#masontown

[unteriors]

Fairview Avenue, Masontown, Pennsylvania.

[vandaliatraveler]

A few more mementos from a rainy, overcast fall afternoon on Deckers Creek Trail, including a few artifacts from the heyday of the railroads.

[unclesamsmisguidedclub]

Shooting Outside Judge's Office in Masontown, Pennsylvania- 4 Injured, Suspect Dead

Shooting Outside Judge’s Office in Masontown, Pennsylvania- 4 Injured, Suspect Dead

A German Township police officer is being hailed as a hero after he engaged a gunman who began shooting in the lobby outside a crowded courtroom in Masontown, Pennsylvania. The gunman shot 4 people, a Masontwon officer, two men and a woman before being killed by the German Township officer, . The incident occurred around 2 p.m. local time.

“In this case, as is so often the case, the German…

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[unteriors]

Fairview Avenue, Masontown, Pennsylvania.

[vandaliatraveler]

After wrapping up work last night, I squeezed in a late afternoon bike ride on the Deckers Creek Trail.  Not having enough time to ride the entire trail from Morgantown to Reedsville, I jumped on the connector in Masontown instead. What a gorgeous afternoon: expansive blue sky with a few high clouds on the horizon; soft, late afternoon sunlight spilling over everything; and a warm, summer breeze at my back. This is a great time of the year to get on the trail if you have any interest in native plants. Just a sampling from my ride last night (from top): spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium), a more attractive relative of Indian hemp; common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), a really beautiful shrub with distinctive red fruit clusters; black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), an old, old flame I just can’t get out of my heart; tall thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana), a stately perennial with a flare for the dramatic; whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia), just starting to fade out as its close relative, fringed loosestrife, begins to bloom; New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), a sumptuous native shrub whose dried leaves were a popular substitute for expensive British tea leaves during the Revolutionary War; and silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), so gorgeous the way its flowering branches overspread the creek.

[vandaliatraveler]

Upper falls area of Deckers Creek,near Masontown, Fall 2014.

[vandaliatraveler]

After the past week’s sweltering atmospheric sauna finally cleared out of the area on Friday, Saturday turned out to be a fantastic day for a bike ride up the mountain. The photos are mostly of the upper section of Deckers Creek Trail from Masontown to Reedsville in Preston County, where the trail ends. The area is mostly pastoral - open farmland, scattered clearings and woodlots, broken forest and marshes - and is ideal for wildflowers that love full sun and thin soil. In early July, the Monarda starts to bloom in full force along the trail’s edges. Very soon, the sunflowers will return and drape the trail in a nodding, yellow garland.  I have a soft spot for the portion of the trail that runs through Preston County, because it reminds of the Pennsylvania Dutch farm country near Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, where my father was born and raised. Yesterday, I felt as if I were taking a journey back to my grandparent’s farm - rolling hills, slanted barns and vaulting silos, tilled earth, and baled hay.

[vandaliatraveler]

The upper falls of Deckers Creek (starting about a mile below Masontown, West Virginia)  consist of three major cataracts, each one distinctive and beautiful in its own way.  The first cataract (top) is the easiest to reach after a quick and relatively painless descent from Route 7. It’s a popular swimming hole in the summer, but unfortunately the rocks and boulders become trash bins year round (as a wise man once said, no matter how far you go, Budweiser and Monster Energy will always beat you there). The second cataract (middle) requires a bit more bushwhacking but it also offers greater privacy for sunbathers and high schoolers making out.  The third cataract (bottom) is for the more adventurous (one wrong step and your next stop will be Greer Limestone at the bottom of the gorge).  It’s also the most beautiful and impressive of the three cataracts - well worth the potential float trip.