Hello Everyone,

Today was yet another excellent day to snap some pics for you. I started south of Morgantown while still remaining in city limits. I wanted to supply photos of the Wharf District of the Caperton Trail. Being there’s so few on here so far. Until now. Haha. I’ve not been to this part of the trail in nearly 10 years. Only because there were lots of goings-on during the renovation of this area. So I stayed clear. I must say I’m quite impressed with what’s been finished thus far. I remember when the buildings were near total dilapidation. Long ago when I learned of a Rails-To-Trails project & Morgantown was planning to revitalize that area, I admit, I was a skeptic & even a scoffer. Well, the trail went in, the area got cleaned up, then buildings got a total make-over. So here it is 10 years later & everything appears to be somewhat completely finished around the Wharf District’s trail entranceway. Front & back. And again, I must repeat how CLEAN everything is. The whole area has a home-like welcome. Even the riverbank is clean where fishing is permitted. Twenty years ago everything was grown up & littered horribly. So you can imagine what I thought when I seen everything in such near immaculate spotlessness. There’s even a Subway restaurant, an Olivarios & Synergy bistros with backdoor patios right ON the trail, as for any bicycler, skater, pedestrian, fisher, boater, or what-have-you can just walk on in & make their order. I got a few nice pics of people eating lunch, they seemed very relaxed enjoying their food & company. Being one who enjoys sitting on the river for hours fishing, I had to visit the mouth of the Deckers Creek under the old train trestle, now a footbridge for the trail. I could hear the rumble of the dam, people talking on the trail as they went by, & life happening in a distance towards town. I just might be here tonight with the fishing gear. Lol. I eventually made my way out of there, heading back to the car, while still snapping pics. Got a few goodies of the dam as well. I tried to get as many points-of-view of everything to provide you with a good visual idea as to how it is here without removing too much curiosity. I submitted SEVERAL., but pictures can only tell so much. Being here is so much better.

ArtB

Today I set out to snap a few pictures. At least while we have a few days of summer left. Being the most perfect day & being hungry for really good food, I soon grew in the mood to dine outdoors at the Wings Ole restaurant, right on the Caperton Trail, at the very hub of trail action. Deckers Creek Trail begins here too. It parallels Deckers Creek & route 7 east clear into Masontown WV. The riverfront district in Morgantown is where one can feel it’s pulse. Traffic rolling over the Westover bridge coming in & out of town, buses pulling in & out of the city’s public transportation terminal, people walking, jogging, skating, riding bikes, hanging out on the park benches gazing at the Hazel Ruby McQuian Pavilion (a stage for city, county, & state musicians to perform), city workers doing their thing, & if you’re lucky, you might catch a photographer snapping pics of a model sporting a new line of clothing for a local business. Such as I did today. I walked in the restaurant, ordered my food, & sat down on the restaurant patio. Thankfully the owner was there & granted me permission to snap pics from his establishment. The view was merely perfect to say the least for this sort of setting. My food soon arrived. I sat there soaking in all the senses, tastes of the food & drink, mixed smells of the restaurant, the river, & city life, sounds of town shuffling, warmth of the dry day, & the sun just illuminating everything, revealing how the entire area is so clean. Satisfied with my fill of it all, the chief came out to clean my table as I began to snap pics. I left the restaurant wandering around the park area getting some rather nice images. Please enjoy any that might get posted ( I‘ll try to have more submitted to give a better idea as to what‘s all there). Pictures can’t compare for actually being there. Morgantown has really went all out to make this an enjoyable place for social events. So come on down & have an adventure. You’ll love my hometown.

ArtB

I'm a guy who loves to fish in near solitude away from the crowds. I've packed up the little yellow garden wagon with all my fishing gear & walked 2.5 miles south from Uffington to the Hiledbrand Dam, & 2 miles north from Little Falls to the dam. So well worth the hike. The scenery is so surreal, especially on a misty morning. You'd think there were no other people around so far outta town, but there are an array of bicyclers & joggers who wave to you with smiles as they pass by. My biggest hope is someone will buy a large parcel of land & create a camping area next to the trail where paddle boats & bikes will be up for rent to explore the river mon. Most of the land is privately owned & thus is forbidden to use the trail to access camping spots. A BIG NO-NO. However, the dams are easily accessable to fish as long as one might want. Just remember to respect the land, keep it clean, respect others, & most definately wear a helmit when riding a bike. It's just a darn good thing to do for your safety. Come on down & enjoy the trail.

The surface for the Caperton Trail, and all the trail within city limits of Morgantown & Star City, is asphalt. Outside of city limits, the rest of the 50-mile trail system is smooth, crushed limestone.

The Caperton Trail is just one segment of 4 trails, all built on linking abandoned rail lines. It links to the Mon River Trail North & South, and Deckers Creek Trail. Good, smooth, flat, surfaces. Nice community of trail users. Helmets are required in WV for bicyclists over age 14 (I think); and in Morgantown City Limits, helmets are required for bicyclists of all ages. The police have been known to give tickets.