On June 18 Don turns 67 years old. He looks pretty good dontcha think? Since his birthday is so close to Father’s Day I try to plan extra special things. This year it’s a trip to the newest U. S. national park which is New River Gorge National Park in lovely West by God stand up & smile when you say it Virginia.
The gorge area is comprised of three rivers: the New River and the Bluestone & Gauley Rivers. Coal mining and the railroad brought industry and recreational usage of this area followed in the 20th century. Today world class whitewater, rock climbing, fishing, hiking, biking & camping are among the many outdoor activities that bring folks here.
The bridge is 876 ft high and on Bridge Day traffic is restricted to pedestrians only and many bungee jump from it. Today I considered jumping off the bridge sans bungee when after a harrowing 4 hour ride through the Midland trail (WV Rt 60) we arrived at the Canyon Rim Visitors Center just in time for a thunderstorm that was so strong it completely knocked out the power. Relegated to standing in the dark my park ranger whipped out her cell phone to continue marking my routes for tomorrows hikes and adventures. Undaunted by the lighter rain that followed the squall we set out to drive the one way road that leads down into the canyon. One advantage of the rain was it kept most sane people off the road as downed trees and flooding were a distinct possibility on the descent. We were rewarded with some misty mountain vistas.
If you are less adventurous there’s a walkway that affords some nice bridge and river views as well.
We met the goals we had for that section of the park so we headed back over the crazy, windy road towards where we were staying outside of the town of Lewisburg. This is the area that is home to the famous Greenbrier resort which houses the bunker that Congress members were to be taken to in the event of an attack during the Cold War. Lewisburg is a picturesque small town with a fairly busy historic district. We strolled around a bit scoping out possibilities for dining tomorrow for Don’s birthday.
Tomorrow we will rise early and traipse back over to the gorge for some more exploring then return to our little cabin for some birthday cake.
Question from our park ranger: What’s the difference between a gorge and a canyon? I’ll tell you in the next post.
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