Sunday Links

As global warming, er, climate change, um, warm weather hits my area, here are some things going on:

From The Blaze, Senator Reed (D-RI) thinks President Trump should not testify.

From AP News, Attorney General Sessions, on the other hand, will testify.

From The Guardian, Trump's visit to the United Kingdom will have to wait a while.

From Assyrian National News Agency, Syrian fighters capture parts of Raqqa.

From The Baloch News, a Balochi human rights activist is kidnapped.

From National Review, Reagan's SDI (a.k.a. "Star Wars") looks pretty good in hindsight.

From Breitbart London, Syrian asylum seekers in Germany allegedly molest girls at a swimming pool.

From Trend News Agency, 20 Iranians are lashed for breaking the Ramadan fast.

From Fox News, a Pakistani man is sentenced to death for insulting Muhammad.

From The Times Of India, one of the London Bridge terrorists had been trying to get a job with the agency that provides security for Wimbledon.

From the Daily Mail, an Islamic bookstore in Australia displays books on Sharia, and another claim that the caliph of ISIS is dead.

From AhlulBayt News Agency, people in Ankara, Turkey protest in front of the Saudi embassy.

From Russia Today, 2,500 more migrants are rescued in the Mediterranean.

From the Los Angeles Times, Uber's directors will meet to discuss the fate of their CEO.

From the Washington Examiner, respect for the flag brings America together.

From Gatestone Institute, pro-Erdogan political parties are popping up in Europe.

From The Daily Caller, Canadian troops arrive in Latvia.

From Philly(dot)com, Puerto Ricans vote on statehood.

From Yahoo News, Chinese kids play American football.

And from the Fresno Bee and the "you can't make this up" department, a man is assaulted by someone known as "Cheeseburger".

"Let's Start Talking About Islam"

I found this article at The Religion Of Peace.  It was published on June 4, while I was out on my most recent road trip.  From Sp!ked:

Another month, another terror attack. Britain’s third in three months. This time the targets were Saturday-night revellers in London Bridge and Borough. Mown and stabbed for the crime of having fun, of being free. And already we are seeing the same craven, baleful response that follows every act of Islamist terror. ‘Watch out for an Islamophobic backlash’, aloof observers say, their minds always more agitated by the thought of stupid white people saying something rude about Islam than by acts of Islamist mass murder. ‘Don’t say anything bad about this wonderful religion or its adherents’, they tell us. This is a really bad response, because it is becoming increasingly clear that one of the major problems we face today is not that our society is too mean about Islam, but that it flatters Islam too much.

The thesis of this editorial is basically, "Protecting Islam from criticism is contributing to violence by Muslims", which is the opposite of the politically correct view that the violence is caused by such criticism.  Read the full article.

Seneca Rocks

Seneca Rocks is a rocky outcrop at the top of a mountain in West Virginia, a small town below and to the west of this mountain, and a state park encompassing the mountain.  The center of town is marked by an intersection between US-33, WV-28 and WV-55.  From the state park's parking lot, just north of the intersection, I could see the west face of the outcrop, although it was partially obscured by some trees in the foreground.

I was lucky enough to be able to park near the trailhead, marked by a sign indicating that the trail was 1.5 miles long, gained 1000 feet of elevation, and led to an observation platform.  After the first few hundred feet, the trail led to a bridge spanning the Potomac River.  Well, actually the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River.  This shot looks northward and downstream.

After crossing the river, I continued onward and upward, around switchbacks and even up a stairway, which was thankfully made of wood instead of stone.  After I reached the observation platform, I took this shot of the parking lot and a nearby picnic pavilion.  The Bigfootmobile is hiding below some trees toward the left.

Here's the view looking north.  The main road is both WV-28 and WV-55.

This sign was pretty close to the observation platform.  Let's just say that I went here and no farther.

I was able to work my way down a small side trail to see a bit of the east face of the rock.  It's hard to tell rock from sky because both were grey, but you can see some of the east face through the trees.

After taking this shot, I decided it was time to retreat down the mountain to the parking lot.  As you might expect, a whole different set of muscles started to complain during my downward hike, but I made it down, tired and bit sore, but ready to drive back to Maryland.

For more on Seneca Rocks, go to Virginia Trail Guide and Trip Advisor.

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Continuing northward from Huntington and Lesage, and passing various things named after a certain former klansman Senator from West Virginia, I arrived in Point Pleasant.  This place is notorious for alleged sightings of a creature called the Mothman during the late 1960's.  The Mothman was reportedly seen by over 100 people, and is thought to have possibly been an omen that warned of impending disaster.  Today, the Mothman Museum sits in downtown Point Pleasant, with a statue of the creature just down the street.

Here he is from another angle.  The locals appear to like driving red cars.

Point Pleasant also includes Tu-Endie-Wei State Park, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers.  This park commemorates a battle fought in 1774 between a Virginia militia led by Colonel Andrew Lewis and Shawnee Indians led by Chief Cornstalk.  (Considering that corn was very important, and sometimes sacred, to many Indian tribes, being named "Cornstalk" may well have been a great honor.)  The Battle of Point Pleasant was the principle battle of Lord Dunmore's War, Lord Dunmore himself being at the time the governor of the colony of Virginia.  This circular stone monument commemorates a magazine located in the area.  Directly behind it is the Kanawha River, with the Ohio to the right.

This building, called the Mansion House, was originally a tavern, and is now a museum.

In the middle of the park is this obelisk.

The monument to Chief Cornstalk, leader of the Shawnee, sits near one corner of the park.  West Virginia Route 2 passes over the green trestle bridge in the background.

Some people and organizations, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (one of whom taught me how to play the piano way back when), consider the Battle of Point Pleasant to be the first battle of the American Revolution.  I consider this rather dubious, because the Virginia militiamen were not at the time rebelling against the British crown or the colonial government.  In other words, the sides that fought in the American Revolution had not yet been established.

On a personal note, I was already familiar with the name Andrew Lewis because there once was a high school in Salem, Virginia bearing his name.  Also in the area is Fort Lewis Mountain, named after Fort Lewis, this fort having been previously named after Lewis himself.  All of these are not too far away from where I once lived in southwestern Virginia.

Thursday Links

Now that I'm back from my road trip, let me pass on some things in the news.

From The Times-Picayune, 16 anti-Trump vandals appear in court.

From Greek Reporter, the Greek government will freeze pensions until 2022.

From Assyrian National News Agency, Germany warns Iraqi Kurds against having a "one-sided" election.

From The Blaze, while former FBI Director James Comey testified, Donald Trump sent out Tweets.  (No, I'm not talking about the president.)

From Yahoo News, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) admits having given Comey confusing questions.

From the Los Angeles Times, a talk radio host in Arizona blasts Comey.

From Fox News, Comey's testimony, in their opinion, exonerates President Trump.

From Twitchy, Trump's former rival appears to be stuck in an "infinite loop".

From The Telegraph, the United Kingdom appears to have elected a "hung parliament", and the Saudi soccer team would not line up for a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the London Bridge terror attack.

From The Tower, the Labour Party's candidate for Prime Minister, Jeremy Corbin, has "extremist ties".

From The New American, according to the National Association of Secretaries of State, the 2016 election "was not hacked".

From Breitbart London, the brother of one of the London Bridge terrorists had received money from a government anti-radicalization program.

From Stinson Hunter, video of a man attacking police with a hammer near Nôtre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

From the International Business Times, and perhaps the non-sequitur department, Iran's Revolutionary Guard blames the terror attack in Iran on President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia.

From Sp!ked, private jokes can get you expelled from Harvard.

From Breitbart's Big Government, the Charlotte (gay) Pride Parade bans a pro-Trump gay group.  (So much for the "inclusion" the left likes to preach.)

From The Hill, the House scales back Dodd-Frank.

From World Israel News, Palestinian leader Abbas agrees to meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu without a settlement freeze as a pre-condition.

From the Daily Mail, ISIS warns of future attacks.

And from The Washington Times, you can fish without a license in Michigan - but only this weekend.

A Most Interesting Place To Eat

If you drive northward from Huntington, WV on WV Route 2, you soon get to the small community of Lesage and its noted grub joint Hillbilly Hot Dogs.  The place includes quite a few old dilapidated vehicles such as this school bus, which the public is not allowed to enter.

The place has a "Weddin Chapel", with the "Kissin Cuzins Maryin Booth" to the left, and a van somehow driven into the tree above them.

We're allowed to enter this other old school bus, with a bicycle on its hood and another vehicle on its roof.

Between WV-2 and a stone driveway is a scaled-up moonshine still.

I suspect that the "Hillbilly Gas Station" is not a place to get gas, but to leave your gas.

This scaled-up hot dog is probably the biggest wiener in all of West Virginia.

The bathrooms are guarded by Darth Vader.  Beware the Dark Side!

Here's some more junk - lots of it.

The actual restaurant is to the left of the junk in the pic just above.  Its adjacent dining room comprises yet another bus.  For more information go to their website.

Huntington, West Virginia

After visiting Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, I headed eastward, back toward Maryland.  I stopped in at Huntington, located on the south side of the Ohio River.  It is one of two prominent cities in the area where Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia meet, the other being Ashland, KY.  Huntington is also the home of Marshall University.  There were two places in Huntington that I wanted to see.  The first was Ritter Park, which includes this ring made of iron, with stripes radiating on the inside.

The park also includes some stone sculptures, but they were surrounded by a fence.

This pit of sand is partially surrounded by a stone dragon.

Here's the other side of the iron ring, with stripes radiating on the outside.

This pedestrian bridge spans a stream that runs through the park.

The other place I wanted to see in Huntington was more somber.  In the Spring Hill Cemetery is the Marshall Memorial, dedicated to the coaches, football players and others who died in an airplane crash in 1970.  This side of the memorial, in sunlight, shows the names of the players.  You can see the numerous items left in tribute by previous visitors.

Here are two other sides of the memorial.  On the right, under the heading "staff members" the sixth name from the top is Frank Loria, an assistant coach who had played at Virginia Tech.  Head coach Rick Tolley, who name appears at the bottom of the "staff members" list, had also played for VT.

The story of the plane crash and Marshall's efforts to rebuild their football team are told in the movie We Are Marshall.  However, the movie was not exactly true to reality.

After my visit to this memorial, I was back on the road heading northward along the Ohio River.  I had some other things to see before turning east and crossing West Virginia.

Rabbit Hash, Kentucky

Rabbit Hash is a very small unincorporated community, located on the south bank of the Ohio River, southwest of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.  I had previously noticed that the place seems to have a penchant for electing dogs to the office of mayor.  Apparently, the town's name does indeed refer to an item of food made with rabbit meat.  (Elmer Fudd would be proud - and maybe a bit jealous, too.)  I don't know what this building is called, but it might include restaurant facilities, as implied by the name The Scalded Hog on the contraption to the right.

Two local dogs were hanging around, but neither one is the current mayor.

Across the street from the building shown above were two old gas pumps, in front of an antique shop, which was in front of the Hashienda.

On one side of the building shown above is a stage.  You can see the Ohio River and a bit of Indiana in the background.

Across the Ohio was this steamboat.

I could also see the town of Rising Sun, Indiana.

This building, as you can tell, is the General Store, which reopened this year after being gutted by fire.

This old cabin houses a museum, but it wasn't open.

It might be a very small place, but Rabbit Hash has its own historical society.  In my opinion, if you're ever in northern Kentucky or the Cincinnati area, Rabbit Hash is a nice place in which to stop and relax, if you don't mind driving on some hilly and winding roads to get there.

Seip Earthworks

On my recent road trip, my last stop in Ohio was at Seip Earthworks, located just off US 50, about 15 miles west of Chillicothe.  This was very much a return visit, the third time I've been to the place.  Back in 2002, it was part of an archaeological tour that I went on.  In 2003, I decided to swing through Ohio on my way back to Maryland from a wedding in southern Indiana, and stopped in at Seip.  During those two trips, the site was called Seip Mound, after the artificial construction of the same name.  The area is now a unit of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, the ownership having been transferred from the Ohio History Connection to the National Park Service in 2014.  The NPS unit seems to be quite a bit larger in area than the old state-owned site.  Here is the north side of Seip Mound, reached by walking southward a few hundred yards from US 50.

This is the interpretive display just in front of the mound.

Here's the south side of Seip Mound, with some tall grass in the foreground.

The area that's been cleared of grass is the site of a house built long ago near the mound.  Each wooden peg indicates the location of a log that had been inserted into the ground.  I think that the modern structures in the background are part of a high school athletic field.

These two small mounds are part of the earthworks that surrounded the main mound.

After I took this last picture, it was time to hop back in the Bigfootmobile and drive on to the next stop, Serpent Mound, which had also been on my 2002 tour.  Unfortunately, as I arrived there, not only was it starting to rain, but I heard some thunder.  Rain is one thing, but thunder and lightning are another, especially since Serpent Mound is surrounded by trees, and has a metal observation platform.  Any return visit will therefore have wait until some future trip.

For more on Seip Earthworks, go to Ohio Exploration Society, TrekOhio(dot)com, ScienceViews, Touring Ohio and Ohio History Connection (the site's former owner).

Ohio Caves And Waterfalls - Part 2

After visiting Ash Cave and Cedar Falls, I continued northward on OH Route 374 to Old Man's Cave.  This cave is actually a large alcove on one side of a creek.  From the alcove, I got this shot of a bridge spanning the creek.  Not my best focus, but not as bad as in my first two pics from Ash Cave.

Here's another shot that includes the bridge.  The people in the foreground are walking on a trail from the alcove down to the bridge.

This shot looks back up into Old Man Cave.  I had taken the first two pictures from the walkway at the top.

I kept hiking, and the trail kept taking me up and down stone stairs.  I eventually got to Lower Falls.  Pretty soon I was feeling like the cave's namesake.

This is the bridge that I crossed just before reaching Lower Falls.  It's made of stone, bricks and mortar.

After Old Man's Cave, I went to one last natural area, Rock House.  This too, is on OH 374, about 8 miles further north.  This is the lower part of the front of the park's namesake formation, with some leaves in the upper left foreground.  I then crossed the bridge at the lower left.

Here's the front of the Rock House, looking further up, with more leaves in the upper foreground.  I eventually got pretty close to where the man was sitting.

This shot is from inside the Rock House, showing the bridge I had crossed a few minutes earlier.

The trail led away from the Rock House, and past some more rocks.

The Rock House was the last cave I hiked in, but I had one other place to explore, of a very different variety.  Stay tuned.

For more on Old Man Cave, go to HockingHills(dot)com and Hocking Hills State Park Travel Guide.

For more on Rock House, go to Inn & Spa At Cedar Falls and OnlyInYourState.

Some other things to note:  All the areas shown in these two posts are within Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio.  All except Rock House are connected to the others by trails going between them.  None of these places required an admission fee, so to all who pay Ohio state taxes, thank you very much.