As a kid growing up, I lived in a very small town, actually its only about 35 miles from where I live now. Out of six kids (one died at 15), there are three of us who never migrated too far from our roots. I have been longing to take a drive back out, stay at the local lodge, and just explore some of those old places I used to go, and of course take my camera! I grew up very close to
Carter Caves, (click it to view info), which actually did have caves to explore. It was quite the hotspot back when I was growing up, many trips were made up and down those hillside steps where the public pool was. Every Sunday we would go swimming there. They did away with the public pool area with the 100 step hillside access many years ago and built a pool at the top of the hill, what a shame. I know at one time we counted those stairs (I believe they're still there) which took you down to the pool, complete with lifeguards, snack restaurant hangout place, bathrooms, change stations, even man-made beaches of sand, and the pool was actually a roped off/netted section of Tygart Creek. It was the in-place to be back when.
In the wintertime, it was absolutely breathtaking at Carter Caves and the home area in which we grew up. Being a child of six, and living in such a rural community, without video games or such stuff to do, we found our playground in the wooded surroundings of Tygart Creek. Also for entertainment, I remember we had a party line, which is a shared telephone line between several persons or families. Does anybody remember those? It made eavesdropping easy so I'm sure gossipers fed off that. You know, in such a small town, everybody knew everybody and there was always gossip! My grandfather was Sheriff at one time in our community and oh! the stories we were told to include those about our own Dad, who himself was a source of neverending amusement! I remember he hit the house with the car, saying the gas pedal stuck! a likely story, all the while slurring and dog drunk, steam coming off the car...hilarious. Christmas at our house was loads of fun too. I'll have to devote a whole post to that. Yes, all one had to do was listen in the party phone line, and *gasp* there was stuff we didn't need to hear but I giggle thinking about it! that naughty teacher Mr. Horton...no wonder they called him "horny Horton!" I remember also spying on the two old maid sisters who were both teachers and loved to drink wine, we thought they were in a cult or something!
We had paths that took us directly to the creek any season and without qualm we would pack a snack and off we'd go! We made us a grapevine swing that swung out over 20 feet in the air above cliffs and rocks, and it had a foot hold on it too. We were brazen way back when never realizing the dangers. Half the time we would stay gone from daylight till dark. We swam in the creek in the summer (well some of us could swim, not me) and used it for a skating rink in the winter. I guess if one of us had fallen in the frozen tundra, by the time help could be sought we would probably all drown trying to help the other. Tygart Creek was definitely deep enough in drown in, and its a wonder we didn't as sometimes we would chance skating over the deep part! Yes, in the winter we would travel directly on the frozen creek unless we saw running water underneath. Winters back then seemed to be fairly harsh, not like the winters we have now, well in these parts anyway.
Spring was always pretty too, lots of wildflowers. I once stepped on a mud puppy barefoot, it scared me to death as it made a noise. I had no idea what it was at the time! Of course we came across snakes and all kinds of gunk, but none of us ever got bit, or suffered serious injury. Oftentimes we would hike for miles and end up downtown or some other godforsaken place, and have to hike back by the roadways, asking for directions, and I don't think we ever had a compass (if we did we probably didn't know how to read it)! My brother and I would go to the city dump and shoot rats. Those suckers were big! I swear they could chew your arm off!
There were tons of limestone cliffs everywhere too. I remember one summer sitting on a cliff rock that jutted out over the water, and back behind where we sat there was another cliff with a natural waterfall in it, and we heard a little thud, turned around and there slithering towards us was a water moccasin! We got up and moved swiftly! and let him slide down the watery path right onto the water. It was weird watching them travel on top the water, many times we would see them coming and have to get out if we were swimming.
There were always rock cliffs that jutted out over the water and rocks in the creek that we could actually walk on, or that we could sit or fish off of. Underneath the cliffs were paths and burrows and even caves looked like, and God only knows what lived in those! We saw tracks, plenty of them, most were dog or wolf tracks. One time we were confronted by a pack of dogs, that was scary. Yes, we thought we were invincible and as it turns out I guess somebody was watching over us, or we were just damn lucky. I most definitely am going to have to take a road trip, back, back in time...but I already did that didn't I? Sorry if I rambled too much.
