Pennsylvania Barn

Good morning,

This barn seems to blend in with the hillside and snow. 

This is a drive-by image.  It turned out much better than I thought when I snapped it. 

All the best,
Lois

Welcome to West Virginia

Good morning,

On our recent road trip we went through West Virginia twice both coming and going. 

This is a Welcome Center high in the mountains.

There are displays of many things West Virginian. 

What a beautiful welcoming place!

As warm and welcoming as it was inside, it was very cold outside.

Soon we were ready to get back on the road.

 Where there were so many winter post card images just waiting to jump into my camera.

 My final shot today is of an equipment supply store.  Love all the color!

Enjoy,
 Lois

Eastern Continental Divide to West Virginia Border

Good morning,

I remember pointing this sign out to my kids many years ago and explaining what it meant to our system of rivers:  water falling on one side of the Divide will go to the Atlantic Ocean;  water falling on the other side will to to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Ah, a light house in the mountains.  It's really there, not a mirage to people who spend a lot of time at sea.  ;)

Winter beauty. 

 We saw some deer in Maryland, but no bears. 

 We are making progress...

 ...on our journey home.

All the best,
Lois

Maryland Farms

Good morning,

Here are a few images of barns in Western Maryland.  Above is one that appears to be a quilt barn, but it is a much more intricate design than most that I've seen.

The red barns...

...against the snow are gorgeous.

This older barn and machinery appear to have been here for a long, long time.  I love the old tractor.

 We continue West....

Enjoy,
 Lois

Posted to:

Barn Charm 

and

Posted to:
Friday's Fences

Western Maryland

Good morning,

Our road trip continues today with images from Western Maryland.

See all of those churches above?  This is Cumberland, Maryland, where many of the early settlers decided to stay after a difficult trip through the mountains with horses and wagons.

This is another town where each group that stopped established their own church.

A few years ago we made this one of our stops for a couple of days to explore the town and these beautiful houses of worship.  We stayed in a downtown hotel and walked in all directions to take pictures.  We also found a train museum here that we enjoyed.

This time, though, we just got those images above as we traveled through Cumberland, Maryland.

The weather continued to be perfect for us:  cold, but dry and clear.

 Have you seen this?  It is an ark being built high in the mountains that has been here for years and years.  In fact, I have wondered if this place gave the screen writers the idea for the movie Evan Almighty.

 Further West...

 ...more and more snow.

 See the relay tower up there.  We see these through the mountains.  I suppose some are still in use, but I guess most signals are relayed via satellite now days.  I do like seeing lots of cell phone towers. I can remember making this trip in the 80's and only being able to get a cell signal near larger towns.

 We so enjoy these trips.  I hope you're enjoying traveling with us through these images.

Best,
Lois

Maryland Countryside

Good morning,

We were blessed with wonderful weather for our February road trip. 

We are going West this time from Virginia to Ohio. 

Today's images are of the Maryland countryside.

This farm is nestled in the rolling hills...

...that you see here from the highway without the zoom.

Although the brown countryside is punctuated only by evergreens, it is still vibrant with the brightly colored barns and homes.

 Gorgeous!

 As we got higher into the mountains once again, we saw more snow.

 The highway patrol was quite busy out there.  ;)  We didn't have to talk with any of them.  We use the cruise control and aren't in any hurry.

 Finally for today, here is the other side of the church converted to an antique store that I showed you when we were going the other way.

 I hope you continue to enjoy our road trip.  :)

Best,
Lois

Heading Home from Virginia and Revisit to Sideling Hill

Good morning,

All good things must come to an end and that includes visits with our number one son and family in Virginia.  Due to the nature of his job, I'm not publishing pictures of the family, but I can say that we had a wonderful time with them.  We enjoyed watching our granddaughters on the silks (acrobatics and dance combined), lunch with the family, and a reception where our son works. 

Above is our Hampton Inn that we passed one last time before heading home.  We had gone up the street to get a car wash to get a layer of road salt off of our car.

We headed North...

...into the Maryland countryside.

The first thing we see in this image is that beautiful flag, but look carefully to see the "V" in the mountains ahead.  That's Sideling Hill again that I featured when we came the other way.  It's easier to get pictures of the split in the hill from this direction.

 Although it has been warm for a couple of days, the ice is still decorating the side of the split. 

 The light colored building at the base of the hill is the tourist center and museum. 

 It is closed at this time of the year. There's also an overlook here that provides great photo opportunities of the valley below.

The walk way allows people coming in the other direction to access the center, too.

 

 This "cut" in the hill is a case study for geologists.  There is a great deal of fascinating information in the museum about the hill and how the road was built through it.

 And, Mother Nature provides this gorgeous frozen waterfall.

 Enjoy,
Lois