Allow me to introduce you to my favorite place on the planet, Flat Rocks. Everyone in our family, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters and kids, have been taking hikes to for more than a half century.
Tracy LeBlanc and his son, Brody, took us out in the bayou to capture alligator eggs from their nests. The mother alligators build the nests and lay the egss, then hang around for months to defend the nests, even if the eggs are taken. In this video, Tracy explains why it's important to incubate the eggs, then release the alligators back into the wild. He does this all while making sure the mother gator doesn't cause any trouble.
We literally stumbled on Oregano's last year. And we've been thinking about coming back ever since. We planned our trip to make sure we got into Flagstaff, Arizona early enough to miss the crowd. The wait last year was over 2 hours. The food is that good. After our trip to the Grand Canyon tomorrow, we'll be eating there again. It's not just our favorite restaurant in Flagstaff, it's one of our favorites, period. Oregeno's... not to be missed.
I'm glad we took a break from the long drives today.Window Rock, Arizona is just a beautiful side trip. Only 24 miles off the I-40, it's more than worth the time. Next year we're going to stay in Window Rock and spend a bit more time there.
Window Rock is the administrative capital of the Navajo Nation. Rocky saw this place on Oprah and had a strong desire to see it. I thought the kids might not enjoy it, but our oldest is the one who suggested we come back and stay longer and everyone agreed. That thrilled me. Rocky bought a couple of pieces of jewelry from a local Navajo artisan and we all just had a great time eating lunch and looking around. The kids were most impressed by the horses and cows roaming around with no fences. OK, I admit it. I thought that was cool too!
Our last breakfast in Grafton is always at Jerry's. There aren't a lot of restaurant choices in Grafton. But if you're looking for an amazing breakfast, there really only needs to be one if it's really good. And Jerry's is really good for breakfast.
As you can see... it can get packed.
Their portions are huge. Come hungry or don't come at all. And if you're afraid of grease, well, you better stay away as well. This is not a California breakfast place. They're not going to make you a grilled chicken breast and a side of fruit for your South Beach Diet. This is for real eaters.
Now, I wish I could be as positive about their lunch and dinner menu. I've yet to have a good experience there that didn't involve egss, bacon or sausage, or sausage gravy. For some reason, they just can't get the other meals right. They've do have good hamburgers and a great BLT, but that's because they know how to make bacon!
But if you're in Grafton, West Virginia and you need breakfast, this is the place.
This is the elementary school my Mother attended and where my Grandmother was a cook. I can still remember going and watching my Grandmother prepare the food for the day. Properly renovated, this would be an amazing building today.
Back in California, we only have ice cream on Sundays and we never to go out for ice cream. The kids know this practice as "Ice Cream Sundays." It works for us. But here in West Virginia, we splurge and go to "THE" Dairy Queen every night. We all join in the fun. That means I've had large Blizzards or Peanut Butter Chocolate Milshakes or Peanut Buster Parfaits every night for the last two weeks. That's a lot of ice cream. And a lot of calories. There are 730 calories in a Peanut Buster Parfait, 1140 in a large Chocolate Shake and 1360 in a large Blizzard!
I'm feeling it. I know I've gained at least 10 pounds on this trip. I'm not exaggerating. And I'm just about over it for the year. I think last night was my last night of ice cream for a while. Time to let my body recover. :)
Last night the "photos taken" count was at 2320. That's a lot of photos since we started on our journey from CA to WV to CA. That number is now at 2518 after this morning. What do 2320 photos look like? I took iPhoto's thumbnails down as small as I could get them to show you.
Our friends, the Jennings, arrived today. They live in Waterloo, Illinois and try to make it here to Grafton for a few days each year when we're here. They have two boys. When they arrive, the energy changes in the house and the activity level of all the boys increases. The boys only see each other once a year, and after just a few minutes, they pick up right where they left off the year before.
Today was no exception. All the boys headed to the creek and after a few minutes, we could hear the sounds of excited kids echoing up through the hollow. They found some crawdads and they needed a container to put them in.
My cousin, Jason, and his family were also here at the time. We laughed at their exaggerated descriptions of how big their crawdads were as they ran up the hill. This scene repeated itself many times. They kept coming until we ran out of containers large enough to hold the crawdads and made them stop. They captured more than 20 crawdads and a tiny salamander.
I can remember, with great joy, doing the exact same things at their age. If you who have never caught crawdads in a creek, you have no idea what you missed. Here's a short video of their catch today.
The Purple Fiddle is a MUST VISIT place when you're in West Virginia.
It would be a cool place even by Los Angeles standards, but the fact that it's in tiny Thomas, West Virginia (Population 402) makes it even cooler, in my humble opinion. How small is Thomas? It took us just 70 seconds to drive through it yesterday... and that included a mini traffic jam. There is no stoplight. (Here's the proof.)
And here's a pano of the inside. The Purple Fiddle used to be a general store, so it has some serious country ambiance. They didn't fake it. It's real. (If you look closely you'll see Rocky, Jay and Sarah at the counter.)
Sarah and Rocky standing outside The Purple Fiddle.
Sarah and family could not stay for the 8:30 PM Greensky Bluegrass show. They had a three hour drive back to Hurricane, but my Mom and Tyke did and we got a great Show. So, Sarah, Jay, Tall One and Small One... here's some video for you. The first video is the intro and first song. The second video is a closer view right before the break.
Your first visit to Blackwater Falls is never your last. I'm thrilled to say I am the reason Sarah Cooper and her family finally came to Blackwater Falls for the first time in their lives. I'm quite sure they will be back. (Click Here For Short Video)
But I'm more thrilled to finally have been able to meet her, her husband, Jay, and her two beautiful daughters. We had a blast at the falls and then eating dinner at The Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West Virginia. Her husband is someone I'd like to hang out with watching football on a Sunday afternoon. And her two daughters were well mannered, polite, but each their own person and felt free to express themselves. (Tall One declared me "officially cool" for my iPhone!)
You learn a lot about someone from their children and I learned that Sarah is someone who appreciates individuality... and respects it. She and Jay have done an amazing job with their two girls. They should be proud. I know they are.
Here are some photos from the falls.
The hardest part was ducking low enough to put my head next to Sarah's. :)
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The road that leads from Window Rock back to the I-40 toward Flagstaff is worth the trip.
Our last breakfast in Grafton is always at Jerry's.
Photo made from 3 iPhone photos, Calico and two basic Picnik.com filters.
Photo made from 6 iPhone photos, Calico and two basic Picnik.com filters.
Photo made from 5 iPhone photos, Calico and two basic Picnik.com filters.
The DQ was packed with customers last night.
Remnants from the B&O Railroad's better days. Photo made from 3 iPhone photos, Calico and two basic Picnik.com filters.
The Purple Fiddle is a MUST VISIT place when you're in West Virginia.
Sarah and Rocky standing outside The Purple Fiddle.
Your first visit to Blackwater Falls is never your last. I'm thrilled to say I am the reason Sarah Cooper and her family finally came to Blackwater Falls for the first time in their lives. I'm quite sure they will be back. (Click Here For Short Video)
The hardest part was ducking low enough to put my head next to Sarah's. :)
They all listen as a Pricketts Fort artisan explains his craft.
Helping the Pricketts Fort blacksmith with his bellows.
The two youngest playing Double Ball in the Pricketts Fort commons.
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