I had just left a construction site and was headed to another one, along some very rural southern West Virginia roads. The stereo was tuned to my favorite late night paranormal podcast, to which I subscribe and listen to while driving for work in daylight hours. I knew there was some road construction ahead causing delays, so decided to investigate a side road and see if it might save some time. I had no idea where it went, but anyone who drives these back roads knows that they twist and turn, and can come out near where they start, or just about anywhere else. And, you can’t trust a GPS. This one came out on the same road I was on, just a couple of miles beyond the road work. I’m not sure it saved any time, as it took me an hour to drive the 15 mile, or so, loop.
After driving on the detour some half-hour, I rounded one of the many curves, and was amazed at what I saw. Standing along the side of a drive, in an overgrown field (in very, very, rural West Virginia) was life size statues that I guessed must be of Aphrodite and Dionysus. Out of place! Most certainly!
Buildings at the end of the drive were obviously abandoned, one with the roof half gone. I pulled off the road and realized that I had brought my camera bag in the house the night before to reorganize, and had not put it back in my truck. I still had a rangefinder camera with a 28mm lens. I got out and started to shoot. No one was around, and there was nothing to tell the story of the statues. It seemed very unreal at the time, like an alternate reality the guest on the podcast to which I had been listening to, had been talking about.
To this day, I don’t know why the statues are there. I guessed that the property might once have been a winery, and greeted visitors as they entered. I’ll be back, and I’m sure that I’ll find someone to ask about the ancient Greek god and goddess. Until then, I’ll be content with the images that I shot.
