Doctor HP Flowers

Road to Lobelia

.

     Hillsboro for lunch.  Depart 1:55 pm, Cr 29 Lobelia Road nw.  Belly still on fire from the Rosemary Potato Stew; a case of very poor judgment.  The way ahead is swept by a rash of sudden storms.  Each ending before it begins.  It’s splash and go, splash and go creating, for my delight, a steamy concoction of mist and fog, a visual atmosphere that no photo filter could ever hope to duplicate.  How better to see the bluebird, then two deer bounding into the damp woods.  How better to admire the intimate curves and fence lines, the old Odd Fellows Lodge at Lobelia and the wreath upon Hill’s Chapel door fluorescing in the silver light.  Even the mower-man seems other worldly, eyes targeted, bush hog blade and multi-jointed arm reaching, growling and ripping.  I call him Slash…
 
     “There!”  Eyes are staring at me.  I’m the one that usually does the looking.  Here, I see eyes looking back. The truck splashes to a sliding stop. (3:20 pm, mile 783.1)  Right away I know it’s White Beardtongue - proud member of the Beardtongue Brotherhood that includes first cousins Purple and Gray.  They seldom grow two feet tall.  These Whites are four and five; chin level and taller. Gargantuan. The flowers are pumped too, oversized and bulging.  An impressive and commanding display.
     Mesmerized, I marvel. I look closely at each flower, then touch and carefully rearrange them. Clear away a few weeds. Snap pictures in the breeze.  Fuss around.  Searching, searching for ways to speak.  For I know too well what soon will be headed this way.

.

.


© d100609-040  White Beardtongue
  Penstemon digitalis
  Pocahontas County, West Virginia
  Wednesday 9 June 2010



___


.

Glenville Bound

.

     I happened upon Gilmer County and Glenville in recent years camping in Cedar Creek State Park and taking a fine breakfast in town at the Common Place Restaurant.  Each visit I noted that Glenville would be a good place to stay for 3 or 4 days while exploring surrounding counties like Lewis, Doddridge, Ritchie, Wirt, and Calhoun.  This past October those log reminders became reality.
     It took three hectic days to get there, two in soaking rain and a third in a snow/rain mix.  Then, for three special days the weather cleared with bright sun and temperatures from morning 30’s to afternoon 60’s.  Each new county seemed to outdo the others; all very rural, ruggedly beautiful with farms, forested ridges and miles of challenging dirt roads. Herds of white tail deer calmly feasted on the tender greens that will become next years hay crop. So many I stopped counting.  Triumphs of the moment.  West Virginia heritage.
     Usually I post a trip map shortly after returning.  This time, however, the Notorious VUNDO Trojan virus ate my computer, including the map making software, before the itinerary could be plotted.  This posting celebrates the restoration.
    



Glenville, West Virginia
Gilmer County
19-21 October 2009

___

.

Silver Anniversary Express

.
     The Silver Anniversary Express covered 2319.7 miles in 13 days, 12 hrs, and 20 minutes.  The truck consumed 145.2 gallons of gas costing $2.458 per gallon delivering 16 mpg at 15.4 cents/mile.  Out of pocket expenses were $68.64 per day, gas costing $25.50.
     The temperature never rose above the low 70s and stayed mostly in the 50s and 60s (except at night).  However, it rained 10 days of 14 and nearly all day for six.  This affected wildlife sightings and photo opportunities, but ticks and bug bites were zero.
     Woodthrush soundings were very low this year heard infrequently in only 10 days.  Usually their crystalline songs would be heard at every stop on all days.  Nonetheless, Doc sighted 5 wild turkeys one hen with chicks, 4 ground hogs, 23 deer (2 does with spindly drinking straw wobbly leg fawns only a few hours old.), 15 chipmunks, 6 rabbits, a red-headed woodpecker, 6 box turtles, an alligator snapping turtle, 2 goldfinch groups, 2 bluebirds, 2 hawks, a black snake, a grouse hen with chicks, 7 shoulder dogs, and 24 dead possums.
     Two new wildflowers were keyed out:  wild monkshood, and a saxifrage called mountain lettuce.  The monkshood was cream colored instead of blue; the Tennessee wildflower book mentioned this one as 'rare', but who the hell knows.
     There were 117 picture stops harvesting 490 shots, about 2-5 percent rising to the status of 'photograph' which is normal for film and digital backroads photography.  Motifs collected include:  5 triple crosses, no race cars, no barber shops, no fire trucks, 9 old stores, 28 country churches, 1 court house, 1 post office, 1 train, 4 bridges (3 covered), 1 motel, 1 grist mill, 2 diners, 1 log truck, 1 authentic pure sign, and a cat in the upstairs window.

.

.
© d090604-004  Cat in Window
  Glenville, West Virginia
  Gilmer County
  Thursday 4 June 2009

___

.

Deep Spring Reprise

.

     Cows graze peacefully across from Maxwell Chapel in Overton County, Redbud's on fire in Scott County, Field Mustard makes a spectacle of itself along Honey Creek Road in Fentress County - just a few sweet notes from this year's Deep Spring Reprise.
     Eight Tennessee counties south of the Kentucky line:  Clay, Cumberland, Fentress, Jackson, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, and Scott.  Kicking off the afternoon of Day 1 north of Crossville to the base of operations at Jamestown.  Day 2 mostly in Scott County to the east (red).  Day 3 mostly in Morgan County to the southeast (green).  Day 4 mostly in Overton and tips of Clay and Jackson Counties to the west (magenta).  Departing reluctantly Day 5 southeast thru Rugby to the old rail head at Elgin arriving by nine in the morning.  That's 560.9 cheerful backroad miles, and a billion or two leaf buds speckled and sparkling under the clear blue sky.  Mid 40's at night; mid 70's midday.  Small wild blue phlox bloomin' every place.  Dry banks, creek sides, fence lines, even on a huge flat rock two card tables wide by 3 long.  Damdest thing.  Occasionally one may see a sign that forewarns "if you can read this sign you're in range".  But never mind, Morgan County does not have a single road sign on its backroads.  Dead reckoning a survival necessity.
     Morning breakfasts at the West End Café listening to WDEB radio 1500 am on the dial.  Yesterday's obituaries, the local calendar of events, who's visiting whom, home town ball scores, and a little country music in between. And the crispy bacon was out of this world. Feels like home again.  At last.

.

.
Sunday thru Thursday,  20-24 April 2008

___

.

3-7 December 2007

.
Sweeping plains to rolling woody hills.
Stubborn rocky farms with ancient rock fences.
Cedar forests.
Cotton fields, stubble fields and
   Hearty beeves beyond numbers to count.
Goats outside their fences, as expected.
Flat-bottomed streams on solid bedrock.
Wild turkeys in flocks of fifty to a hundred.
Court houses, depots, churches at sunset.
A snowman on the Auto Parts wall.
Frosty mornings, warm sunny days.

Start at Little River Falls DeKalb County Alabama.
Proceed to Fayetteville Lincoln County Tennessee.
Return to Stevenson Alabama Jackson County.

.

.
© d071205-019  Philpot Road
  Bedford County, Tennessee
  Wednesday 5 December 2007

___

.

None of the Above

.

     Occasionally, backroads will garnish one's delight with a special treat - a history lesson on this particular day, or rather a history mystery.  Over the weekend H-Man Slim and Doc spent three sunrise-to-sunset days on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee crossing a small corner of Alabama and three ridge-and-valley counties in northwest Georgia.  From Lafayette to Summerville.
     Doc can always count on Slim's bravura path finding skills showcased by noon the first day as he managed the maps, sniffed the trail, and guided our expedition into the Grundy State Forest Natural Area.  Fully appointed with edgy Fall colors, shallow cliffs, sedentary rocks, and a small drought plagued stream called Little Fiery Gizzard Creek. "What's in a name," we asked the burly trees. "Why Fiery Gizzard," we beseeched the turning leaves.  A fisherman casually wandered into this eddy and charitably posed three possibilities.

One:  Davy Crockett killed and cooked a turkey one day. He plopped the overcooked, superheated gizzard into his mouth and promptly spit the searing ember into the creek.
Two:  An Indian chief, expressing his loathing for the settlers, hurled a flaming turkey gizzard in to the creek.
Three: When the coke ovens operated here workers would remark that the smoking night fires looked like a… (you know what).

To this, Doc added - Four:  None of the above.

.

.
© d071102-000  Mystery Creek
  Grundy State Forest Natural Area
  Grundy County, Tennessee
  Friday 2 November 2007

___

.

Richwood to Cranberry River

Nicholas County, West Virginia:
     06:20am. Breakfast at the C&S Restaurant in Richwood, a town bisected by the flood prone Cherry River which runs downstream to the Gauley and onward to Summersville Lake. All fed by the spectacular highlands of the Monongahela National Forest.
     This is also coal country, or was.  Abandoned coal country.  Richwood along with hundreds of towns large and small in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia, show us what happens when the coal runs out.  Booming communities with downtowns, restaurants, hotels, and the familiar trappings of a prosperous economy are boarded up and left wanting with poverty nipping relentlessly at the heels of a dwindling community. Those that could left ages ago.
     Each year, I pay sincere respects to these hardened areas as I roam thru in search of the sublime.  My feelings about this are mixed and awkward at best - a sightseer, amongst other's hard times, cherry picking pretty pictures.  Indifferent to my psycho angst, the good folks gathered at C&S are very friendly and helpful encouraging me to fetch my own coffee for a great stack of pancakes with a side of scrambles and bacon. Better still, they seemed much more interested in breakfast than any motive conflicts that might be swimming in my sweet syrup.
     07:10 am.  I bid a reluctant goodbye to all and drift out the backside of Richwood picking my way north on County Road 39/12.  Along the way white campions radiate in the morning light. Doves scatter.  The sky is beautiful.  It's cool and clear.

.

.
Cranberry River
Monongahela National Forest
Nicholas County, West Virginia
Saturday 26 May 2007

___

.

Trip Stats - 2007

     This year's trip (No. 23) spanned 15 days, 12 hrs, and 42 min covering 2,702.5 summer-baked miles stoop-to-stoop.  The truck burned 172 gallons of regular gas, costing an average $3.15 per gallon or 20.1 cents per mile, achieving 15.7 miles per gallon (not bad for slow rough backroads with dozens of stops each day). Total out of pocket expenses averaged $74.92 per day including $33.83 for gas - or 45% of total costs.  In the old days gas never exceeded $10 per day.  In the process I melted 14 seven-pound bags of ice (they used to be 8-pounds), drank 17 diet mountain dews, and ate 14 chocolate crème-filled marshmallow-covered sprinkled with pink shredded coconut Hostess 'Snoballs'.
     I heard the uplifting mood-altering songs of the wood thrush (hylocichla mustelina) every day but one and spotted 25 chipmunks, 18 deer, 8 groundhogs, 6 wild turkeys, 8 box turtles, 4 gold finches, 2 red-headed woodpeckers, 1 bear, 1 black snake, 1 inhabited beaver lodge, a momma Canada goose with three chicks, a pigeon on a plank, 2 ticks, 7 shoulder dogs, 5 fighting cock breeders (no pictures taken), and 29 dead possums.  Reckless ATV's now flood the backroads like lemmings.
     Found one new wildflower called sanicle (sanicula marilandica) or black snakeroot or butterwort.  It's evidently quite common, but new for me. The most prolific and dominant flower this year was, by far, Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) crowding ditches, lining fences, and filling fields and open spaces. None seemed interested in chasing after me, tho'.
     This year's photography was for the first time all digital with the new Nikon D200, a magnificent instrument, helping me return with 990 individual shots taken during 254 individual photo stops an average of 15-16 per day.  Included in the harvest are:  45 country churches, 11 old stores, 8 fire trucks, 4 barber shops, a race car, 8 triple-crosses, 1 swinging foot bridge, 1 rusty truss bridge, 1 covered bridge, 4 coal handling operations, 1 lime kiln, 2 railroad depots, 5 post offices, 2 old schools, (only) 1 gas pump, 4 cemeteries, 1 court house, 1 bank, and gobs of creeks and rivers, farms and barns, mountain scenics, small towns, windows and doors, numerous wildflowers and a 'special' daisy study (to be posted later).  Below is an example of a 'two-fer' including a store and a church in the same frame with moving van sandwiched between.

.

.

© d070521-036 Store and Church with Van
Micaville, North Carolina
Yancey County
Monday 21 May 2007

___

.

Viewtown to Pearisburg

     Colors on the move. Leaf sugars peak and melt day after day, flowing over ridges, spilling into hollows, surging around clearings, arching over fidgety creeks, decorating with spectral colors.  First radiant; then burnt. The tides ebb - this way and that way without purpose, hurrying and slowing in synch with the anonymous clock.  I sampled this evanescence during a four day radial search centered in Franklin West Virginia, Pendleton County, headwaters South Branch Potomac River. National forests, mountain farms, crossroad villages, country churches, and Halloween goblins dressed in alluring color.

© r1421-03  Potomac at Franklin
  Franklin, West Virginia
  Pendleton County
  Wednesday 18 October 2006

© d061017-006  Curves and Colors
  Old Forest Service Route 74
  Grant County, West Virginia
  Tuesday 17 October 2006

___

Meehania XXII

     Expedition XXII spanned 15 days, 13 hours, and 58 minutes stoop-to-stoop, covered 2227.5 road miles at 139.2 miles per day, consumed 141.3 gallons of gas, averaged $2.79 per gallon, 15.7 miles per gallon, and 17.7 cents per mile. Total out-of-pocket expenses for food, shelter, and transportation averaged $48.35 per day. The 'Check Engine' light startled me only once.  I discovered one new wildflower Meehania, Meehania cordata.  Heard songs from the Woodthrush each day but two. Spotted 7 wild turkeys. 2 groundhogs. 5 deer, 22 chipmunks, 3 rabbits, 1 alligator snapping turtle, 1 hat-sized turtle, 4 box turtles, two grouse hen sightings with chicks, 2 goldfinch sightings, 3 guinea flocks, one red-headed woodpecker, one hoot owl, three buzzards lunching by the road refusing to move as I stopped to ask for a handout, 6 ticks, 4 shoulder dogs, and 20 dead possums. Found 5 triple crosses (photographed two), 2 dirt tracks, 2 shade-tree race cars, photographed 1 barber shop, 2 fire trucks, 9 old stores, 23 country churches, a grist mill, and 1 paintball court.  Took 8 photowalks and conducted 13 photo studies; started with 4 cameras, three died and one barely had a pulse. Ate 20 marshmallow coated chocolate cake crème filled sno-balls sprinkled with pink shredded coconut, slurped 14 diet mountain dews chilled with 10 7-pound bags of ice. The 'Backroads' portion of the trip (see map) began on day 7 at the USFS Pocahontas campground in Pocahontas County West Virginia and ended the morning of day 14 at the Sugar Grove Diner in Smyth County Virginia.  Only to find that Peggy Sexton got married since last year's pork tenderloin.  (Click here.)

Respectfully submitted, Doctor HP Flowers