Cass West Virginia Scenic Railroad.........ALL ABOARD !!!

Hey Y'All.......(getting into the West Virginia vernacular here)
We have had another experience not to be believed. Although we have been without a cell phone signal and a very weak and sometimes nonexistent internet signal, we didn't miss either one while in this part of West Virginia. First let me say, the state of West Virginia is BEAUTIFUL ! There are such quaint things here. The hills are carpeted with beautiful trees which are now changing into the fall colors. Of course the best part of West Virginia, if you ask Wayne, is the little town of Cass. In Cass is the scenic railroad that takes you on a 4 1/2 hour trip up to the top of the hill to a place called (are you ready for this?) Bald Knob. I'm not lying!
On the way up and back, there is a nice gentleman that almost constantly speaks about all the history and scenic points of interest along the way. Of course the best part of the whole experience is old number 11, which is a Shay Locomotive that powers the 4 car train up and back. The Shay belches such smoke and steam that it's not to be believed. (and probably would be banned in California because of the whole polution thing) The whistle blows and even the hearts of non railroad types such as myself begin to flutter and miss a beat here and there. It harkens of earlier times when the lumber workers slaved long day in and long day out for $1.75 per day and 4 hearty meals. The work was incredible. The Shay was incredible. It was an incredible time.
We went back this morning and almost emptied out the gift shop, being sure to have one of everything that said "Cass" or "Shay" on it! We took some more pictures and then it happened. I was in the giftshop and the door blew open and Wayne rushed in and asked with such a gleam in his eye as I have not often seen, "Guess where I have just been?"....at the same time, showing me his hands which are now black. "I actually was up in the cab of the Shay"...........OMG and I didn't get a picture!!!
So, off we went back out to the Shay which was about to depart for the days ride up the hill once more. Wayne called up to the engineer, asking if he could once again climb up into the cab so I could get some pics. "Sure, come on up" the engineer said. "In fact, get over here into the seat"........so I ran around to the other side of the locomotive and there he sat, my husband with the biggest grin I have ever seen on his face! Remember your first trip to Disneyland? Multiply that excitement a few hundred times and that is what was pulsing through his heart at that moment. I snapped a few pictures, not wanting that moment to pass. He was so excited.
After getting a few more pictures of the town that we didn't get yesterday, we left Cass for the last time and headed out on the road again.
We actually stopped somewhere a few minutes down the road at a Yard Sale one old guy was having. It looked interesting, so we just stopped. We bought some old medicine bottles from him. It was really fun!
We didn't get too much farther down the road before we were both just pooped. We had intended to make it to Charleston West Virginia tonight, but made it only as far as Beckley West Virginia. I think it's about another hour to Charleston, the capital city of WV.
Not sure where we will go tomorrow, but I know it will be exciting.
So many things have been so wonderful on this trip, we are so very grateful and thankful that our trip has been so wonderful.
We are heading west now with only one thought in mind. We want to see Yellowstone again and hope to be home in another 10-12 days. Other than that, we will go, as we have done since the beginning, where the wind blows us.

Note to Jane and Gary: Thanks for the note, glad you are with us too!

Note to Mom: Sorry, it took me a bit longer to get this posted tonight. I started looking at all our pictures. We have taken over 1000 pictures now! Thank God for digital cameras!!! It was good talking to you this afternoon. Please don't worry about us, we are having the time
of our lives and are doing just great.

Note to Kevin: Don't lose those tickets, we are really looking forward to our trip with you guys later in October.

Note to Cameron: Did you make it to SF last week?

Thanks to all and we really enjoy hearing from you, it makes us feel like we are sharing our great good fortune with everyone. Thanks to everyone for wishing us the best.

Oh, forgot to tell you about my new friend Tom Yeager. We met Tom on the Cass ride. He had a huge backpack and when we got to the top of the mountain, he struck out walking and planned to backpack/hike for a week in the forest, all by himself!!! He was from Florida and has been coming to West Virginia for 10 years, doing this hike. He hikes back down to the bottom of the hill and takes a week to do it. He loves the solitude. I told him I would stay awake for nights worrying about him on the mountain all alone, so he promised to send me an email when he got out of the mountains!!! Nice, huh? The funny thing is, I think he really will.

Ok, must close this for now and get the pictures posted. That always takes a lot of time.
Much love to everyone......
Wayne and Colleen