We're At The Top Of The World

* I, Charlotte, am doing this week's post.  Title is a throwback to teenagehood,  The Juliana Theory.  It's a lovely, happy song.  Enjoy. *

So just a little preface/sidenote before we get into what we did and where we went this week.  Going into this journey I for some reason (not consciously) decided that because I was making such a drastic change, where I would be immersed in nature and no longer living in a city with as many conveniences, that I was expected to love every second and that missing said cities and conveniences would be unacceptable.  Well this weekend, we went to nearest big city (not very big) and I was super excited to go and I enjoyed myself a lot, and then for some reason felt guilty.  Luckily I was aware of the guilt and started to think about it, and in talking to Karol about it realized there is no reason for that guilt.  Cities are what I am used to.  I don't even like cities that much, but having the option to go out to eat, or go to a brewery, or a store does not make me...a hypocrite.  I actually felt that bad about it for a few moments.  It was a very strange feeling that I didn't anticipate and just wanted to share.

Day 41 (Monday, October 10^th)

We made french toast out of the not-so-great tasting bread, thinking that the cinnamon and vanilla and egg flavors would overpower the olive oil taste, but it did not help. We even put blueberries and whipped cream on top and it still didn't help.  It was so bad we didn't even take a picture.  We had a productive day of painting primer on the handrails, cleaning the chicken coup, and transporting firewood in the Kubota. I love driving that thing.  

Cute little fuzzball 

All done, first view

All done, second view

New cedar chips in the coop

Load of logs

We made some decent progress

We tried this pretty tasty cereal, Qia, for lunch. Chia seeds, hemp seeds, buckwheat groats (I don't know what those are (yeah what the fuck is a groat?? -k)), raisins, apples, and cinnamon. I liked it a lot. There is a cranberry vanilla one I look forward to trying. Then for dinner I made teriyaki salmon, rice, and kale. I attempted maple syrup sauteed kale, which is something I remember a friend making and it was delicious. My attempt sadly was a fail. I don't think I used the right pan and it just wasn't cooked enough. No biggie. Better luck next time.

I guess that looks pretty yummy (it was delicious -k)

Day 42 (Tuesday, October 11^th)

We had more Qia for breakfast, this time with some greek yogurt. Really really good. We trimmed more hickory trees, and hauled a couple loads of firewood down. I threw together a kale and parmesan scrambled egg thing for lunch and Karol had some leftover rice. We drove a few more loads down before calling it a day. 

   

Trim trimmery

Even more progress, I think we filled two or three pallets at this point

Dinner was our weirdest food concoction, possibly ever. A hot dog, caramelized onion, rice, and parmesan casserole. We were basically throwing leftover stuff together, and it wasn't too bad. The onions weren't really necessary. I talked to my dad on the phone which was really nice, it'd been too long since we'd done that. Then we watched Suicide Squad. What a terrible movie. We kind of expected it to be, but damn. What a disappointment (holy shit it was so disappointing I woke up thinking about it. I mean jesus what terrible story telling! The editing was just bad, the characters were staying together for no apparent reason, and Will Smith clearly had to be the "main character" among a group that was meant (I thought) to be equal or whatever. Meh. -k)

Our crazy dinner

Day 43 (Wednesday, October 12^th)

Sometimes, the clouds look like bodies of water - it's incredible

Ed talked to a mechanic in town and arranged for us to have it looked at.  There are various odd noises our car is (was) making. The brakes, even though they were just done before we left, made a pretty loud squealing noise and there was a weird ticking sound coming from the engine.

Our super foggy drive to the mechanic

We walked to the Station 2 Restaurant while he took a look at it. I have been suffering from some minor (minor? Hah. -k) junk food withdrawal (which is a good thing, it's just a weird challenge - I don't think I ate super poorly, but when you get used to eating out on occasion and also buying some chemical-y things at the grocery store your body definitely goes through some adjustment when you are suddenly only cooking and also using better ingredients). Anyway, I was pretty psyched for a greasy diner breakfast. It did not disappoint.

My sausage gravy biscuits, eggs, bacon, and home fries with coffee and orange juice

Karol's eggs, toast, (PERFECT) bacon, and home fries 

We used the wi-fi to get a few things done and then Ed came by and drove us back to the mechanic. Luckily nothing major is wrong with the car. The brake pads are just hard, and the flywheel is bent, thus the ticking sound. He tightened the transmission but couldn't ensure that it wouldn't loosen again. So hooray, no major repairs needed now.

Before driving back we stopped at the post office. On Tuesday, which was literally the last day I could register to vote in PA, we both decided we were going to vote (after previously deciding we wouldn't). We really feel we have to vote against Trump, just to say we did something to try to prevent him from becoming president. I really really don't want to live in a country where he is in charge. He is such a horrible human being, I can't even think about it. It makes me ill. Anyway, NJ requires you to mail in your registration so Karol (annoyedly) did that and then we headed back up the mountain.  

Karol helped Nathan (who is now here to do some stone masonry for the Laskas) and I went to weed the oregano and lavender. We had a light lunch of yogurt, blueberries, and Qia and then lugged some more logs.

  

The weeded oregano

This is where we were taking logs from - imagine this entire section full of logs, that is how many we moved

We had some fried green tomatoes that Ed had brought (well, Ed brought them and Marcia fried them).  Yummy.  I don't even know what we did after that, I didn't jot anything down in my day to day journal, I think I was really tired. I believe we had leftover alfredo sauce with some pasta and watched Rick and Morty, but don't hold me to that.  

Flies are breeding like crazy on the balcony, it's creepy (read: hellish -k)

Karol might need a 12 step program for popcorn (what do you mean? it only takes me like 6 steps to make popcorn...)

Actually we then played some dominoes (using old rules I barely remember from when I was young -k) and went to bed.

Daminams

Day 44 (Thursday, October 13^th)

My junk food brain invented a ridiculous sandwich. I dreamt that I purchased a crispy, butterfinger, honey bbq chicken sandwich. WHAT THE HELL. That might be good, and that might be something I try at some point in my life. Might need to be drunk for that, we'll see. Karol helped Nathan some more with splitting rocks and building a rock wall.  I will let him tell you more about that.

Karol: well, I split my first mothafuckin rock ever! With a rock hammer! that's pretty sweet, right? Check it out:

Nathan let me completely decide how to split this one, after a practice one he guided me through.

The rock splitting hammer has two ends - a tapered one (kinda like an axe) and then a flatter side (like a regular hammer). The tapered end you use to split the rock down the grain, while the flat side is used to split against the grain (because of the way you create cracks with each side). On the bottom half, I started using the axe side to quarter the stone, realizing too late that I should have been using the other side (Nathan hadn't given me any instruction, I just kind of guessed that was the case and he confirmed it) so you can see how much nicer the top part split (plus it only took 2 good thwacks, whereas the bottom took like 15). Now I can't look at big rocks without thinking about how (or whether) I would split them to use in a structure.

We poured concrete and reinforced it with rebar and metal fence posts

They also use rocks to fill in layers of the column, helps with the structural integrity

I went with Richard to pick up some supplies (like 20 bags of cement/mortar mix and 400lb of sand)

It was kind of crappy outside so I stayed in and baked, played with the bowed psaltery, read, and wrote. I made some mini blueberry muffins which were okay. I over cooked them a little, but the crunch actually ended up being a pretty nice accidental touch.

My mini blueberry muffins

Some cool rocks Karol found (these were at the building supply place, they're churt that are surprisingly/rarely pretty

We had some fried rice for dinner and watched Practical Magic. I hadn't seen this movie in years, I really liked it growing up. It's crazy how outdated if felt. I did still enjoy it. It's just a different experience than it used to be. 

Day 45 (Friday, October 14^th)

Coffee, the tiny bit of cereal we had left (not really even a full bowl), and muffins for breakfast. Karol was with Nathan again and I did some more weeding and hickory tree trimming.  Ed brought us our care package from Karol's friend John (Ed stops by the post office to bring up mail since it's on his way).  He sent us two headlamps, two carabiners, two lighters, a multi-tool, a folding saw, and some paracord.  Really useful stuff, thank you, John!

Yay packages!

 After lunch Karol trimmed with me since they were done with the rock wall.  We made a London broil for dinner, accompanied by parmesan roasted squash and potatoes/sweet potatoes. I freaking love sweet potatoes. Forgot a picture of it, sorry.  Ended the night with some Yahtzee (we miss you Lorette and Darrell).   

This is a hornet's nest that Ed took and displayed beautifully in the shop

Ocean sky

Karol: Nathan finished filling in the spaces between rocks with concrete mix and then it was capstones time. He actually made me shape the last capstone, the one in the corner on the left (okay, I did half of it, he had to make it a bit smaller to fit the spot better).

Nathan smoothed the mud with his trowel and we were done with the wall.

Richard was very pleased - it looks like this wall has existed all along! Still need to lay the pipe in a few days and cover that up with some dirt and shit.

We had to start using a saw for some of the thicker hickory trees

Here is Karol's awesome yahtzee jingle.

Day 46 (Saturday, October 15^th)

Today was our venture to the the big city, Elkins. I made a big yummy breakfast – pancakes (regular, blueberry, and chocolate chip), potatoes, and eggs. Our first stop was the Big Timber Brewing Company. We got a flight so we could sample all 10 beers. Overall we were underwhelmed, but I had so much fun I didn't even care. One of them was just a root beer that they brew which was excellent. It was our favorite - we're the worst drinkers.

Even foggier than the other day

It cleared up eventually

Big Timber Brewing Company flight, $10

Their taps were built into the chalkboard wall which was really cool

It made me laugh that a beer was described as deceptive, but it was entirely accurate - it smelled good, but tasted meh

Karol went to the bathroom there

Next we went to Brewstel, a place that mostly brewed and sold brewing equipment to make your own beer (it's actually a brewery, brew shop, and hostel, hence the name), but in the back they had a small bar area where you could sample. We enjoyed their beers a lot more than Big Timer's (yeah fuck em I spelled it wrong, so what -k). The employee was really nice and we ended up hanging out and chatting with him, sipping beers for about 2 hours, waiting for the next door restaurant to open (he recommended it). I had a few beers that were unlike any beer I ever had before so that was awesome. I really liked a sour one (Sierra Nevada Otra Vez Sour Gose) that we ended up buying a 32 oz. growler of. We went next door to the Jabberwock where Karol had a burger and I had a prime rib sandwich. Food was pretty good. Then we went to get some groceries at Walmart and returned to the mountain.

  

Brewstel

Prime rib sandwich, with onions and peppers (even I enjoyed it -k)

Burger, Karol thanked the cook for the wonderfully cooked bacon

Hard to see, but the setting sun had a hot pink outline, stunning

Super bright moon

Our 32 oz. of yummy sour beer to enjoy during our last two weeks in WV

Day 47 (Sunday, October 16^th)

We had some yogurt for breakfast before heading off to Seneca Rocks for a hike. We realized that holy shit, we haven't hiked since Acadia which is too long - we were pretty excited. The hike was 1 1/2 miles each way, not too difficult, a fairly steady uphill most of the way. There were a lot of people. It's nice having the majority of people actually make eye contact and even say hello.

Breakfast

The drive to Seneca Rocks

We made one wrong turn, but luckily we were able to see this because of it

Ta (fucking) Da

Bridge at the beginning of the trail

Light, light, baby

My knee's favorite thing

GORGEOUS

We went past the sign that said STOP. Rebels, we are. Not really, a lot of people went further up to the actual rocks. There was an observation deck that is supposed to be “the end” but ya know, screw that. It was cool because from the road we looked up and saw these huge jagged rocks and then we ended up right on top of them. It was so nice out and the rocks beckoned us to sit for a while. We obliged and sat while enjoying our ham and cheese sandwiches and cashews while we talked. The downhill hike was a cinch, and we drove to see the dish next.

STOP yeah right

Ahhhhhh

Awesome shot through the tree

This was the view of the rocks from the road

"On The Rocks"

This is the observation deck

Shot from the observation deck

SHEEP

The dish in the distance

I don't know what the dish is really, here is Karol: ...it's a radio telescope or whatever. NRAO, ya know? Like, the biggest in the fucking universe or something, I don't know what do you think this is, wikipedia? Get the fuck out of here. Go to bed.

We went to the Station 2 Restaurant (where we had breakfast the morning we went to the mechanic) for linner and to upload the pictures you have just viewed. I like it there, we can just hang and eat yummy food and do what we have to do with their wi-fi. Karol had a burger with curly fries (adding this in, I almost forgot the DEEP FRIED HOT DOG WRAPPED IN BACON MMMM) and I had a chef salad with some boneless wings. And delicious sweet tea. We were there for I think almost 2 ½ hours hanging out. When we got back the sun was setting and we smoked pipes on the balcony. I hadn't done this in forever and forgot how much I liked it. I had some Yosemite tobacco from who knows when, luckily it was still tasty. Now I am typing this. Only two weeks left which is crazy. I hope everyone is enjoying this. Please comment about anything! Things you like, dislike, anything at all.