays.
Choupette hates this sort of wanton mistreatment, but . . .
. . . we were only funnin' her. She'll never have to be troubled by this particular humiliation again.
Walks in the Montgomery Hall jungle
Very pleased we are to be back to the various trails in the Montgomery Hall Park in Staunton, but clearly we're being notified that something is amiss. 21 September 2024
Ah, so it is. But nothing we can't deal with (as long as all the trails are not going to be like this).
One of our usual itineraries, starting out on the Scout Trail near the pastures just outside of the park.
Just as we remember it, what fun.
But we should have checked the weather forecast -- there's vigorous thunder clapping from nearly all sides and getting closer. Time to retreat.
So we've migrated up onto the shorter Yulee Trail and are bolting for shelter. (The rains commenced just as we regained the car, and the lightning and thunder continued well into the evening.)
So . . .
. . . we're back the next day, starting from another entry point for both the main trail, the Montgomery Hall Park Expressway, and for the shorter Yulee Trail, which . . .
. . . we're now coursing along on in only slightly muddy conditions.
After about 10 or 12 minutes, we've availed ourselves of the liason between the paths and fetched up onto the Expressway after all (having cut off about 20 minutes of its various clever convolutions).
A picture of pure malevolence
We'll soon be going down instead of up the Fern Gully liaison this time . . .
. . . which involves leaving the Expressway path here and joining the Scout Trail down below.
The Fern Gulley bottoms out here, and we turn left back up the Scout Trail (which also continues to the right, winding down to the baseball fields at the north end of the woods).
We're very pleased to be back in one of our favorite walking places, though . . .
. . . a week later our other favorite places, like Augusta Springs and Lake Sherando, were off-limits due to widespread damage from Hurricane Helene.
A work of art, and rudimentary engineering -- now a landmark for us, as two of the trails meet nearby for reliable transfers to instill a little variety.
The Most Difficult warning is intended for mountain bikers (with whom we share these trails), because a brief leg of the trail leaps out over a rocky ledge about a meter high. There's also a pedestrian workaround for unbiked older folks like us.
Along the park fence, ascending towards . . .
. . . Black Dog Mountain -- the summit!
Zigzagging down the other side
Almost out to the carpark
The Montgomery Hall chaotic landscape has its own fascination, except . . .
. . . in certain circumstances.
This may merit a stern letter to the park authorities.
Disgraceful! (not really, just more fun)
Oh good, we've finally wrestled ourself over the barricades, and Kristin's already wafting a breeze in through the car.
A moment of astonishing coincidence
Kristin picked up this painting in a thrift store or something a few years ago and thought it was quite an attractive view. It's so attractive that I recognized a photo I took from a hotel room in Gandria on Lago Lugano in 1984, both with Lugano's San Salvador mountain in the background (ran up it in 1:03, those were the days).
The cats congregate for contemplation of the old downtown skyline, after four months of running all round the Wisconsin Northwoods.
Can cats feel disappointment? Betrayal? Are they angry with us? They're not saying.
A quiet evening with an improving book
Staunton en fête: Queen City, Mischief and Magic, 28-29 September 2024
Just a block down from our flat in the 'Old Y' building, we've been watching crowds of strangely costumed residents and excited tourists assembling for the annual Queen City Mischief and Magic fête. So let's have look.
Kristin is peeking into the Chophouse Tavern, due to open on 2 October, replacing our convenient next door restaurant, the Aioli, which has recently gone away.
A grand crowd. The weather was dicey in the morning, but has improved enough to fill the streets.
The fête was begun sometime before we arrived in Staunton, but it was originally openly based on the Harry Potter phenomenon -- the obvious use of the name was not a good idea, but having changed the name, the organizers were able to keep the same costumed characters, themes, brief skits, and a generous schedule of activities all over the downtown area, including the Wharf district.
Staunton may have got the nickname 'Queen City' because in the 18th century it was the county seat of Augusta County, which extended at least to the Mississippi River at the time. On the other hand, others simply call it the 'Queen City of the Shenandoah Valley'. Fair enough.
We're just pacing along the main drag, Beverley Street, but back in 2019, when we were able to get back to Staunton in time for that year's festivities, we photographed some of the activities and exhibits all round the downtown.
A long winding line for the pizza slices
That appears to be Spiderman.
And an angel
A lot of the commerçants have hauled in special theme-oriented merchandise to take advantage of the Harry Potter and Hogwarts motifs.
With a bit of New Age ambiance as well
All of this conviviality works much better without the Covid masks of a few years ago.
The famous Staunton Clock Tower on W. Beverley St
Some kind of a skit, involving witches it seems, draws a crowd.
One of the local art galleries, with . . .
. . . a exhibition of the paintings of June Jordan, our friend and neighbor in the Old Y. Many of our favorite works of hers are lining the walls of the 3rd floor corridor. This exhibit of perhaps ten paintings is all on the theme of shadows of the Clock Tower on everything else.
The old Masonic Building
The mural on S Center Street leading down to the Wharf District
But we're heading back to the Old Y for a nap.
Next up: A few more entertaining forest walks before we leave on our trip
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