Reposting Virginia City

This link is to a YouTube video I made about a fun weekend
Virginia City with the Family
I have posted this link, partly because I haven't finished the new blog entry that I am working on and partly because an old friend just posted some Virginia City photos on his facebook page that reminded me of this fun weekend spent in Virginia City with Mary, Jesse, Kerry, Mike and their friends. It was one of my favorite memories. Not just because of all the "tourist" things (though they were fun.) but because we got to enjoy a beautiful, fun day with our grown children and their friends, Thanks for bearing with me while I reminisce.

More of Stonewall Resort Park

Today, I'll take you downstairs in the lodge.  Our first stop is the bar, T.J. Muskies.

That giant muskie, caught out of the park's lake gives its name to the establishment.

It is a nice comfortable bar with a fire pit in the center. While we were there early in the day which meant the bar was empty, it looks like it would be a  cozy place to visit in the evenings when the guests come in from golfing or visiting the spa.  There is also a very nice indoor/outdoor swimming pool.  The pool must have been well heated because we saw people swimming under the divider to go outside.  

Now into Stillwaters, the large dining room where we were seated on hand-made hickory chairs. On an earlier visit to the park I got into a "discussion" with my mother about the chairs.  I said they had to be made from artificial wood because they were so very heavy. To prove my point, I showed her how I could hardly move the chairs and how the wooden arms and back braces had no "give" to them. We decided to ask a waitress who assured me that, once again, Mom was right.  (I just hate that.)  The chairs are indeed made of real hickory as are the tables.  They add to the beauty of the dining room which overlooks the lake through a wall of picture windows.

The chairs and the view are not the only things that make the dining room beautiful. We had arrived on a day where a buffet was featured.  Notice how the buffet service wraps around one edge of the dining room.  This keeps it form having the "pig trough" effect that many buffets have.  This one begins with a gourmet sandwich bar.  The tasty meat and vegetable dishes are around the corner.

This view shows more of the buffet setup as well as the desert table was also an appetizer table for me today.  (I didn't want to take a chance on dying  before  desert.)

Our meal was very good as was our service.  Our waiter even offered to give us a refill of ice tea         "to go."

We left the dining room to walk around the patio which included a large fire ring and plenty of seating.  It looked like guests may have enjoyed the fire the night before though they might have needed those gas heaters to make it more bearable.  Though the sun was out and the sky clear, it was very cold.  We didn't last long outside.

This guy in his sail-equipped kayak seemed to be enjoying the windy cold day.  

He moved quickly across the water and soon disappeared up one of the lakes fingers.

Once inside, we went back upstairs to look at the library, a pretty room with comfortable seating in front of a large fireplace. One wall was glass and looked out on the lake.  Two walls were lined with nice bookshelves but the shelves were almost empty.  I wanted them to have more books.  It would have been a good chance to highlight West Virginia or Appalachian authors.  There are so many and they cover fiction, poetry and non-fiction as well so many beautiful photography books.

Lovely craftsman style sconces gently lit the walls

I wanted to curl up in the chair by the fire but we needed to move on.

Back out into the lobby we noticed the front desk wit a wooden tree silhouette across the front.

A fire was still going in the fireplace whose large hearth could have held a small choir.

Chandeliers had a western ranch feel that matched the timber-framed structure.

Chairs and other furniture could all be moved quickly to allow the lobby to become a ballroom.

I made sure to have a person in this photo so you can see just how big the room is.

We made a long visit to the gift store which is full of items made in West Virginia from food to glass to wrought iron to music and books.

Stonewall Resort Park is worth a visit. It is just a couple miles off of Interstate 79 between Charleston and Clarksburg, West Virginia

Here is a link to the Park. STONEWALL RESORT

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Stonewall Resort

  Roanoke ,West Virginia is the sight of one of West Virginia's newest state parks.  West Virginians are proud of their state parks and rightfully so.  There are many and they all offer opportunities for activity close to nature.

Stonewall Resort is names after Stonewall Jackson, the civil war general who, with his sister spent much of his childhood at nearby Jackson's Mill where they came to live when they were orphaned in 1830.

Stonewall Resort offers golf and fishing as well as hiking, camping or just relaxing while enjoying the scenery from the deck of a lake-side cabin or the rustic lodge.

The massive entrance of Stonewall Lodge welcomed my husband, Jeff, and I on our recent day trip to the park.

Each side of the long, timber-framed entrance was lined with hand-made Adirondack style rocking chairs.  This shady spot would be a nice place to relax during warmer times but not today.  Today was sunny, but cold, the first nice day after more than a month of snow and gray skies.  For now, I just wanted to get inside the lodge, out of the wind.

The inside of the lodge welcomed us with  a roaring fire from behind the stone hearth.  Gentle lighting illuminated the timber-frame structure showing off large roof beams and giant arched rafters. 

The lodge is decorated in a mixed western style similar to some of our great national parks like Yellowstone.  The general style is accented and complimented by artwork of native West Virginians, including hickory and leather chairs in the lodge rooms and in the main dining room (more about that tomorrow).

There should be little fear of anyone every stealing these hickory chairs for they are  so very heavy.  I've learned that this heaviness the nature of hickory which is why it is so good for making furniture.  The hickory chairs in Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn were placed there in  1906. If I'm still blogging, we'll come back to Stonewall in a hundred years to check on these chairs. 

This glass table in the lodge's entryway is supported by a welcoming black bear carved with a chainsaw, an art form found all over rural West Virginia.

Art work by West Virginia painters and fiber artists adorns the walls of the lodge. 

Tomorrow's blog entry will take us into the library as well as enjoy a meal in the dining room before we venture outside.

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