One Thursday night last fall we were watching TV which in itself is odd, when hubby said something like, "do you want to go to that?". and I said "what"and he said something like "that thing on TV, the Roadkill Cook off" and I replied " I've said that every time we watched this, so is this finally the year we go?" and he said, "go to bed early, I want to be on the road at dawn" or something like that, which I knew wasn't going to happen exactly as stated.
And true to form it didn't, but we were off. Headed for about 8 hours on the Interstates and a few more on some really interesting side roads. Still believing
"we could make it before sunset."
As my loyal readers know, always have my camera with me, but somehow, or so I thought "somehow!" I had forgotton it!
And on we rolled screaming down the Interstate, which isn't all that photogenic, we rolled along until we were so hungry and thirsty we had to stop, and get a sandwich. By this time we had crossed over into West Virginia and the topography had changed a lot. I was dazzled by the rock outcrops. We decided, yes we together decided to find a nice place to enjoy our surroundings and our lunch....well that didn't exactly happen either. However I did find my camera, hiding under some empty chip bags.
Yay!!! camera!
And lo! there before just a ways down the road stood this incredible, at least to me
stood this incredible sight! And a place to pull over and finish or snacks and most important take some pictures.
After many attempts at the perfect picture, we were done resting at the roadside rest one guess was made just for people to admire the view, when it was pointed out that we still had over 100 miles to travel before we could find a place to stay for the night!
And we packed up, and drove onward. Past more barns and farmhouses, cattle , apple trees, with no apples on them and a some bright bursts of Fall color.
It seems we should have called ahead to make a reservation....hmmmm wonder why we didn't. But we did find a neat little place, and rented a cabin. Still many miles from the Town of Marlinton.
Nessesitating a quick trip to dollar General for some supplies. As a cabin isn't always equipped with a restaurant and the amenities of a hotel or motel. As the sun sunk below the hilltops we drove up the the narrow dirt road to our cabin.
Built in the 30' it was loverly! and spacious! It had a few upgrades, but rustic in a very cool way. Perfect for a couple of very tired geezers.
I could have spent a week here. Sinking into the Momma Bear rocker by the fireplace as hubby returned from the wood shed prepared to started a fire in the fireplace. as soon as he lite the gas lamps, which made a warm glow and a reassuringly familiar sound, 
On what promised to be a record cold night for Septemeber. We didn't have any coffee, so I didn't get to try out the wood fired kitchen range. Something that brough back helping build a fire in my Grandmothers coal fired kitchen stove,
Our morning caffine would have to come from a restaurant, or my preference a Coke. but we two weary geezers bundled off to bed, and dreamed peacefully under real quilts.
We had spent an night without TV, running water, indoor plumbing and cell service.
It was thouroghly enjoyable. I am not sure exactly how things would have turned out if we had made supper there, but probably good. Our trusty wind up alarm rousted us before dawn and we were headed on down the mountain after enjoying a bologna sandwich, Coke and cookies in front of the remains of our fire.
Before we locked up and ventured down the mountain
and across the wooden bridge
and from there we headed into town. Now Marlinton is not a very big town, but much bigger than the town we live in, we arrived long before the actuall Cook-off began so we ambled along the streets lined with vendors of all sorts foods, crafts, books and well just about everything you might think of.
We met a family who generously became our tour guides.
Someone said that this building was being turned back into a Hotel, so I didn't ask the people who were working on it as we watched.
After paying a modest $5 for our trusty yellow bracelets, which entitled us to sample the fare and vote for our favorite dish.
Even though we were early there were still lines of people waiting to try a sample of the road kill cuisine, which included, bear stew{tasty}, venison bruschetta ( really good}, rabbit alfredo, iced tea, chili{gotta have the chili}, fried dumplings {my favorite} and other goodies. We waited in line a lot, but the also got to talk with others, mostly locals who came for a day of fun and socializing. What started out as a totally local event has over time become a major event.
Even though we were early there were still lines of people waiting to try a sample of the road kill cuisine, which included, bear stew{tasty}, venison bruschetta ( really good}, rabbit alfredo, iced tea, chili{gotta have the chili}, fried dumplings {my favorite} and other goodies. We waited in line a lot, but the also got to talk with others, mostly locals who came for a day of fun and socializing. What started out as a totally local event has over time become a major event.
Thanking the family that had adopted us for their hospitality, we made our way back through the now crowded street, stopping to listen to what I think was the High School band. Back to the car and began the long drive home.
