Deep in the Mountains

When I arrived at my brother's apple orchard, I told him that it makes "the back end of nowhere" look urban. We spent several hours that afternoon riding around backwoods paths on his 4x4. He told me this is about the most remote area in West Virginia, and as a land surveyor for 30 years, he would know.

 Above is the house, an old structure with rooms added on the back. It was very comfortable and relaxing there. No wifi. No cell reception. It felt blissfully like I was 25 again.

 Gently curving dirt paths, grassy pastures, leaning wood fences.
My brother has quite a selection of apple varieties. They're nearly ripe this time of year.

 I love the front door of the house - isn't this gorgeous?

 This is the view of one fenced-in orchard plot from the house porch. The orchard property lies nestled in a narrow valley next to a stream with hills sheltering on either side.

 A few grape vines drape near the house.

 A previous owner built this covered bridge, which is so quaint! It does cross the creek, but it doesn't lead anywhere.

 An old barn that's falling down:

 The creek has a rock bottom.

 This is the building where the picked apples are kept cool. The deep porch is so pretty.

 The view back down the valley:

 They cleared trees from this hillside to provide more sunlight to the apple trees.

 Marshall took me for a long 4x4 ride, and we saw some lovely sites. Here's an old mill next to a creek.

 Outcroppings like this are not rare in West Virginia. We were deep in Webster County and wandered into Braxton County.

 We came upon a down tree. Marshall piled stones on either side, and at last he just gunned it really hard to bound over the tree. We didn't want to walk, way out in the middle of nowhere!

 They're putting in a big new natural gas pipeline through the middle of this area. Hardly anyone lives there. 

 Another cabin is on the property too, very cute.

 I had to share this picture too, a church with two tidy outhouses in the side yard -- men's and women's.

Marshall and I had a wonderful time together, riding the 4x4, looking at the orchard, but mostly talking and talking. We had a lot to catch up on! I'm so grateful he shared this beautiful place with me. I feel very at peace in West Virginia, and the more deeply into the rural mountain valleys I go, the more peace I feel. His orchard is a truly peaceful place indeed.