Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Spruce Knob, West Virginia's Highest Point

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


The morning of our third day of our West Virginia road trip we were up bright and early as usual and began our day with a 45 minute drive to West Virginia's highest point:  Spruce Knob.


But first, breakfast!  We began our day at the Gateway Restaurant which is located right at the base of Spruce Knob road.  Hubby and I got an omelet and French toast to split.  The omelet and hash browns were AMAZING, but the strawberry French toast came with a strawberry jam instead of sliced strawberries and sugar mixed together till it forms a syrup, so hubby wasn't happy about that 😆.


Spruce Knob is West Virginia highest point with an elevation of 4863 feet.


The best part of Spruce Knob is that you don't have to go on a grueling four uphill hike to enjoy it, you just drive on up!  And it wasn't even a scary drive like Pike's Peak or Mt. Washington.  It was a nice pleasant drive through a forest mostly, with the occasional overlooks of the vista.  The road was narrow, but there was room for two cars to pass.


There is an ample parking lot at the top of Spruce Knob, and I was very pleased with the serenity, beauty, and levelness of the trail.  There was definitely no climbing on this trail, but just a pleasant walk through the woods.


I was amazed at all the rocks strewn about the forest floor.  In the shady areas, there was moss growing all over them.


Several paths lead you to the tower, which is not tall enough.  It must have been built when the trees were shorter, because now you can't even see over the trees.  They need to add another level or two.  But, I will say it is a very strong and sturdy tower made of stone;  you usually don't see that anymore.  Most towers are made of wood and always feel a little shaky to me.


The tower is unnecessary however, as you can get great multiple views from the trail.







My son was in his happy place today!  He loves rolling hills, and doesn't like flat country at all.


A short walk through the woods led to another opening.  The trail is an easy 0.5 mile loop.


The second viewing area from the trail, not quite as impressive as the first, but beautiful nevertheless.




Heading back to the parking lot, I saw this open field of rocks.  These didn't have moss on them as they were in full uniform.  I don't know why, but I found it so interesting to see so much broken rock on top of a mountain,  usually you see that at a mountain's base.


We came across another patch of mossy rocks just as we were exciting the trail.  This was the best one yet!


The visit to the top of Spruce Knob was a great way to start our day,  but the day was long from over, so onto the next adventure:  Beartown State Park!


Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts from this travel series check these out:





 

Sunday, May 24, 2026

My Early Spring Perennial Garden

Oh, it's that wonderful time of year again when the perennial garden springs to life!  This is my absolutely favorite time of the year as I love watching all the plants spring up out of the ground.  Join me, as we walk through my early spring perennial garden.


Crocus are the very first flowers to bloom in the spring.  I don't have many left, and I really need to plant more this fall.  But fall is such a busy time of year for me, and I rarely have time to plant bulbs.  In fact last year I had a bucket of daffodil bulbs I could never find the time to replant, so I just tossed them into the woods.  Sad, I know, but I'm hoping they will somehow regrow there.


Seeing my first crocus bloom is always exciting and fills me with so much hope that spring is almost here!


The next flower to bloom is the daffodils.  I have a hillside of daffodils (so now you understand why I threw the excess daffodil bulbs into the woods).  Every year I end up with a bucket full of bulbs and I have been gradually trying to replant them and grow them in other parts of the yard, but they really seem to prefer this dry steep hillside.


I have several different varieties as you can see in all the photos.




They really are jaw-dropping gorgeous in the spring!


I keep a fresh bouquet of daffodils in the house all season long.  I love their intoxicating scent.


After the daffodils fade away, the tulips begin to bloom.  They are not as prolific as the daffodils but they are one of my favorite flowers!


I bring those into the house too!


In past years I've had problems with bunnies and deer eating my tulips, but thankfully they have left them alone this year.  I am so grateful for them as my heart has broken before.








My yard is overrun with Bleeding Hearts!  They reseed everywhere for me.  But I love these flowers so much!  


The flowering crabs were gorgeous this year, although as always, way too short-lived.



My Lamium is quite the show-stopper this year, although it is completely out-of-control!  This plant comes back over and over again, no matter how many times I dig it up and thin it out.  Oh well, it's a good problem to have as it is low growing and quite beautiful.  It's perfect for areas where not much else grows and is a nice filler plant.


Even though I re-planted so many blue hyacinth bulbs, only a few seemed to have survived.  I've always loved this pretty delicate plant.


Sometimes Mother Nature creates the most beautiful color combinations.  I never put these two plants together myself (like I said earlier, Lamium has a mind of its own), but don't they look great? 


This wall planter is located on my front porch and gets no sun at all.  It's been difficult finding plants that don't mind living here,  even Impatiens struggle.  This year I tried pansies and they thrived!  I don't know how long they will last though.


Creeping Plox is always gorgeous in the spring.


My lilac bushes have just started to bloom.  I brought a small bouquet of the early-blooming variety into the house and I couldn't believe how much the house was filled with its fragrance from this small amount.


My husband and I really noticed how much this yellow bush popped against the red shed this year,  It hasn't always been that vibrant.




Chive reseeds itself so much, and has such a pretty flower I decided to plant some in my front perennial garden.  This garden is right off my kitchen making it easy to run out and snip some when I need it for a meal.



I don't do a lot of far-away photos in my gardening posts because it always just look like a sea of green in the pictures.  But I can assure you, in real life it is much more colorful.  Anyway, here are a few landscape shots so you can see how lush and green everything is.  That is my neighbor's creeping phlox in the distance.



I always like to include a cat photo in my garden posts.  I thought this one was so funny.  Jasper and a squirrel are having a stand-off.  The squirrel has no idea what to do.  He knows he is being watched, so he just froze.  He stayed this way for minutes before scampering away.  😁

 


And that is all I have of my very early spring perennial garden.  I will back in a few weeks with a veggie garden update.  I only have two veggie gardens planted so far plus a strawberry bed.  Once everything is planted I will do that post.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!