A Natural Wonder and a Naked Stranger

No, the natural wonder was not the naked stranger. That's another post on another blog. Before we get to the nudity part of this post on this blog though, let's focus on the important things. I visited a natural wonder last weekend, and it was pretty great. You might get jealous.

Yup, you might. And nope, it wasn't the Great Barrier Reef, Mt. Everest, or Victoria Falls. And the Grand Canyon was soooooo last summer.

West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful, as it just so happens, is chock full o' wonder.

I decided to see some of it for myself a few weekends ago, along with the Mr,  in honor of one year of wedded bliss. Despite the fact that I was born and raised in WV, I have barely touched the surface of what my home has to offer. 11,000 miles to Beijing, China? Check. 80 miles to a popular tourist destination in my own state? Not so much.

A brief aside: 
Somewhere around middle school, I developed this intense dislike for West Virginia, allowing stereotypes to creep in and formulate my thoughts on where I lived. I wanted to exit the state so badly that I began calling colleges and universities while still in the 8th grade, requesting materials on their institutions, using my best grown-up voice possible. I was determined to get out at the first available opportunity. And that is what I did, jaunting off to the big city of Philadelphia for four years of college, followed by two years of AmeriCorps in Hotlanta and our nation's capital. I was officially a city girl-far removed from the hills and "backwards" ways of WV.

Then, when I had to move back here so I could save money to go learn Spanish in Central America, I had to come to terms with my mailing address once again bearing the WV postal abbreviation.

One weekend, I invited some of my DC friends to come visit and as we were riding down a country road, one of them mentioned how beautiful it was. That was the exact moment when I realized that I was living in a postcard and that I needed to wake up and let the appreciation begin.

Then, in one of those things the universe does to prove something, I was hired to teach 8th grade West Virginia Studies. A state I intentionally knew very little about. During the first week of school, I taught a unit on the natural wonders found in WV. Out of 20 that I taught, I had been to one. One measly little wonder. I was going to have improve this record if I wanted to be worth any level of expertise and credibility. I made it my mission to visit the closest one to me at the earliest opportunity. Bring it on, Blackwater Falls. Impress me. 
                                                                                                                                                                                  
It was exactly what I hoped it would be, and then some. Located in the stunning and lush Canaan Valley, I found myself wondering what exactly it was that I was so desperate to escape in the 8th grade. This place could certainly hang with some of my adventures abroad.

It was a perfect weekend, minus the naked man that ran out of the woods while I was looking for the perfect spot to take a picture. I saw him before he saw me, I gasped and turned to alert Adam who was trying to alert me, (you may be wondering why it was so important to notify each other of a person without clothing) triggering naked stranger to stop short, look up, freeze, and then do us all the favor of covering up his manly parts. Once that was all taken care of, I snapped this picture above, trying to capture the "black" that gives the falls its name while simultaneously trying to erase specific mental images from my brain. Educational moment: the abundance of tannic acid in the water gives it a very dark appearance. Not black, but certainly different and very pretty.   

The falls drop 57 feet into the river and you can stand on a walk-out, eye level with the plunging water, angling for the perfect photo and enjoying a nice misty spray.

It was the icing on the cake of appreciation for the Dubya V.

I had a blast. Crowds were minimal, scenery was spectacular, and most importantly,  it didn't take two days and half of my bank account to get there.

West Virginia, I think I love you. 

What about you? Any moments that define how you feel about your home?