Usually I try to write to you about cool things people in our community are doing, or about my projects or cooking — topics I hope you’ll enjoy. I try to minimize personal anecdotes — mostly because my life is not particularly noteworthy.
But this week I have something to share about my life: I booked two nights in a state park cabin at Seneca State Forest, near Green Bank for the beginning of last week.
Although the leaves had already fallen, the drive down was gorgeous — picturesque vistas of our rolling mountains appeared around every other bend in the road, with cozy hollows in between.
My travel companion and I arrived at the park just before dark, so had time to unpack and get the lay of the land around our cabin in the remaining daylight.
The cabin’s advertising offered a pioneer experience, without electricity or running water. The cabin had a log exterior, and wood paneling inside with lots of windows and a swing and picnic table in the screened-in porch.
Upon arrival we fired up the gas lamps, located the wood (plenty provided already split) to burn for heat and cooking. The water pump and outhouse were nearby (the latter not as terrible as I’d feared — the vault toilet wasn’t a treat but didn’t dampen my spirits).
A love-seat sized rocking chair offered the perfect place to relax and enjoy the fireplace in the one room cabin. As most fireplaces, it didn’t retain much heat. But it sure was cozy.
Also cozy and a much more efficient source of heat — the wood burning cook stove. It used much less wood than the fireplace, and once the cast iron surface got hot it stayed hot. A draft backing down the chimney gave us a bit of trouble, but overall I enjoyed cooking on this old fashioned stove.
Using the oven we successfully baked a couple loaves of sourdough bread. On the stovetop we made tacos, including fresh tortillas (lack of a rolling pin made this process trickier), coffee and reheated leftover tacos.
Of course the park had scenic hiking options we took advantage of. I enjoyed visiting the fire tower, which I’d seen in photos. The view from the hilltop where the fire tower sits was absolutely worth the long uphill hike.
The cabin I reserved was right next to the small but beautiful Seneca Lake, almost always surrounded by anglers.
While the beds (there were two, with curtains that could be pulled to separate the beds and also the living and cooking areas) were reasonably comfortable, we didn’t have very restful nights.
I anticipated needing to get up to keep the fire going, and wasn’t wrong. However, I hadn’t expected to be kept awake by rats (I assume) scuttling, scratching and squeaking outside the cabin. I am used to hearing wildlife outside my own home, but the unusual surroundings in addition to new noises added up to a couple of wakeful nights.
Lack of phone and internet connection made the day times restful though, and I would absolutely recommend this type of get-away. My favorite extra touches were the complimentary soap and coffee from West Virginia businesses.
The silver lining of adjusting to living in a pandemic is that no longer able to prioritize city vacations, with their museums, restaurants, theaters and other urban amenities, and I have discovered the joy in visiting state parks. I might not travel any more this winter; come spring I hope to check into more cabins around our beautiful state.
