Deep Freeze

Each year, Barb and I go to our timeshare at Canaan Valley, West Virginia in early January.  It provides a wonderful change of scenery and a welcome respite from the busy Christmas season.  It's a time for calm and relaxation.  This year, however, has been a little different because it got cold.  Really cold.

The thermometer in our car read "minus seven" degrees at 11:30 am on Tuesday, January 7.  I was lucky the engine caught quickly and started because the battery didn't have much juice left in it because of the cold weather.  I let the car engine run for several minutes to warm up before moving.  This question is often asked: "How does it feel when it gets that cold?"  To me there isn't much difference between "minus seven" degrees and zero degrees.  It just feels cold.

Among the victims of the bitterly cold weather are the wildlife.  I found these two geese at the pond outside of "Big Johns Restaurant" in the heart of Canaan Valley.  It's a landmark and the porch of the restaurant is adjacent to a pond that is populated with lots of hungry fish and a few birds.  These geese were keeping a small hole open at the pond and you will notice how they have their heads turned back and inward to shield against the strong wind.  Normally, Canaan Valley is populated with lots of deer, ground hogs, and bear, but none of them were to be seen today.
Too cold.

The other creatures that were missing in this cold weather were people. Last night, when the recorded temperatures in nearby Davis, West Virginia dropped to "minus 15 degrees", the Canaan Valley State Park closed their ski lifts.  There was only one car left at the facility. Probably a maintenance person to keep an eye on the lodge.  And the town of Davis was empty at Noon today when I drove through.

Yesterday, we visited Blackwater Falls. This is what we found: