Sunsets and Serendipity–West Virginia

It happened again.

A chance encounter with a fellow sunset-photographer reminded me of one of the reasons I love West Virginia.

Robbie and I had gone to Pipestem, WV for a birthday celebration weekend.  Saturday afternoon brought downpours, lightning, thunder—and while it did shorten our fishing excursion at the lake, it didn’t lessen our enjoyment.  As a matter of fact, it added to it.  There’s something about thunderstorms and cabins in the woods….

As the rain turned into a drizzle and the sun began pushing her way through the retreating storm clouds, the quickly changing light told us there’s a beautiful sunset to be seen, so we drove to the nearest overlook behind McKeever Lodge.   Another lady stood there, phone in the air, taking photos of the continually changing scene.  Seeing us drive in like an Andretti, she turned & said with a laugh, “You better hurry up, it’s changing so much.”

I took my place beside her and began capturing the breathtaking scene that changed from fog to fog and mountain to sun to bursts of orange and red to fog and mountain and sun and….

It was like a sky kaleidoscope.

After about three minutes of silence and reverent appreciation of the scene that lay before us, my photog partner turned & said “I live just down the road.”  She gave us her general area, to which Robbie told her that his cousins live there, too, and told her their names.

“Oh, yes!  I go to church with them!”  We all laughed and agreed what a small world it is.   Robbie told her his full name and said, “Tell them you met me.”  The lady—even more surprised—said, “I used to work with a man with the same name!”

The world just got even smaller.  She worked with my father-in-law 30+ years ago.

In true, West Virginia fashion, we quickly added one another on social media and are now friends. 

I love my home state—and this is one of the many reasons.  We instantly connect with and are drawn to other West Virginians.  No matter how long you’ve been transplanted somewhere else.

Rewind to Friday

We arrived on Friday before check-in time, so we drove to every overlook to take photos.  We drove through the campground where I used to stay with my parents & brother in the 70’s & 80’s when we borrowed Pop-Aw’s camper.  I pointed out “our spot”, showed Robbie the stretch of pavement where I skated in the rain and finally learned how to turn a bike around while riding it (turning terrified me), the place where—at about four years old–I stepped in a pile of horse poo while wearing flip-flops, and how the smell of toast and the sound of crows always remind me of camping in Pipestem.

I showed him the shelter where we had a huge family picnic one year.  Adjacent to the overlook where I captured the sunset photos, this shelter had giant rocks in the woods that we kids (a slew of us cousins) played on.  When you’re five years old and you’re standing on a giant rock, you feel you can conquer the world.  The smell of charcoal and moss, the sound of a radio playing AM Gold (think Captain & Tennille, Maxine Nightingale, England Dan & John Ford Coley), skinned knees, bottles of pop (glass bottles at that!) and terrycloth tank tops…. all made for a perfect day at Pipestem with family and friends.

Back to 2021……

Check-in time arrived.   Even though the young lady who checked us in was wearing a mask, I could see she smiled warmly the whole time.  Her eyes crinkled.  She had that West Virginia accent that has become even more obvious to me the longer I’ve lived away.  “If y’all need anything at all, just dial zero from the phone in the cabin and that will connect you with us.  We want y’all to have a wonderful stay with us here at Pipestem.”

Welcome to The Neighborhood

We drove the quarter mile to the cabin.  Robbie had never stayed at or seen the inside of these cabins, (I have quite a few times), so I was eager for him to see it.  When we walked in, he immediately felt at home and was ready to build a roaring fire in the stone fireplace.

It was 72 degrees outside, so I asked him to wait until it was actually cool. He was somewhat disappointed, but agreed.

We had 2 bedrooms, living room, full kitchen, bathroom, deck that overlooked the woods, and my favorite…crank out windows.  I immediately cranked every. single. one. out so we could hear the outside and feel the mountain breezes. 

I unpacked refrigerated items and began preparing for 4 guests that evening. After that, we took a walk through our weekend neighborhood.  The cabin-dwellers to the left of us were unpacking their truck and threw up their hand and shouted a hearty “Hello!”  We returned the greeting, to which they replied, “No better place to welcome in Spring, is there?  Isn’t this wonderful?”  Of course, we agreed.  I looked at their tags—Ohio.  Welcome to West Virginia, I thought.

Fast-forward 7 hours.  We sat on the deck in the darkness, bellies full from a great dinner and roasted marshmallows, and listened to the night sounds.  At that moment in time, there was no place I would rather have been.

Saturday morning was sunny.  We loaded up the fishing poles and made the hike down to the lake.  West Virginia Gold Rush was happening, so I was eager to slay some trout.  I was prepared to be exhausted and sore from all the fish I would be reeling in, but I knew it was a small price to pay if I’m going to be a master fisherwoman.  Plus, I had Super Duper and Power Bait.  It was ON. (You can learn more about WV Gold Rush here.)

An hour later, not even a nibble. (In my defense, they hadn’t stocked that lake yet.)  Didn’t matter though.  I still spent an hour on the lake.  In West Virginia.  With my husband.

And I even bought the sweatshirt.

The clouds gathered and we knew rain was coming.  We rode the back way to Hinton (I do NOT recommend it for those not familiar with driving narrow, curvy, partially washed out, on the side of a mountain roads).  Hinton is adorable.  I want to make another trip just to walk the sidewalks, get photos of the old architecture and brick streets, and eat at one of the locally owned restaurants there.  But I digress…

After Hinton, to Athens we went—Moe’s specifically—I needed a pizza pie.

On the way back to Pipestem, hot pie on my lap, the rain poured down.  I was eager to get back, listen to the rain in the woods, and Robbie would finally get to build that fire.

The next 4 hours saw pizza, a roaring fire replete with the crackle and pop and hiss, 4 games of poker, one game of Spades, and a fox sighting by Robbie (I always miss the wildlife!).  We decided to head to The Black Bear Café, where we had more pizza (those who know me are not surprised) and wings.  But first, the serendipitous trip to photograph God’s artwork with the gorge, the mountains, the sun, and the fog.

That night, we climbed into bed at 10:30.  We knew more storms were coming in, and eagerly anticipated hearing the rumble of the thunder and the pattering of the rain on the roof. The storms didn’t disappoint.  At 3:30 a.m., we were awakened when the thunder shook the cabin.  While frightening to some, to me it was a melodic mountain lullaby. What a glorious ending to a magnificent weekend.

West Virginia will always have my heart.  It was there where my roots were formed, roots that stretch deep into the coal-seamed dirt, the roots that developed our hill-folk accents, attachment to pots of pinto beans & cornbread, and instant familial connection to anyone else who calls her home.  Just like the lady we met at sunset.

Until we meet again…Wild…Wonderful…Almost Heaven…
West Virginia.

Interested in more?  You can read author Phylenia French’s Pipestem perspective here.