Tag: river

Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park 

Color Photography, West Virginia

The Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park in West Virginia is one of our most popular places. It’s especially popular with artists and photographers.  I think the reason why we’re so atracted to it.  The mill harkens us back to a simpler time when life was more organic.  The days when water and horses powered our technology. This allowed for a life that was less micro managed.  There was time for friends and family to meet beside a steam and enjoy life.  Small stones accumulated in a pool near the bank hold an entire world of colors and shapes.  Insects and crayfish dart around in the pool like waterborne fairies performing a dance.  This is what real life is. 

 The mill is still in operation certain times of the year.  We have friends who still take grain to the mill and grind it flour.  Home baked bread from home raised grain has a smell and a flavor not found in the bleached out over processed chunks of starchy foam that comes in a plastic bag.  Real bread is a wonderful experience.  

Today the subject of automation is discussed at length.  There are doubts and fears as well as hopes and dreams.  I  look at the image here that represents the automation of the past and I’m reminded that  before the mill all that flour had to be ground by hand.  There would have been no time for observation of life in the water.  No time for pleasant conversations about life.  I have hope that automation of the future will provide the same benefits if we are wise with it’s use. 

If you’re interested in visiting the Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park in West Virginia  you might want to check out the link below.  

Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park 

Cathedral Falls,  A Natural Sanctuary

Color Photography, travel

About one mile East of Gauley Bridge West Virginia is Cathedral Falls.  The cascade of water is about 60 feet high and the stream that feeds the falls is call Cane Branch.  The little roadside park is easy to access so I stop by often.  The path to the base of the falls is left in what is best described as a natural state. If you are sure-footed it’s no big deal.  I water is only ankle deep in most places and if you can avoid slippery rocks you can walk right up the stream.  If you can be there in the right light it’s one of our best photo ops.  The image here was taken in the Spring.  The air at Cathedral Falls is highly oxygenated due to the cascade.  It’s a good place to go and just quietly exist as part of God’s creation.  The cascading water seems to carry away the stress and anxiety that clings to the soul after a day of making modern life work.  Green ferns and moss grows everywhere in the canyon.  Birds and butterflies are often present.  The birds sing their songs and butterflies seem to dance to the tune.  

Cathedral Falls is one of God’s special spots.  I’m happy to share it with you but you should see it for yourself.  

Into the dawn 

Color Photography, Thoughts and Musing

Every day is a new beginning.  Every moment is the opportunity to build the future.  Every child of 80s knows in his or her heart that the future is so bright that we gotta wear shades.  😎 I could focus on not knowing where the road goes but I choose to focus instead on the bright day lying just beyond the fog. I’m looking for big things to happen in 2018.  I hope they happen for you too.

Golden Dawn on the Kanawha River 

Color Photography, travel

This image was also taken the morning of October 28th 2017.  The building on the left is the hydroelectric power plant that supports the local foundry.   The Kanawha Falls seen here are part of system that incorporates a manmade dam with the natural beauty of the falls.  The light in spot doesn’t always cooperate with the lense but this time the sky made up for past disappointments.