We left the resort and went east over the mountain to Cass, WV to start our trip home. Cass is home to the Cass Scenic Railroad, one of the premier tourist rail excursions in the East. We did not have time to ride on this visit but we did get a photo:
We stopped in Green Bank, WV for a photo with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Telescope. The Green Bank Telescope is not an optical telescope, but instead it capures radio frequency energy from distant stars and galaxies. The telescope sits near the heart of the United States National Radio Quiet Zone, a large area where all radio transmissions are limited to avoid emissions toward the GBT and the Sugar Grove Research Facility nearby. The existence of the telescope within the Radio Quiet Zone allows for the detection of faint scientific signals which otherwise would be eclipsed by man-made signals. The observatory borders the National Forest and is shielded from radio interference by the Allegheny Mountains. (thank you, Wikipedia)
We went north to Spruce Knob - Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area. We visited the area called Smoke Hole and hiked a short distance to an interesting rock formation along the southern branch of the Potomac River:
After our last hike, we turned towards home. We stopped at a few towns to visit the shops and craft markets. We had to stop in Monterey, VA to get our picture taken with the Blues Brothers:
All things considered, it was a good Road Trip. Plenty of driving with a lot of enjoyable roads. There were plenty of photo opportunities and things to do. The accomodations at Snowshoe in the off-season were great. The weather was poor, but we made the best of it. We will be going back to this area because there were a lot of things that we didn't get to do.
Jim