We have fairly short drives most days on this trip, so no need to leave super early. Today we were on the road at 8:35am.

Yesterday and today we could see that spring is well under way as we drive through the countryside. The trees have the soft glow of greens and reds as the buds are beginning to emerge. And I have never seen so many redbud trees! As we drove along the Ohio River, the bright pink was popping out everywhere. I think it may be the tail end of the redbuds since there’s almost as much pink on the ground as on the trees. Our redbud at home was just beginning to pop when we left for our trip.

Our mid-day stop today was at the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, WV. (We’ll get to why it’s called Moundsville later). This sprawling complex was built in 1866 and operated until 1995 when the WV Supreme Court ruled that confinement in a 5’x7’ cell constituted cruel and unusual punishment. On our tour we learned that there were other horrible conditions that the inmates were forced to endure. Prison riots were effective in gaining some improvements like food service, but in the end the prison was closed and inmates moved to other facilities. Charles Manson’s mother was an inmate here, and Charles requested to be transferred to this prison to be near her – his request was flatly denied.

There is a lot of beautiful artwork throughout the prison, all painted by inmates. In fact, the original portion of the prison was built by inmates. There is a small museum section which includes items beautifully crafted by inmates.

Across the street from the Penitentiary is the Grave Creek Mound. This is a burial mound constructed by the Adena people 250-100 BC. At 69’ tall and 295’ in diameter, it was created by moving 60,000 tons of earth. There are similar mounds in the area, hence the town’s name. Before being declared a National Historic Landmark there was once a saloon on the top and at another time a dance hall. I wonder how many folks ended up rolling down the hill after leaving the saloon.

Later that afternoon we arrived at the North Bend State Park Campground in Cairo, WV. We had reserved a spot right along the creek, and it didn’t disappoint. There were only 4 other campers, so we had a very quiet evening. When making reservations online, it’s hard to know what the campground will be like. So far we’ve been really happy with National and State park campgrounds and Corps of Engineers campgrounds. They tend to be smaller, with well-spaced spots and lots of vegetation. This campground has a pool and amphitheater as well as a large picnicking area. It’s probably busy in the summer, but this time of year is perfect for us.

Dinner was a one-pot cheeseburger mac with asparagus. We’re trying out some recipes to see what’s easy to make at the campsite. I do as much prep at home as I can, measuring out ingredients and packaging them by meals. Tonight was browning some ground beef and onion, then dumping my pre-pack into the pot with some broth and chopped asparagus and finishing it off with sliced cheese. It hit the spot!