Cass Scenic Railroad has been on my to-try list ever since the Charleston Daily Mail's 55 unique things to do in the Mountain State article came out.

According to Wikipedia, Cass was a company town for folks who worked for West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, logging nearby Cheat Mountain. The cut logs were brought by rail to the town, where they were processed for use by paper and hardwood-flooring companies throughout the United States. Cass's skilled laborers, who worked in the mill or the locomotive repair shop, lived with their families in 52 white-fenced houses, built in orderly rows on a hill south of the general store.



The Cass Scenic Railroad is the same line built in 1901 to haul lumber to the mill in Cass. The locomotives are the same Shay locomotives used in Cass, and in the rainforests of British Columbia for more than a half-century. Many of the passenger cars are old logging flat-cars that have been refurbished. The Western Maryland No. 6 is the last Shay locomotive ever built. This piece of living history still hauls thousands of passengers up and down the mountain at Cass Scenic Railroad.

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park offers train rides that take visitors to various stations: Whittaker Station, Bald Knob and Spruce. We took the trip to Whittaker Station, because it's the shortest option. It's about four miles up the track, and there's a nice little are with some display trains and a shelter. We hung out there for about 20 minutes before heading back down - and on the way back, I may or may not have had coal showered all down the left side of my face. Haha. I enjoyed the trip - and it's the first time I've ever been on a train in the United States. The only other time is when I was in Italy, and we had to take a train to Venice.



But before our trip, we had some time to kill so we ate at the restaurant located in the company store: The Last Run Restaurant. This restaurant is featured in WV's 101 unique places to dine list.

The space is actually quite large with a lot of wooden circular tables and some booth seating. It's basic, fairly worn and could use a good scrubbing. The menu consists of items like popcorn chicken, hotdogs, sandwiches and the like. Nothing fancy, but simple enough for a lunch counter.

I went with the popcorn chicken because it was simple and safe before heading on our trip. Overall thoughts - not bad. Nothing really exciting - the chicken breading was plain, and the fries could've been a good deal crisper. It's really the only option around, and it'll fill your belly. Good enough.

Grade: C
 

SFS Farms was one of the last vendors I hit up while at the Morgantown Farmers Market recently. As per usual, I chatted with Lisa to find out more about this farm, which sells vegetables, melons and fresh herbs.

SFS farm is run by mother daughter team, Susie (mom) and Heidi (daughter) Shinkovich. Susie is the farmer and Heidi does the paperwork. Susie has been farming and marketing her entire life. She can tell you stories of being 7 years old and selling on the morgantown courthouse square with her family, which I believe she still does to this day. Local to the Morgantown area and Monongalia county, farming is strong in this family. If you stop by the farmers market take a look at Susie's beautiful farmer hands - they know what it is to work hard! Within the past few years, they received a NRCS high tunnel to help extend their season, so you'll now see them every weekend at the market throughout the summer selling a variety vegetables and potted plants.

I picked up this delicious squash, which I grilled with some tomatoes for a delicious summer snack. What's your favorite product from SFS?

I attended the New Deal Festival a few weeks ago in Arthurdale. It is held annually on the second Saturday in July to celebrate the nation's first New Deal Subsistence Homestead Community of Arthurdale.


According to Wikipedia:

Arthurdale was founded in 1933 and was the first of many New Deal planned communities established under Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. It was intended to take impoverished laborers, farmers, and coal miners and move them to a modern rural community that would allow them to become economically self-sufficient.

The idea for such a self-sufficient community originated when Eleanor Roosevelt learned through her friend, Lorena Hickok, of a plan to relocate a group of West Virginia coal miners to a nearby farm with the intention that they could combine subsistence farming with simple industries to reclaim their economic footing. Mrs. Roosevelt was so passionate about the concept that she brought it to the attention of her husband, who decided to place the project under the direction of the United States Department of the Interior.

Kirkwood Winery is a mainstay at the wine festivals around the state. They tend to have lots of fruity, sweet wines, but they also carry some others you might cook with - ramp wine or dandelion. They have apple, blush, blackberry, cherry, peach, pear, blueberry, currant, raspberry, plum, elderberry, grapple, ginseng and even more.

Kirkwood Winery is also home to the Isaiah Morgan Distillery, which is southern West Virginia's first mini-distillery that crafts rye, southern moon and grappa spirits.

I really liked the blackberry wine, the peach and the plum, too. If you like a sweeter wine, this is your place. The shop also has some other trinkets; I picked up a wine glass. Overall, a nice little stop if you find yourself in Summersville!

Tastings are free. Business hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Elkins is such a cool little town. They have a neat little arts scene, a nice brewery and some great restaurants. El Gran Sabor is an authentic Venezuelan restaurant. Elkins, West Virginia, has authentic Venezuelan food? Yep. The short version: Derdlim Masten (head chef and co-owner) came to the United States from Venezuelan to visit her cousin. She fell in love with the town, met her husband and opened the restaurant.

And we, the people of West Virginia, are so benefitting. The restaurant was pretty busy (a good sign!), so we sat outside to wait until a table was ready. I talked with some other folks who were waiting about their favorite dishes. The "cachapa" was the crowd favorite. After a 20-minute wait or so, we were seated and looked over the menu.

And there it was - the cachapa. The menu says it's their most popular dish. You can get a veggie cachapa, a surf 'n turf cachapa, a beef cachapa, a chicken cachapa, a cheese cachapa, a pork cachapa, or a ham and cheese cachapa. It comes with a choice of latin rice and black beans and choice of soup or salad.

I ordered a pork cachapa with their shrimp squash soup. At first, I wasn't super impressed with this soup. But as I tried it more, I was able to detect some more rich flavors - almost reminded me of a curry. But pretty good.

And the cachapa was excellent. It was tender, flavorful pork encased in a sweet corn pancake. The salty and sweet combo was so, so good. Plus there were two sauces - one that was like an herb dipping sauce and the other I loved but can't remember what it was (this is what happens when I'm so behind on posts; I started to forget). This was DELICIOUS, though. The beans and rice were meh, but the cachapa had a perfect balance of flavors. Plus the sauce was like the find touch to help it all come together.

Between the cool vibe and excellent food, this was one of the better restaurants I've had in quite some time. Even if it did start out with a bit of a wait.

Grade: A