Amy's Creative Pursuits

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Babcock State Park, West Virginia

This is part ten of a travel series to West Virginia. To start at the beginning, go HERE!

On our last day of our West Virginia road trip we were up super early to pack a full day of activities before we would head to Charleston, our last pit stop of the night before heading home. The first thing we did was drive to Babcock State Park. If you only go to one or two state parks in West Virginia, this is one not to be missed. It is a beauty! The main feature of this part is the Glade Creek Grist Mill. You will see lots of photos of this mill as it is quite jaw-dropping!

It was much colder in this area than in Lewisburg where we spent the night. I was dressed for a seventy degree day, but it was FREEZING. After taking these photos I quickly changed into a winter coat and sweatpants. Thankfully, my sweatpants had very wide legs so they fit right over my clothes and shoes. I highly recommend packing wide leg sweatpants when traveling!

The main entrance to this park has this old, but no longer functional, park rangers office. Now you bypass this and just drive to the main parking lot where the gift shop and park headquarters are located.

The Grist Mill is located right off the main parking lot so it is the first thing you see. I was in absolute awestruck of its serene, historic beauty.

They had beautiful 11 x 14 photos of the mill for sale in the gift shop so I bought one as my souvenir of this trip. I always like to buy one souvenir of every trip we take. Sometimes it's a piece of jewelry, like my aspen leaf necklace from Colorado, and sometimes it's artwork like my flamingo blown glass from Las Vegas. The photo of the grist mill was the perfect souvenir to memorialize this trip.

Looking at the photos in the gift shop, we noticed there was quite of difference of water levels in the creek and falls depending on the time of year one was visiting. We were there in very early spring, so the creek and falls were very full. Here's a short video showing the mill and waterfalls.

Unfortunately even though the park was open, the gift shop and headquarters were open, all the interior roads to the park were closed. It was quite upsetting as it meant we couldn't do much hiking as we would have had to hike miles to the trail heads instead of driving in and parking in a lot. So we spent a lot of time in this area just rock scrambling and taking a ton of photos.

In this photo you can see the large main parking lot on the right with the gift shop/park headquarters in the distance. In the foreground is the mill race.

The ranger at the park told us of a couple of trails we could walk to. One of them he described as difficult so we decided to skip that one since we were pretty beat up already from a week of hiking. The other one was to a swinging bridge. We had to walk on the road a short distance before we'd reach the trail, but we decided to take that one because who doesn't like a swinging bridge?

We got to walk alongside the pretty Glade Creek most of the way.

And I got to see the backside of the grist mill. During the normal park season, this mill is still operating and open for tours.

Ya'll know I love a good rock formation and always have to stop and take a photo.

The road down to the swinging bridge trailhead was just lovely.

There were several people fishing in the river.

This is the road. I have no idea what they do if two cars are going in opposite directions. We had to step off the road when a park ranger's car wanted to pass.

Once we reached the trail head, we got off the road. This area was so pretty! It was filled with magical little walkways and lanterns that led to the cutest cabins.

It was one of those forests that made you wonder if this was where all the fairies lived.

And here is one of those cabins. I love the little narrow path that leads to it. There is no parking right next to the cabin. You have to park on the road, a short distance from your cabin, and haul everything in on foot.

I would love to come back here someday and spend a few nights in one of these cabins. I'm sure they fill up quickly though.

It wasn't long before we hit water again.

And there she was! The swinging bridge. The swinging bridge is a narrow, cable suspended footbridge that sways gently over the rushing waters of Glade Creek. It connects the two cabin loops in the park.

Here is a short video of me walking to the bridge and across it.

Since the swinging bridge isn't a hiking trail but just a connector of two cabin loops, we headed back to the Grist Mill. By now the sun was much higher and we got better photos.

Here's an interesting fact. Even though the mill looks super old it is actually a recreation. It was built in 1976 from parts of three historic mills. It is one of West Virginias most photographed spots, and I can certainly see why!

Can you spot me in the photo below? Having a person in the photo really gives you an idea of the massive scale of this mill.

The boys of course enjoyed having their photos taken on the massive rocks.

Even though we were disappointed we couldn't see much of the park (gosh, I'll never understand the purpose of park road closures in the east. If the snow is gone, open the roads!) it was worth the trip to this park just to see this gorgeous mill.

Have A Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts from this travel series check these out:

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry

Old Town Winchester

Blackwater Falls State Park West Virginia

Seneca Rocks West Virginia

Spruce Knob, West Virginia's Highest Point

The Beartown Boardwalk in Beartown State Park West Virginia

Lewisburg, West Virginia: A Historic Town Filled with Loads of Charm

Lost World Caverns, Lewisburg West Virginia

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Polka Dots and Stripes with Ageless Style

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages. Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme. This month's theme is "Polka Dots and Stripes" and was picked by Marsha.

Print Mixing has never been a fashion style I was comfortable with. I am more of a classic, casual style blogger. If I do print mix at all, it's so subtle you'd barely notice it, so when Marsha suggested wearing "dots and stripes" together, I was a bit frightened to say the least. But I am never one to avoid challenging myself to something new, so I gave it a whirl and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. Of course, I still kept my outfit true to me: Classic and casual, and it is still subtle 😀.

For my "Dots and Stripes" outfit I chose a polka dotted top and a striped handbag. After I took the photo I laughed when I noticed the polka dots in my top are also stripes, so I didn't need the handbag at all. I didn't notice that when I put the outfit together.

The outfit works for me because the colors blue and white are a classic color combo. The white skirt is a skort so it's casual and easy to wear. And my neutral shoes are super comfy. The red eyeglasses on the purse add just a touch of color and whimsy to the outfit. For accessories I wore simple pearl jewelry to coordinate with the white dots on my blouse.

I enjoyed this "dots and stripes" challenge so much I repeated it the following week when I wore this outfit to church:

Once again, I carried my striped handbag but this time I paired it with a polka dot dress. I balanced the busy prints out with a white denim jacket and neutral shoes.

Print mixing doesn't have to be bold or scary if you don't want it to be. You can tone it down with neutrals or classic colors, or you can do it in small doses like handbags, scarves, belts, or shoes.

Now, let's see how the rest of the ladies are styling their polka dots and stripes and be sure to link up with us as well.

Have A Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Amy ~ Amy’s Creative Pursuits

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Joanne ~ My Slice of Life

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Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style

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Marsha~ Marsha in the Middle

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Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

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Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Lost World Caverns, Lewisburg West Virginia

This is part nine of a travel series to West Virginia. To start at the beginning, go HERE!

On day four of our West Virginia road trip we spent the morning at the highest point in West Virginia, then looked for bears at Beartown State Park, and strolled the historic streets of Lewisburg before we concluded the day with a cave tour of Lost World Caverns.

We have been in a lot of caves on our travel adventures, and I thought Lost World Caverns was one of the best caves I have ever been two. The main reason for me is that is self-guided. I have been on way too many cave tours where I felt rushed trying to keep up with the tour guide. This cave I could take my time to soak it all in and walk at my own pace. The second reason I really liked this cave was all the detail! This cave has it all; so many interesting formations as you will soon see in the remainder of this post.

The caverns are located just a short drive from downtown Lewisburg. When driving through the countryside, it's hard to believe that there is a cave anywhere, but it is located right under this structure. Here is a museum, gift shop, and gem mining, small petting zoo, and playground for the kiddos.

You enter the cave right through the gift shop. You descend 120 feet below the earth's surface, first by a manmade tunnel and ramps, then later by stairs through the cave. It is a half mile loop that takes the average tourist 45 minutes to complete.

You don't have to worry about getting lost as it's very well lit and you just follow the path that keeps you on course. We pretty much had the whole cave to ourselves while we there and loved it! No crowds blocking our view!

Because it is self guided, all the main formations had markers and explanations of what they were and how they were formed. They also gave the formations fun names, below is "Smurf Village" because many people think it resembles the houses that the Smurfs lived in 😁. It is a compound stalagmite of pure white calcite. Interesting fact as stated in the sign below "The difference between stalagmites and stalactites is that stalagmites grow from the ground up and stalactites hang tight to the ceiling and grow down. Eventually if they meet, a column is formed".

The cavern is 1,00 feet long, 300 feet wide, 12 stories tall, and over 100 feet below the surface. It was discovered in 1942.

This is the Ice Cream Wall; it does look like ice cream doesn't it? "These formations are made as water from the surface becomes slightly acidic as it makes its way into the cave. This water dissolves and erodes the limestone rock releasing calcite crystals. The water drops transport these calcite crystals into the cave where they are deposited throughout the caverns as stalactites, stalagmites, and on the walls and rocks as "flowstone", which the Ice Cream Wall is a perfect example of. "

Below is "War Club" which I thought was one of the most impressive features of the cave. You notice it almost immediately when stepping into the cave as it is so large. It is a stalagmite that is approximately 500,000 years old and stands 28 feet tall with a base diameter of 2.5 feet and a 4 foot diameter on top. This formation is also famous for being in the Guinness Book of World Records when in 1971 Bob Addis, a local cave explorer, stayed on top of it for 15 days, 23 hours, and 22 minutes. Yikes, that's a long time!

"Bridal Veil" shown in the next two photos is a column of pure calcite. The formation seems to sparkle because the calcite crystals reflect light.

"Bridal Veil" is also an example of how columns are formed when a stalactite and stalagmite grow together. Once the two formations touch, they continue to grow wider and larger.

Meet "Goliath". He is 40 feet tall and has a circumference of 25 feet. This is the largest formation in Lost World Caverns.

I thought this was such a beautiful and interesting formation.

Would you believe some people choose to get married in a cave? I certainly cannot 😆. But pictured below is "The Chapel" because several couples have exchanged wedding vows here.

Lost World Caverns was such a fun place to explore, but like the town it's located in, it also has an interesting history. Before cave explorers discovered it in 1942, it was just a large hole on a farm. The farmers dropped things down the hole they wanted to get rid of like animal bones or old tools. Then on July 11, 1942 J.L. Wingfield, John Suter, George Mann, and Leroy Frazier heard about the cave and went to investigate. Wingfield rappelled down 120 feet until he landed on the floor of the cave. Rappelling down was the only way to get in until the man-made tunnel was created. I can't even imagine being brave enough to do that, can you?

You can still see the original natural entrance on the property.

I was so happy to find a cave I could explore safely on my own and at my own pace. It was so peaceful there, just listen to the water drip on this short video: