Green Bank and Cass Railroad

An awesome day!!!  My cousin, MaryAnn was our personal West Virginia tour guide.  She took us to Green Bank to see the radio telescopes at Green Bank.  It was really cool. There is a 10 mile radio-free zone, and all electronics aren't allowed within about a half-mile so although we did see the telescope very close we could not take digital photographs.

  We took a tour to learn about the telescopes and how they work. It was interesting for everyone, especially Doug (no surprise there) and Maddie.  We were able to see the very first radio telescope and several others, including the largest most recognized one. We also had a chance to see the sun through a telescope, and go through the various exhibits in the education center.

 

 

After we left Green Bank we headed to the Cass Railroad to ride the steam engine up the mountain. It was so cool.  The steam engine we rode was originally a logging train.  It was a beautiful trip, we all had so much fun.  We had the opportunity to get off of the train and see some of the old logging equipment and cabins before we rode back down the mountain.

 

After the train ride was over we went through the museum and country store.  We had ice cream and decided to drive up to Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia.  I was so glad that Doug offered to drive up the mountain.  It was a very curvy road and I was not comfortable taking the Suburban up to the look out.  It was an awesome sight, so beautiful.  We went on a short hike and then on our way back down the mountain stopped at the Spruce Knob lake where we saw a beaver and Doug and the girls skipped stones. It was so beautiful and a lot of fun for everyone.

 

 

 

By then it was almost 7:00, so we headed back to MaryAnn's home to have dinner and chill out for a while before going to the camper for bed.

It was a fantastic way to wrap up our vacation.  I hope we can actually find time to make it back to West Virginia to see my cousin.