Westward Ho! Cross-country Road Trip 2023

Off we go! Departed Delaware around 10:00AM.

Ruby rests in her car nest tethered to the backseat. 

After 4 hours, we stopped to eat lunch and walk at West Virginia Botanic Garden.

From 10AM until 2PM, we drove through periods of rain, mist and fog.
Finally the rain stopped long enough for us to get in a little walk along the trails.

The Garden is at Tibbs Run Preserve, formerly Tibbs Run Reservoir. The reservoir was constructed in 1912 and supplied clean water to Monongalia County until 1969. The reservoir was drained in 1980 and then leased to the West Virginia Botanic Garden in 1999.

There is a tremendous diversity of fauna and plants including trees as old as 250 years.

This magical Children's Adventure Garden was created in 2022 to invite children to interact with nature.

West Virginia is known as The Mountain State...and we drove along miles and miles of them!
It is the United States third most-forested state and is the only state completely within the Appalachian Mountain region. West Virginia is known for its timber and protected woodlands.

Our airbnb is located in Charleston, the capital of WV.

Surprisingly there was a very good vegan restaurant in Charleston called The Loopy Leaf.
We enjoyed buffalo wings and an "Authentic Philly" cheesesteak.

A short walk along the street was a beautiful park with  trails and a frisbee golf course.
It was the perfect way to end our first day.