Travel – Page 4 – Geeky Girl Engineer

West Virginia State Capitol

Posted on June 27, 2022 by geek

I continue in my quest to see all the state capitols. Today, I checked off West Virginia. The current, sixth, and final state capitol is gorgeous but not overly ornate. As just stated, it is the sixth capitol, and the short history of why West Virginia has had that many is one of the reasons why guided tours of capitols are so worth it. The original capitol was in Wheeling from 1858-1870. The Legislature decided to move it to Charleston. According to my guide, Wheeling then stated they would build a wonderful new building and pay for it if they moved the capital back to Wheeling, which they did in 1875. [This sounds like cities competing for sports franchises.] People evidently complained about how far away Wheeling was from the rest of state, and most wanted one more centrally located. Then there was a state wide vote, and Charleston won, and the capital moved back there in 1885. [At this point, you have to wonder if there was niche market for move the capital by steamer business.] Now, I get to the best part of this story, which is about the fourth capitol (and second Charleston capitol). The state had confiscated a whole lot of ammunition, gunpowder, and other material from protestors and/or strikers in coalfields. At least one version of the story I found says the ammunition belonged to police. The capitol was rather large, and evidently they had a bunch of storage space, so with what was thought a good idea at the time, they stored it in the capitol. It caught fire somehow, and the building burned for three days. The fifth capitol was then built really quickly after that, and then they built the current building.

The building is like most capitols with lots of marble and other natural stone. The central dome is really pretty. I like the contrasting colors. The dome and each of the chambers have crystal chandeliers on which the state did not skimp. The senate chamber is red, but the house chamber is more pinkish red. The senate has a small dome with skylight, but the house has larger square skylight. It may have just been the time of day I was there, but the house chamber had more light from the skylight. The exterior of the central dome has lots of real gold, according to my guide, and I think the gold is contrasted nicely with the blue paint.

Capitol exterior

Capitol dome exterior

Capitol central dome

Capitol dome area

Upstairs hallway

Senate Chamber

Senate Chamber dome

House Chamber

Kanawha State Forest

Posted on June 26, 2022 by geek

After visiting the Coal House, I went to Kanawha State Forest to do a little hiking. The park is pretty, but it had just rained, so hiking was a little difficult in that the trails were rather muddy. It has some nice trails, but unfortunately the map on the website is really not that helpful. One of the trails I wanted to see, the Spotted Salamander Trail, I only found because I asked some people hiking if they knew how to get to it. Still, it was a nice park to visit, and I got some exercise done. My guess is that the park is absolutely gorgeous when the wildflowers are in bloom.

Davis Creek trail

Spotted Salamander trail

Davis Creek trail

Williamson Coal House

Posted on June 26, 2022 by geek

While in Charleston, I found the book “The Essential Way Out in West Virginia” by Jeanne Mozier for sale, and I immediately bought it because this is my kind of book. One of the crazy items in the book, is Coal House, which according to the book is the oldest and largest building made out of coal in West Virginia. It was constructed entirely of coal, and its walls are two feet thick. Incredibly in 2010, the building caught fire, and the interior was gutted, but the coal block exterior was untouched. Supposedly, the exterior is not a fire hazard, which seems to be proven by the fact that it didn’t burn during the fire. However, it is coal, so I am still trying to understand that.

Quite obviously, I had to see this coal house. I drove about three hours roundtrip out of my way to see it, which may be not normal, but it was completely worth it. One detail that I could see in person is that bricks are very shiny. They must be coated with something, probably for weather resistance.

Coal House and sign

Coal House

Coal House plaque

Coal House bricks

Seneca Rocks

Posted on June 25, 2022 by geek

As I continued my West Virginia road trip, after Spruce Knob, I made another stop at Seneca Rocks. They are a beautiful rock formation to see. I didn’t do any hiking, but I just wanted to stop and see them. As I love to see any cool geological formation.

Seneca Rocks

Spruce Knob

Posted on June 25, 2022 by geek

I’m taking a leisurely road trip through West Virginia. The main destination is Charleston as this trip will add the West Virginia State Capitol to my list of state capitols, as I am trying to see them all. Along the way though, I am just enjoying the drive and finding detours and stops to make along the way. The first detour in West Virginia was Spruce Knob, which is the peak of Spruce Mountain and the highest point in West Virginia. It is a lovely drive to get there, as long as you don’t mind curving mountain roads including the final part which is forestry road and not actually wide enough for two vehicles. At the top of the mountain, there is a short trail that you can take to give you several wonderful vantage points of the surrounding area. There is also an observation tower of which I don’t understand the point because it provides views of the surrounding trees and that is about it. However, the views from the trail are worth the detour from the road.

Green tree covered mountains and a blue sky

View from Spruce Knob

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary

Posted on June 12, 2022 by geek

I went on a tour of Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary today, which sits along the Patuxent River on the east side. I have lived in the DC area for over a decade, and I am still discovering neat places to visit of which I just was not even aware exist. There are lovely forest and wetlands trails to see. Besides educational outreach, they also do scientific research on the wildlife and even archeology. It is a rather busy park really. On our tour, we also were able to go on a pontoon boat ride along the Patuxent River. There were so many red-winged blackbirds and ospreys along with lots of other birds that were difficult to see.

Jug Bay (in the morning while it was raining)

Spatterdock

Spatterdock flower

Jug Bay

Red-winged blackbird among the wetlands plants including cat-tails, wild ride, and spatterdock

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary trail

Calvert Cliffs State Park

Posted on June 11, 2022 by geek

I visited Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs State Park today, which I have been wanting to do for a while. The park is known for its beach where you can fossil hunt for shell and shark teeth fossils among others. The hike to the beach is not quite two miles. What I didn’t realize until I got here, mainly because the state’s website gives only the barest of information and is very unhelpful, is how lovely the trails are. The trail that is the most direct path to the beach first passes through a lovely wooded area. It then goes alongside a wetland area, which currently is filled with blooming water lilies. The wetland area is gorgeous and worthy of a visit to the park all by itself.

The beach is small and not someplace I would go swimming, but it seems everyone goes to this particular beach to hunt for fossils, not to swim. I found the geology of the beach to be quite interesting. There were rocks and other objects along the beach of which I couldn’t understand the origin. I picked up a few shells and at least one fossil. However, I also picked up a couple of items that I still can’t determine what they are, even if they are natural or human-made objects. I took photos of the objects I collected. If anyone can help me understand what the objects are in the last photo (also featured in second to last photo), I would appreciate you leaving a comment.

Calvert Cliffs SP trail

Calvert Cliffs SP lily pond

Water lilies

Calvert Cliffs SP beach

Fossils, shells, and other objects from Calvert Cliffs SP

Objects of unknown origin from Calvert Cliffs SP

Pittsburgh Rivers Boat Trip

Posted on May 29, 2022 by geek

I took the Rivers of Steel Uniquely Pittsburgh Sightseeing Tour today. I have to admit to being slightly disappointed that I could not see more of the leftovers from the steel industry on the boat ride, but it was a nice boat ride. It started near where the Monongahela River and the Allegheny River join to form the Ohio River. It went down the Ohio River just a little then it turned went up the Monongahela River for a bit before turning around and going up the Allegheny River for a little. It was a beautiful day, and it appears everyone who had a boat was on it, and everyone who didn’t was out on their bike or just walking.

Barge going down the Ohio River

Monongahela Incline

Looking down the Monongahela River

In the middle of three rivers

Duquesne Incline with a coal barge on the river and train going under the incline

On the Allegheny River

Looking up the Allegheny River

Ellis Island

Posted on July 18, 2021 by geek

I went to New York City for a quick trip and finally did one of those tourist things that are generally on the last of my list to do. On several occasions, I have traveled to tour a wastewater treatment plant or landfill or some other engineering work, but pure tourist locations are things I go to if I can fit them into my schedule. I visited the Statue of Liberty a couple of decades ago, and I would like to go again. However, for this trip, I visited Ellis Island, partly because they had spots on the hard hat tour of the work being done there available. An interesting historic site plus engineering work definitely fits the bill of my interests. The original Ellis Island immigration building is open including the restored Great Hall (i.e. Registry Room) with numerous interesting exhibits. The hard hat tour however allows you to tour parts of the hospital on the other side of the island that are being stabilized and restored. The buildings are fascinating, especially from a modern viewpoint. [This immediately makes me wonder how someone in 100 years will view our buildings such as hospitals.] I also find the work being done to restore the buildings fascinating. The hard hat tour is a great way for the National Park Service to highlight work that is being done and needs to be done when there is funding. The tour is very informative, but I have to admit the tour could be a lot better. The main problem with the tour is trying to hear the tour guide. There is no audio technology used. It was only how loud the guide talked, and the guide I was with did never bothered to find out if those at the back could hear what he was saying. He rarely waited for everyone to catch up before talking, and as I was generally in the back trying to get photos, I missed half of what he was saying. The audio problem is compounded by the fact that area being toured is an active worksite, so there were also lawnmowers, banging, and other equipment noise in the background. Still, touring the area was fascinating and informative.

Note with the photos below that most of the buildings being restored have had all their windows covered with plywood that has a small plastic window and a ventilation panel. The plywood prevents the elements from getting in and further degrading the structures, and the window and ventilation panel helps prevent mold from growing inside the buildings.

On hospital side of island looking at the original building where the Great Hall is

Ellis Island Great Hall (aka Reception Room)

Building on administrative side of island

Hospital buildings

Laundry room

Hospital buildings

Hallway in hospital

Incinerator

Morgue

Hospital room

Bathroom in hospital

Hospital kitchen

Fixtures in a hospital room

Bathroom in hospital

Hospital room looking towards Liberty Island

Room in contagious disease hospital

Alaska Railroad Denali Star

Posted on July 3, 2021 by geek

We took Alaska Railroad’s Denali Star to get to Denali from Anchorage and also took it back to Anchorage. The route is just gorgeous. It goes along mountain creeks, glacial valleys, river gorges, and lakes. I was also somewhat obsessed with the clouds and the atmospheric features on both trips because the mountains were creating incredibly interesting skies. Note: the photos below are a mix of photos from the trip to Denali and the trip back to Anchorage. Also, some of the photos below include the Nenana River on which I went rafting. Also, a different view of the Hines River, featured in the photo at its confluence with the Riley River, can be seen in my photos from hiking in Denali National Park.

As this is my second round trip on Alaska Railroad, with the trip to Seward being the first, I highly recommend paying extra for Goldstar seats if you are a photographer. Besides the free meals and glass-dome ceilings on the cars, the Goldstar cars also have an outside platform passengers can go out onto at anytime, which obviously makes for much better photos. Also of note, there is an Alaska Railroad employee pointing out places of interest along the journey and letting you know when you might want to get a photo. I found it very helpful, but for reasons that are beyond me, on the Denali trip, they kept pointing out gravel pits as points of interest. I’m a geeky engineer, and even I can’t figure out why they think we all find gravel pits incredibly interesting.