Memories....the old and the new (Part 3)

The next day we had made reservations at the Elkins Depot to take a four hour train ride.

 

 

 It was a vintage train called the New Tygart Flyer. It had climate controlled cars with tables and cushioned chairs.  Very comfortable! We rode for 23 miles up into the Cheat Mountain.

We were served a delicious cold lunch buffet. It was a challenge trying to walk with a plate of food on a moving train. I saw several people's eyes widen as I was walking toward them and the train lurched.  This was my sleepy lunch partner. We had our table all to ourselves.

 

We passed through a tunnel that only had a five inch clearance at some places.  We knew it was close since we could see the wall right at our window.

 

 

This was an old bridge that is no longer in use.

 

 

 

 When we got close to the top of the mountain, we had to stop for 10 minutes or so till they moved the engines to the back of the train so they could push us the rest of the way up.

At the High Falls of Cheat, we had a 45 minute break. We got out and walked down to the falls, it was well worth the walk.
                                                        

This was the parlor car, a romantic table for two with high back plush chairs. To be in this car also added 12-15 dollars onto the ticket price. The folks in this car also had to walk through three cars to get to the dining car.

 

 

After we got back to the station it was still too early to go back to the hotel so we drove out to Beverly, W Va. Rob loves Civil War history, there was supposed to be a battlefield out that direction. This is where I got powerfully sick! I got out and took a couple pictures so that helped. We drove, and drove, and drove, up a gravel mountain road and finally came to a field that was overgrown with weeds and this sign!

 

 

I had to get a picture of this power line. My camera does not do it justice at all.  I am sure this is where the song, "The Bear Went Over The Mountain" originated. It was just one mountain after another. I have now seen enough mountains to last me for a long time!

 

  

Sunday Morning we went to visit a small mountain church, called Brushy Run Mennonite Church. We looked it up on the internet and Rob said he was pretty sure it was close to the same area he had been 31 years ago. As we drove up to the church, it was 2 1/2 miles off the main road, he said it was the same road he had hunted on.  We had never met anyone at the church before but they were very welcoming. As we visited with them we found out we knew a lot of the same people. We were invited to have lunch with Larry and Rhoda Showalter, while we were there we found out their son and daughter in law had been about 6 miles from our farm the day before. They say its a small world but that weekend made it feel smaller when we took my old memories, and his old memories, and made our own brand new memories.