5-28 to 30-2011 W Va,Pa, FLW House trip

The Frank Lloyd Wright house at Falling Water has been on our list since we saw it on a Smithsonian "Top 10 World Sights" list. We made a road trip of the visit by driving into West Virginia, since we had seen little of that state, spending a night and then seeing the two FLW houses the next day. We targeted Seneca Rocks in WVa as a good spot. The drive was good even though it was Memorial Day. Driving in that part of WVa is a pattern of drive up the ridge, over the top, down to the valley, cross the river and train tracks in the bottom and then repeat. The valley between Moorefield and Petersburg was especially pretty. Seneca Rocks is a climbing location. What we saw on the way there was the real goal. We toured a Pioneer's house at the park. And we stood beside the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River - now that's a mouthful.

We then headed North and, since there are no Lighthouses in WVa, we fell back to collecting Covered Bridges. The one pictured is at Phillipi. We passed through Webster, the birthplace of Mother's Day! We spent the night in Morgantown - went to Church and had a dinner at a Japanese BenniHanna type restaurant, of all things. The Univ of WVa is spread all over the town. It is very hilly, very green, old and very rural.

The drive to the Frank Lloyd Wright houses was not very long. Along the way we stopped at the Fort Necessity National Battlefield, the site of George Washington's first command in the French and Indian War - it didn't go so well. We got to the house in time for our visit. The site for the house is beautiful, a creek runs right under the house, the platforms that form the house are anchored in the rock behind it. It looked very 50s but that's part of the appeal.

We headed to our next stop, the FLW house in the USONA tradition, Kentuck Knob. On the way we stopped at the falls in Ohiopyle State park, had lunch and walked around. Kentuck Knob is owned by an English person of large wealth who occasionally comes here to live. So we could take pictures outside. Very stark - no space for clutter - FLW hated clutter - invented the carport to take away all the space for clutter in a garage. The grounds were wonderful with a large outdoor sculpture garden down the hill from the house.

Our final night on the road was in Sommerset. On the way there we travelled a back road through Ohiopyle Park and came across these amazing stands of pink and white flowers. With the green grass, they were just stunning - had to stop and collect a picture or 10.

The next day, Monday, we headed home. Picked up two covered bridges on the way (I'll spare you). And stopped by the site of the Flight 93 crash on 9/11. The monument is almost ready to open. There is a good set of documentation and information in the make-shift visitor's center.