JANUARY: MLK WEEKEND - CANAAN VALLEY

This was our first weekend away from NOVA in 2008. We crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and traveled to Canaan Valley in Tucker, West Virginia. Canaan Valley sets 3000 feet above sea level in the Allegheny Mountains. It is the highest valley along the eastern seaboard. During the winter months Canaan gets a tremendous amount of snowfall, making it ideal for skiing. There are two downhill ski resorts in the Valley (Canaan Valley and Timberline) as well as a cross-country ski resort at White Grass.

Since it was Martin Luther King weekend, we decided to rent a cabin for the three-day holiday. We found the perfect cabin at Golden Anchor cabins. We stayed in the Honeymoon Classic cabin, which was a simple one bedroom, one bath cabin overlooking the Dolly Sods wilderness. In addition the cabin had an outdoor hot tub and a roaring fireplace. It was the perfect setting for a relaxing weekend away!


Our Cabin "The Honeymoon Classic"


Golden Anchor Restaurant

On day one, we went to Blackwater Falls State Park. At the park, we tried out our new snowshoes. We did a nice five-mile hike along the canyon ridge, which provided wintry views of the Blackwater river and the lodge at Blackwater Falls. The snowshoes enabled us to travel deep into the forest along pristine snow covered trails. In the evening, we ventured out to the Golden Anchor restaurant located within walking distance from our cabin. And we ended our perfect day relaxing in the hot tub under the starry skies.


Darren trying out the "shoes" at Blackwater


Michele overlooking the Blackwater River

On day two, we decided to go cross-country skiing at White Grass. It was a very cold day, the temperature barely got above 0 degrees! We weren’t even able to get many pictures, because our camera stopped working due to the frigid temperatures. We did have a great workout though, skiing on the three-mile trail. We accidentally took the easy trail up and ended up on a black trail going down. It was definitely challenging! Again, we ended our day warming up in the hot tub. Since it was the NFL championships, we made a great pot of chili and enjoyed the games lounging in front of the fireplace.




Out in the Hot Tub, right as the temps were reaching the Zero Degree mark

On day three, we had to say goodbye to our lovely cabin and decided to take the scenic route home. We drove through Davis, Thomas and passed the windmill farm along the way. The windmills reminded us of Palm Springs, minus the desert, the golf courses, the spas and everything else that is great about Palm Springs!