Blackwater Falls

I decided today that i was sick of sitting at home, watching tv and reading books. (You know i am really bored, when i think that reading a book for leisure is a good idea.) I had heard about Blackwater Falls, and decided to make the trip there. The falls are located in Blackwater State Park. I had heard some good things about the falls, and decided that i wanted to cross it off of my list of things to do and see here in West Virginia.

No one wanted to go with me--my friends here are so boring. So, i got up and headed out to the falls by myself.

Blackwater Falls are located in Tucker County, West Virginia--about an hour from here. The drive is really beautiful--if west virginia has anything to offer, it has the beautiful nature. On the way up there, i stopped and took this photo.

These windmills are a new thing to West Virginia. They are everywhere--as you drive down the high way you can see them all along the tops of the mountains. From what i hear, the energy they make is sent to Washington D.C.  I had never seen one this close up before. They are HUGE! This photo doesn't even show you how enormous they are--it was cool to be this close to one. 

Then i saw this.

The Kingsford Charcoal Plant. I did not even know that this was in West Virginia--but i guess it makes sense--being that charcoal is a product of coal. 

I kept driving--winding up the mountain side. Pretty soon i got to the falls. Here are some of the photos. 

As soon as you get to the park, you can hear the falls. It was really cool to hear the water get louder and louder as i got closer to them. This is the first thing you see when you start the walk to the falls. 214 steps is a little intimidating--but it wasn't bad going down...coming up kind of sucked. 

This sign says... "The resistant homewood and Conoquessing sandstones, the "salt sands" of the driller form the canyon walls of Blackwater Falls. These sands produce oil and natural gas in West Virginia and commercial brines on the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers."

This is a lookout about half way down to the falls. Its hard to tell in the photo, but I am really high up on the side of a mountain looking out over the river below to the other side of the canyon. Its just miles and miles of trees along the mountain ridges.

Along the stairway down there were these little stations, where you could read about the falls and the park. This one was the most interesting, it basically tells why the water is Amber in color. It basically says that the water gets its tea or amber coloring from the natural tannins near the river. The Red Confiers such as the Eastern Hemlock and the Red Spruce drop their needles near the river and the snow and rain cause the coloring and acid of the needles to run into the water. 

Here are some photos of the falls. You can see toward the top of the falls that the water is amberish in color. The falls are approximately 57 feet tall. I know they don't look that big in the photos, but in person they are really big. 

There were two spots you could stand and see the falls. The photo above is taken from the top view point, about half way down the mountain. 

They had this porch type area, that went out over the water. From there you could get better close ups of the falls. 

After i walked back up the 200 some stairs i noticed that all the trees on the mountain had these weird looking roots. I guess the trees have adapted to growing in and on rocks, rather than in dirt. They are pretty cool looking. These trees are huge by the way--they are really, really tall. 

In all it was really a cool trip. I am glad i got out and did it, even if i had to go alone. I want to go back in this Autumn, because i can imagine it is even more breathtaking with the fall colors in the back drop. You can see more photos of the falls on my Facebook page. 

Call The Law Judy.

One of the worst things about living alone happens when you lock yourself out of your house, and no one is inside to let you in.

I can't even believe that this happened, I am always really careful about the door lock--because I am fully aware of the fact that there is no one inside to let me in. 

It all happened on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon. I had no plans for the day, and therefore, I laid around all day reading a book and watching re-runs of the Jersey Shore. I also did not change out of my pajamas or shower. Don't judge--Its West Virginia for goodness sake. Anyway, I lounge around all day...around 5pm the dog decides she has to go out to potty. I grab the leash and we head out the door. Normally, i don't pull the door shut all the way--but the air conditioner was on and I was not going to pay to cool the outdoors. It must be the Kukacka in me. :)  

The dog goes out in the yard, does her buisness and we go back to the front of the house to go in--and the door is locked! EFF! what am i going to do? No one is on the inside to let me in! 

I think for a minute. 

I had the windows open earlier in the day, before the heat got unbearable. I figure maybe i left the sliding door or a window unlocked. I know this isn't true, but its worth a shot. 

I climb over the patio railing, go to pull the sliding door--but no luck. 

I then pull the screens off of all the windows in the living-room and the bedroom.--No luck there either. Everything is locked. 

I think some more. 

I remember that I was never able to get the kitchen window locked, I know its open and in can get in there. 

I pull off the screen and the window slides right open! YES!! we are back in business. 

Now, how am i going to get my ass up there? This kitchen window is a good 6 feet off the ground, and its a little mini window. I go back to the patio and get my outdoor chair. I stand on it, but there is no way that it is tall enough for me to get my big ass up and in that window. I then stand on the arms of the chair.

Funny thing about standing on the arms of the chair is that--they are meant to support the weight of Arms...not entire bodies. So, as you can imagine--they break. 

GREAT! this is just effing fantastic! I am now drenched in sweat, because it is about 100 degrees with a 90% humidity! not only that, i have been wearing these pajamas for at least 20 hours and have not showered all day. 

I think some more.

I try again to get into the window--it aint happening. As i am standing looking in, i see my keys on the far counter. I think all i need to do is get those keys.

I think some more--and it comes to me!

I go to the back of the house again, and pull out the sheppards hook i have bird feeders hanging on. I take this 10 foot pole to the window, and stick it in. 

Just as i am putting this giant rod into the window my neighbors exit there houses and wonder what in the hell i am doing. I try and explain the situation, but they don't believe me. They say they have never seen me before, yadda, yadda, yadda. I am like are you kidding me? Do you think that if i was breaking in to a house i would do it through the front window in pajamas--no less!?  Get Real! I am pretty sure they are going to call the cops. 

This should be good to explain at work, when i end up in jail for Breaking and Entering. 

While they are still talking to each other, i go back to trying to fish my keys out with a giant sheppard's hook! 

I just keep thinking to myself that this is going to be all over if i drop the keys.  

I carefully hook the keys and slowly pull them out of the window. YES!  

I am completely soaked in sweat, i feel like i just got out of the shower! I open the door and go in. I then have to put all the screens back in and return the hook to the back yard.

I sit down on the couch--completely exhausted! I think i need a beer. 

What....an embarrassment. I am just glad that i got in, before they called the police. 

f....f....fuh...fuh..fuh...FLEAS???

Uuuggghhh. I just cannot catch a break! First the army of sugar ants and now fleas. I think I am ready to move back to frigid temperatures. The kind of temperatures, where no bugs survive! I would even gladly welcome the mosquitoes!

It all started yesterday... I was sitting on the couch, watching the Hangover with the dog. She was sitting so nicely, so I grabbed the furminator and started brushing her. She was surprisingly tolerant of the brushing. After about 20 minutes of brushing, I had a giant pile of hair growing on the floor--thats when i noticed that she had a bug on her. I tried to grab it, but I wasn't fast enough. I thought at first that it must have been an ant--because even though the main swarm of them have left, there are a few stragglers still crawling around here. I kept brushing, and after a while i noticed another bug! Again, i was too slow to get it--it must just be my mind playing games, I thought. How could I see a bug one second and then not the next. These bugs were just too fast and so small--there was no way that i was really seeing bugs. It must have just been a mild schizophrenic episode or something. Then i started to get worried, what if these really were bugs? What if I now have a psychotic disorder? i didn't know which was worse.

Thats when i decided that i would just google it. The internet always has the answers to life's dilemmas. So, i typed in fleas...and what came up was exactly the kind of bug i saw. FABULOUS! this is awesome. Now i go into full panic mode! what the hell am i going to do, and just where did she pick these bugs up? I head down to the local store and get some flea shampoo, come back and give her a bath. During the bath i only saw about 4 of them come off of her. So, i am hoping i caught it in the early stages. I mean, if  i would not have brushed her--i would have not even known about the bugs.

I also then need to clean the house,  vacuum every possible surface and wash all the dogs beds. I needed to wash my bedding anyway, so i head to the Laundromat. I hate going to the Laundromat in the first place, add to the fact that this Laundromat is located in rural West Virginia--are you getting a visual? It was horrible, smelly, and filled with country bumpkins--not to mention that it was like 90 degrees yesterday, and they had the doors propped open--because apparently its against the law to turn on the airconditioner. Ugh! this has to be the worst Saturday in the history of Saturdays! So, i pay the $7.00 per machine--can you believe that? Completely outrageous! I have one machine with my bedding, and one with dog bedding. As the machines get going, I start to notice this green stuff flying around in the dog bed machine... weird. Pretty soon, the machine is filling with this green stuff--what in the hell is that, i thought. After starring for a minute i realize that one of the beds has been busted open by the vigorous motions of the machine--and now the machine is filling with the mint green fiberfill of the bed!! OMG! what am i going to do!? Pretty soon the load is finished, but i really don't know what to do with all the fiberfill in the machine. I mean, do i leave it in there? do i try and re-stuff the bed? what the hell?

So, i locate a garbage can--and try to get all the fiberfill out without making a huge scene. There was so much fiberfill in that machine--it had all been beaten around into a million little pieces by the washer. There was fiberfill attached to the other beds, there was fiberfill all over the floor, in the machine, on my clothes! It was everywhere! Just as i start to clean it up off the floor a giant thunderstorm rolls in, complete with Hurricane force winds! Now, the fiberfill is Flying around the entire Laundromat--as i chase it down. I looked like a complete weirdo--its pretty bad when the people in a West Virginia Laundromat think that you are a freak. What--- a disaster.

I finally get home, and re-vacuum again. I am completely exhausted.

Fast forward to this morning, I decide to wash the dog again. These fleas have laid eggs, and so now i have to bathe her once every couple of days. But, I can't use the flea shampoo again for TWO WEEKS! There is no way i am gonna let this get out of control, so i researched on the internet and find out that the blue Dawn dish-soap will kill them too. So, off to Walmart at 7am on a Sunday. I got dish-soap, a flea collar, some of the Frontline stuff, and a doggy power washer. $60 later--I get home and hook the power washer up, and bathe her again. The power washer was so powerful that it was shooting fleas all around the tub! I almost wished that i had a welding shield or something to protect my face from them!
I saw about 10 more come off of her today, so hopefully this will work.

I hope this is the end of my bug problems. ugh!

Ramps.

Its Ramp season here in West Virginia. Don't know what a "Ramp" is?? Me either.

This is the story of how I discovered what a Ramp was.

So, a few weeks ago I noticed this same guy standing on the highway between my house and work holding this sign that said "Ramps". Naturally, I thought he was looking for a ride to the nearest ramp. Yet, everyday--morning and night, rain or shine,  he was in the same spot with the same sign... I just didn't understand. I thought to myself--what an idiot this guy was. There is a ramp to the freeway only about 2 miles from where he was always standing--if he just took some initiative and started walking, he would have been to the ramp already. Geesh! Thats what's wrong with people these days--they just can't do anything for themselves, right? The freeway is only a short walk away, but this toothless loser has to try and flag down a ride for pete's sake.

A few days later, a co-worker was talking about how she had stopped and bought Ramps from this guy, and how she had cooked them on a pizza. I was puzzled. What in the hell are Ramps and why would you be eating them--on pizza no less? Apparently, the guy holding the Ramp sign, was not looking for a ride--but rather he was selling Ramps. I guess here in Mountain country, on the weekends people go out in the woods and dig for Ramps. Ramps are a kind of potent wild onion. Why they are called ramps--i have NO idea. It makes no sense....but I am in West Virginia, so I guess its justified. I felt like a complete idiot, when I realized my mistake. Everyone at work had a good laugh over it.

Well, then a few days ago. I had to take a trip with some co-workers for a work related project. There stood the same guy--selling his Ramps. On our way back to work--he was still out there, but now he had a whole yard sale set up on the side of the highway. What in the hell. Are you kidding me--an entire yard sale--no joke. He had a lazy boy out there, an old 70's lamp, various frames...he had like 5 tables and a friggen cash register out there. My co-workers let me know that, in the spring and summer this is normal in West Virginia.

Obliviously, if you want to have a yard sale--you just find yourself a nice patch of freeway and set yourself up. Can you even believe it? The look on my face must have been priceless.

Okay--this is gonna be a long one. I was contemplating the best way to do this, and I think that I will just give you all a run down of how each week went.

Week One:   I left Ginger with some friends from work for the week, which I was a little nervous about. You all know what a nutcase that dog can be, and other than her running through the screen door--everything went pretty well with her. As for me...all of us from work met up and took off in a state van. It was about a 2 hour drive North through the Mountains. The drive was really boring and awkward the first week, because even though we all work together--we really didn't know each other. There were six of us who went from our facility. We got there a little bit early, and the week began. We got paired up by the Academy staff with a roommate. My roommate was a middle aged lady who had bleach blonde 80's hair--It was really big on the top, and she would rat it up every morning. We got along really well--she only lives about an hour from me, and we had a lot in common. She was a little bit wacky... she told me about her house, her boyfriend, and her cats. After a few days, of her talking about her cats--I asked how many she had. To which she replied 19. Ummm... Wow. So, other than her being a crazy cat lady--she was pretty cool. I quickly learned that crazy cat lady was one of the better roommates to have. One of the girls from work ended up with a lady who was at least 65 years old, and wore depends, had false teeth, and snored really loudly all night long. Her room smelled like dirty diapers all the time. It was pretty gross.  We each had to clean our rooms, make our beds Military style-- you know with the 45 degree corners, 18 inch pull backs, and 6 inch folds. Each morning, they would inspect our rooms with a ruler to be sure all the bed lines were correct. They also would check our uniforms--to be sure our gig-lines were straight, we didn't have any lint on us, our shoes were shined, and our hair was not touching our collar--fun stuff like that.  If they found anything wrong with your person or your room you received a demerit. After 20 demerits in the three weeks you would be sent home--which also meant that you lost your job. So, it was stressful. When they inspected, you were to be waiting outside your door standing at attention. When the Lieutenant would come by to inspect you, he would look at one of the roommates and say, "Would you bet your roommates life on this room being clean." to which you would respond, "Yes, Sir" then he would look at the other roommate and yell, "ARE YOU READY TO DIE?" It was pretty intense--he would take a flashlight and belly crawl under the beds looking for a single hair or speck of dust. We would also have a cleaning detail to complete each day--the first week I was assigned to vacuuming the hallway. If the Lieutenant found anything wrong with your cleaning details, you would receive a demerit. You could get a demerit for pretty much anything. You also had to do well on your tests, and if you failed more than once you would be sent home. I was so tired by the time the first week was over! We would get up at 5 am, clean, shower, clean more, get dressed, get inspected, march to chow (which was always disgusting--usually biscuits and gravy), March to class, sit through 8 hours of class, March back, eat chow (it was usually something that involved pork--i mostly only ate salad--sometimes I only ate because I was so hungry and there was nothing else), march back to the dorms, study, be in bed by 10, lights out at 11...wake up and do it all over again. When we would march, we would have to yell cadences.

We usually did "They say that in the Academy" its really supposed to be "they say that in the Army", but they had us switch out army with academy. It went something like this.....They say that in the Academy the coffee is mighty fine, it looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine. Oh Yeah! OOOHH YEAH! They say that in the academy the chow is mighty fine, the chicken jumped off the table and started marking time. Oh yeah! OOOHHH YEAH! They say that in the academy the biscuits are mighty fine, one rolled off the table and killed a friend of mine. Oh yeah! OOHH YEAH! They say that in the academy the training is mighty fine, last night there were ten of us and now there is only nine. Oh Yeah! OOHH YEAH! They say that in the academy the pay is mighty fine, they give you a hundred dollars and take back ninety nine. Oh yeah! OOHH YEAH!

We also did this one. My Girl is a pretty girl. My girl's a vegetable, She lives in a hospital, But I'd buy her anything, To keep her alive. She's got no arms or legs, Steel rods and wooden pegs, But I'd buy her anything, To keep her alive. She's got her own TV, They call it an EKG , But I'd buy her anything, To keep her alive. My girl is lot's of fun, She's got an iron lung, But I'd buy her anything, To keep her alive. One day I played a joke, pulled the plug and watched her choke, But I'd buy her anything, To keep her alive.


It was funny at first, but after 3 weeks of that song--i got pretty sick of yelling it over and over as we marched down the middle of a college campus. Everyone would stop and watch and laugh.

Week Two: Was pretty much the same crap all over again. This week my cleaning detail was the bathroom. It was awful!!!! I had to clean 5 showers, 4 toilets, and the sinks each morning. This week we all started to get on each others nerves--well, mostly it was just one girl in our group that annoyed everyone else. This week was less in class time, and more work on the mats--learning self defense moves and stuff like that. They brought out the "shock knives" this week.  The Shock Knives are these plastic knives that deliver a taser like shock if you get hit with it. It feels like you are really getting cut with a knife. I can't even describe the feeling. We used those on each other, to learn how to defend against a weapon attack. I got the knife all down my back--it truly feels like you were cut with a large butcher knife.

Week Three: By the time the 3rd week rolled around, we were all exhausted physically and mentally. We had two tests and a final all in this last week. I did really well on all of them, because I didn't want to have to do this all over again--also because I was trying to get an academic award. We were also getting really sick of the one girl--we all said if this had lasted any longer we would have lost our minds. She was so annoying and really selfish. She also got herself in some hot water--which made us and our facility look bad. We were all really fed up with her. It was this week that we got OC sprayed. OC is short for Oleoresin Capsicum, or pepper spray. I was really nervous and excited for this all at the same time. First they used the "Clear out" on us. Clear out is something you use on crowds--it causes coughing and sneezing--and let me tell you it burns like crazy inside your throat and nostrils. It sucked!  After we got that, my mind started racing--like could i really do this? Then we got to use the OC on a target. It was really windy out on the day we did this, so as I sprayed the Mark IV some of it came back and i got the overspray in my one eye. GREAT! I pepper sprayed myself. WTF? Who does that.  My eye instantly shut, and it was all i could do to get it open. I had to literally hold it open--Both my eyes started watering and my nose was running. I thought, awesome--this was only Mark IV (we were gonna get fully sprayed with the Mark IX--which is about 2 times stronger) how was i going to make it through this. I watched most of my classmates get sprayed--they were screaming, cussing, crying, snot was flying everywhere! i was terrified. Soon, it was my turn--i tried to pump myself up. I was jumping up and down and was telling the instructor "let's go--Spray me" She lined up and hit me with it. I opened my eyes and thought she hadn't hit me--it didn't hardly hurt. I started laughing--said "is that all you got?" I kept laughing, she hit me again this time right in the eyes. Then it started burning, but not really bad. I decontaminated in the water. They rubbed baby shampoo in my eyes, and thats when my eyes started to burn. I dabbed it off, but it didn't really effect me. That is until the evening--the longer i sat there the more and more it burned. It felt like my skin was peeling off my face, it was terrible. The first shot she got on me, landed mostly around my lips and mouth. By the evening, my tongue was on fire, my lips hurt so bad. I then had to take a shower. When I took my hair down, it got released into the air, so there I was in the shower coughing until i gagged from it, my lips and forehead were on fire. The other girls in the shower were screaming--it was terrible. The skin on my lips peeled off for the next few days, i couldn't get enough chapstick!  For the next few days, every time i showered it would reactivate and i would turn blotchy red. I was permanently red for days. This is a photo when i got home the next day. 

It is hard to see, but my upper lip was all red and spotty. My hairline was the same, as well as, my cheeks. It made my normal redness even worse. It also made my acne really inflamed--it was terrible. I don't recommend it.  :) 

We had to design shirts with a class motto. This is the back of our shirts. 

(The photo is backwards, because i took it with my computer.) 

They say WV Corrections, To the Xtreme Class 214. The front of the shirt has a copy of the WV corrections badge. They turned out pretty good, compared to the ones from previous classes. My roommate did all the designing of them--she was pretty artistic. 

We graduated on Friday. Four of the six people from my unit came, along with the Warden. They took me out to lunch after the graduation. The graduation was pretty military style. We did marching drills, and stuff like that. I did not get an academic award--I had GPA of 98.00 and the girl who got the Academic award had a 98.06. I did however get the Lead Trainer Award. You got this award if you had no demerits the entire three weeks. So i had to stand at graduation and be acknowledged--which looked pretty good in front of the Warden. 

It reads:  West Virginia Corrections Academy Lead Trainer Award.

For outstanding discipline and attention to detail during your training at the West Virginia Corrections Academy. Your superlative achievement in not receiving any demerits is truly noteworthy and is in keeping with the highest standards of the Division of Corrections.

This is the little diploma that we all got. 

It was hard work, but I met some pretty cool people. In all I had a good time, but I have never been more happy and ready to get back to work! :) 

When i got home from the academy I found this. 

Yeah. Nice, huh? This is a sideways photo of my garbage closet, filled with those little sugar ants. It must be summer in the Mountains. It looks completely disgusting--and it is. I now have ant killer out every where. I also found two spiders. Gross. I killed one, and when I went to kill the other one--he took off and is now in the witness protection program. I will find him--that bastard.