.....At the bottom of the road to Spruce Knob, we enjoyed lunch at a nice restaurant. We rested and enjoyed ourselves sitting and eating burgers. The only downside was the plight of the family from Bridgeport who had their car hauled away on a rollback to a garage to have their brakes fixed. I hate to see folks have their day ruined by car problems.
.....From the restaurant, we headed north through a deep winding green valley watching for Senica Rocks. We had several false alarms when Jonathan would see an outcropping and exclaim, "Is that it!" This valley is full of these fantastic outcroppings. Finally we came around a bend, and, there they were.
.....All that Jonathan could say was, "Awesome!" He soon had his camara out, and, so did I.

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.....Photo by Okey L. King

.....The Senica Rocks Visitor's Area had really changed since the last time I was here. The last time, the terrible scars left by the horrific November 1985 flood were still much viible. Now, the old building is gone and has been replaced by a very nice facility. The trouble was that it was Monday, and the place is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Still, we could roam the outside and marvel at the rocks. We have too many Senica Rock photos to put them all on the page. The one at the top of the page is by Jon and it gives the rocks a higher look. The second is mine and I have a slightly closer up. These, and a few others, are the photos I have chosen for the page.

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...........Photo by Okey L. King

.....In this close up, you can see the "notch" feature of Senica Rocks. In the middle of this notch, there once stood a tall slinder rock formation known as El Kapitan. On a Tuesday, I believe it was, the children in school below heard a great noise. They all rushed out and someone looked toward the rocks and yelled, "El Kapitan's gone!" And, sure enough, El Kapitan was just rubble down in the valley. I have seen a photo with a climber standing on top of this formation. It was a good thing that El Kapitan did not fall on the Weekend. I think some folks thought that El Kapitan would stand forever.
.....You can also see the sheer face of the wall. This is not an easy climb. There is a fairly easy trail that skirts around the hill to the top of the rocks. Jonathan would have like to have walked this trail, but we didn't have time and I didn't feel up to the task. Someday, maybe we will get to do that. We both want to take photos from the top.

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.........................Photo by Okey L. King

.....We walked around the building where we found sort of a patio with a telescope to view the rocks with. After spending some time here, my daughter decided to go back to the car, but, the rest of us decided to walk a little.
.....We walked along a shady path and found a nice footbridge over the stream that runs through the grounds. In the photo, Mia and Carolyn are enjoying the shade. Here we watched as gentle Senica gurgled its way torward the base of the great rocks. It is hard to immagine how this little stream and the river became monsters in November of 1985 and how they nearly wrecked this valley. But, it was not only this river and this valley, it was many valleys with their own roaring rivers of destructions. Accross the Mountains to the west of where we stood, at least one town was wiped out. Down in Greenbrier where we live, the bridges at Ronceverte and Caldwell were under water. The Anthony Bridge was washed away. It was unheard of. It just goes to remind us that, although God's creation is beautiful, it can be deadly when tampered with.

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.....................Photo by Jonathan D. King

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Photo by Okey L. King

.....When we had crossed the nice footbridge,we found where it lead to. There was a nice pinic area and parking lot. It was an ideal place to come and spend the day with family and friends.
.....Well, it was time to go back to the car and see what else we could find that day.

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................................Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....We returned to the higheay and motored on north with Jonathan having his camara at the ready. Still, we missed getting a photo at a famous rock formation the name of whitch escapes me as I sit here typing. Tat was a little downer. But, Jon was not to be denied and he made some gfreat photos. The one above is a sample of the scenes along the highway.

Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....Once we stopped along the side of the road for Jon to make a shot, and he could not resist taking a shot of this cool green water. Is it just water? No, it is cool West Virginia Mountain water.

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.......................Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....This is the scene that Jonathan stopped to take a photo of when he saw the water. This is just one of the great views you can see in the valleys of the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

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...............................Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....As we wandereed on up the road, we passed under this beautiful natural rock wall. I am glad that Jonathan could take photos while I was driving.
.....Soon, we came to the road that led to the Smoke Hole Area. We crossed the river and both Jonathan and I made photos. His was a little better so his is the one that goes on the page.

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..............Photo by Jonathan D. King

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........Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....We drove up a long hill and, at the crest, we pulled over. We both made a photo of the road truning and dipping down to Smoke Hole and Smoke Hole Canyon. This one belongs to Jonathan. Mine is on the index page. I think that this is one of the most beautiful views of the day.
.....The road winds in and out and up and down. You need to pay close attention to your driving. If you do not mind curves, it is a very pleasant drive. You just need to take your time and enjoy it.

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....Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....Finnaly we come to Smoke Hole Canyon and Smoke Hole Canyon Road and the South Branch of the Potomac. We turned left on Smoke Hole Canyon Road. This is a beautiful river. In the canyon, rock formations aare common. Again, Jon had a better photo than I did.

Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....After a few miles, we come to Eagle Rock. This rock is not named for the bird. It is named for a Revolutionary War soldier.
Photo by Jonathan D. King

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...............................Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....Someone has put flags atop the rock. This took Jonathan's fancy. There is the American Flag, the Confererate Flag, and the West Virginia Flag. .............
..............Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....We meandered on down the road passing along the beautiful little river. Again. I am using Jon's photo instead of mine even though I made one. All of a sudden, we come out of the Canyon and find ourselves on U.S. Route 220. Here the river flows out into a wide green valley. We follow this Valley down through Franklin and into Virginia.
.....After we stopped at the town of Monterey, we turn West on Route 250 and head for the high Mountain. After going up and down a few smaller Mountains, we croww High Allegheny at more than 4300 feet at Hightown. Here, at the top of the Mountain, we make a brief visit at Camp Allegheny
.....We leave highest battlefield of the Civil War and drop on down the mountain to the valley where God gave us a safe trip home. It was a very nice day indeed. May God bless you.

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