At the Mountain Quest Inn, West Virginia ©Beth Cole

We just returned from a visit east to North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Beautiful country it is. Our destination in West Virginia was an area with an old steam engine that billows steam and smoke to the photographer’s delight.

Steam Engine, Cass, West Virginia ©Beth Cole

What we didn’t know about this area is its inclusion in a quiet zone. Turns out, the Green Bank Observatory is located here, its mission is to listen to space and in order to listen, there can be no electronic interference…..thus no cell phone reception. Nada. None.

We were unaware of this when we made our reservation. My trusty iPhone has always gotten us to where we are going, never a worry. But we found ourselves navigating curvy mountain roads, in the fog, and the dark, without a cell phone or a written address of our destination. What a wake up call! We are so dependent on Google and our GPS, I didn’t even realize it.

You’ll be glad to know we made it to our hotel just fine using the old fashioned method, we stopped and asked someone where it was. Problem solved.

We spent a couple of days taking in the beauty of this place and it was quiet, relaxing and quite refreshing.

When we drove back into the land of cell reception we knew it instantly because my phone went wacky with all manner of notifications. Ha! I’m so used to it on a regular basis that I don’t really even notice ….. you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.

I don’t believe I’d want to take up residency in the quiet zone, but I wouldn’t mind creating my own little quiet zone every now and again, and I know a super easy way to do it…..it’s called an OFF button.

Enjoy the day my friends.

--Beth
Soli Deo Gloria

Art + Such Blog by Beth Cole

The Quiet Zone