Day 8 – Blackwater Falls to Greenbriar State Forest

Posted byweegtravelPosted in2022, Fallout 76, West Virginia

Blackwater Falls, a 57-foot cascade tinted by the tannic acid of fallen hemlock and red spruce needles.

We have a lot to see today including a tour at the Greenbank Observstory. We pretty much packed up last night so we could make a quick getaway. We planned to do breakfast at Seneca Rocks rather than sitting our campsite. We were away by 7:45 and viewed the Blackwater Falls on our way out of the campground.

The scenery today was magnificent with lots of nailbiting curves and 9% and 10% grades everywhere. Very remote country interspersed with farms in the valleys and their charming white barns.

Seneca Rocks

Breakfast at Seneca Rocks picnic area.
Seneca Rocks is one of the best-known landmarks in West Virginia.  These rocks have long been noted as a scenic attraction and are popular with rock climbers.
The rocks are a magnificent formation rising nearly 900 feet above the North Fork River. Seneca Rocks is featured in the video game Fallout 76.

Sites homestead, Seneca Rocks picnic area.

Green Bank Observatory

Green Bank Observatory tour center.

The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Green Bank, West Virginia, US is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope, surpassing the Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope in Germany. The Green Bank site was part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) until September 30, 2016. Since October 1, 2016, the telescope has been operated by the independent Green Bank Observatory. The telescope’s name honors the late Senator Robert C. Byrd who represented West Virginia and who pushed the funding of the telescope through Congress. Src: Wikipedia.

The Green Bank Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in the National Radio Quiet Zone in Green Bank, West Virginia, U.S. It is the operator of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope.

The Greenbank Telescope

We took a tour at this facility: a 10 minute lecture followed by a 10 minute movie and then a couple of short demonstrations. The rest of the tour was a bus tour to the array. We were not allowed any electronics to be turned on that could emit a signal that would interfere with the array reception ie cell phones and smart watches.

The National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) is a large area of land in the United States designated as a radio quiet zone, in which radio transmissions are heavily restricted by law to facilitate scientific research and the gathering of military intelligence. This explains why much of our day has been without network! Microwaves are also not allowed in the neighborhoods around the array.

Fallout 76: the radio telescope is a landmark on the map in the game along with the array of other telescopes. Fort Atlas features an optical telescope which is not found here in real life.

I remember when this guage was used to indicate fire warnings.

Cass, WV

Cass Train Station and Scenic Railroad

From Greenbank we drove through Cass, a company town built on the B&O railroad along the banks of the Greenbriar River in 1900. The town was built to house the workers who constructed and operated the logging railroad into the mountains. It is now part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. There is a general store, restaurant and museum. We had lunch here.

The Cass depot is an adaptation constructed in 1970 to replace the 1923 original. A cute little station, not featured in the video game that I can find.

Cranberry Glade, Monongahela National Forest

With a bit of an interesting route and no internet for maps, we did manage to find the boardwalk through the Cranberry Glade. We are very glad we persevered looking for it. Cranberry Glade is a bog unique to this area that is usually only found in the northern U.S. and Canada. It has very rare plants. The board walk is half a mile long but takes an hour to walk because the ecosystem is so different and interesting.

Cranberry Glades

I have a lot of photos that I will post as I process them.

I neglected to mention that it has been raining off and on all day. The misty, damp weather made the atmosphere of the walk all the better and the water on the flora magnificent for photography.

This area is a region of its own in the game FO 76 and features the bog, giant Sundew plants (which in real life are native insect eating plants), cranberry plants and a Scortchbeast Queen or two for good measure. I give the game designers a thumbs up for this feature. The real thing is magnificent!

Non-native Pitcher Plants, an introduced insect eating plant that is becoming invasive.
Ferns (not mutated … ref. FO 76)

Pink Rhododendron

White Rhododendron

See my post https://weegtravel.blog/2022/02/26/day-8-okefenokee-swamp-stephen-foster-state-park/ for an explanation of swamps, Marshes, bogs and fens.

Pearl S. Buck Birthplace

This was something we didn’t expect to find. Pearl Buck was born in Hillsboro, WV and we passed it on our route today. The house was closed so we just have exterior photos. We live in Bucks County where she lived and wrote and is buried on her property in Perkasie, PA not far from where we live.

Birthplace of Pearl S. Buck, Hillsboro, WV.

Fallout 76 places we passed today but didn’t get to: Dolly Sods Campground, Black Bear Resort, lots of ski hills, Spruce knob, Watoga.

Not far from the town of Watoga. Watoga State Park is the largest in the state.

Campsite tonight is in GreenBriar National Forest. We have the place to ourselves. We are close to the Greenbriars (White Springs in the game) and will zip by a photograph it. We have been here before.. ditto with Lewisburg.