Vacation!

We always take some time off late summer or early fall, but usually have been using that time to make renovations to the house, or to do household chores that never manage to get done in day-to-day life.  This year, we decided to take a couple of days in the middle of our time off and get away - and we chose Blackwater Falls State Park, in West Virginia.  We just got back today.

We chose this park because it had "pet-friendly" cabins, and we wanted to take Argos with us.  And it worked out really well - we had to rent an SUV to get everything down there because the park's regulations stated that we needed to have him in a crate if he was left in the cabin unattended.  And while we didn't leave him very often or for very long, we did go down into the nearby town (Davis, WV) a few times for meals, and couldn't bring him with us.





Here is the cabin we stayed in.  This particular one was just one room, though it was roomy enough not to be terribly crowded, at least for the two nights that we stayed there.  It was also clean, comfortable, and actually had some of the "extras" that made life easier, like glasses, silverware, plates, etc.  Oh, and it had running water and electricity, but I INSISTED on these things.  I love the idea of getting away from the city, but I do not like the idea of giving up being clean and being able to read after dark.

I would definitely recommend this park to anyone wanting to take a dog on vacation with them - though I would hesitate to call it pet friendly, more pet-accepting.  You can bring your dog, let them stay in the cabin with you, and take them for leashed walks on the trails, but there is no off-leash area, no park, nothing that caters specifically to the dogs.  I thought that this was okay, as Argos is perfectly content to hike around leashed, but any dog that is used to more freedom is going to feel restricted.

Jeff and Argos on the Cherry Hill Trail, a very gentle trail that ended a few feet from our cabin.

Me and Argos, mugging for the camera.

Argos and I waiting for Camera Man Husband to finish up taking pictures of the falls.

Speaking of, Jeff did an excellent job taking most of the nature photos when we were out on our hikes - we took several of the easy to intermediate trails while we were there - which took us to some breath-taking scenery.  So even though it's not REALLY pertaining to pets, I thought that I would include a portion of his pictures.  Mind you, these are a small number of the ones he took; it seemed like each was better than the last.

The Blackwater Falls, for which the state park is named.  We had to descend over 200 stairs to get to the overlook for these falls, but it was well-worth it!  The stairs weren't that difficult anyway, though  it was a little tougher going back up.

Blackwater Falls from an overlook further up.  This was called the "Gentle Trail" which was short, paved, handicapped accessible, etc.  

Beautiful shot of the canyon from one of several overlook areas thoughtfully fenced off so that people don't go plunging into the canyon below.

Elkala Falls.  We were in this forest at dusk, and I was nervous the entire time about having a bear encounter.  We never did, though.

I like to call this one "Forest's Edge."  It was one of the few that I took.

Canyon at sunrise.  It was amazing to watch the trees light up as the sun rose over them.

Tall forest is tall.

Okay, back to Argos pictures!  He was very good, and LOVED all of the walks.   I fear that his normal life is going to be boring for him now!  No, there is no way that we can continue to do 5+ walks a day through the wilderness, sorry Argos!

Ascending from the lower Blackwater Falls overlook.

Argos spots something moving!  I think it was a chipmunk.

And at the end of a long day of hiking, sniffing trees, and looking at the scenery, sacked out across the bed in the cabin.  But where were Jeff and I supposed to sleep?