Hot Glass

October 10, 2019
Broken Wheel CG
Weston, WV

We felt a tad isolated at our last stop.  Not only were we all alone where we were parked in the campground,

 WiFi was a struggle and our satellite signal was only in the high 70's.... but the picture was still good.  Water pressure wasn't impressive either but the 50 amp worked well.

Momma chose this area purposely to visit Appalachian Glass in Weston, WV where they were treated to a delightful, informative and thoroughly enjoyable glass blowing demonstration.  It's a family business and the youngest glass blower in the family was at the furnace.  His Dad was away setting up a portable furnace for a weekend festival where they would blow glass and 'market' their business.  

The hot glass doesn't show it's true color until it cools. It looks more yellow/orange when hot rather than the clear it will be when it cools.

Rolling the glass in colored chips will create a colorful end product.

He performed a dance with the molten glass constantly turning it or blowing it.

 To ensure each humming bird feeder he was creating was the same size, he used a mold on the floor that he put the glass in and blew to size.

Add a little curl on the top and the glass is ready to go in the keeper where it will cool down slowly to prevent the piece from shattering.

From the looks of all the packages they came home with, I can't decide which they enjoyed more....the demo or the shopping.

I know what I enjoyed today.  Bonding with my snake.  Momma had to perform a bit of emergency surgery on his tail with a needle and thread, but he is still as enjoyable as ever.

He even makes a great pillow when I'm not tearing from one end of the rig to other with him in my mouth, squeaking as we run.  

I'm Chloe