“Almost Heaven, West Virginia…”

Whitewater Rafting; Scary narrow switch-back roads; Crazy thick vegetation; 851’ high New River Gorge Bridge Catwalk; Appalachian Railroad Ghost town; … and a close call with a Rattlesnake!

As we were merrily driving along toward our next stay in Fayetteville, WV the highway took us onto the New River Gorge Bridge 😱 and at the same time we both went “Whoa, what is this!!”  Yes, we should not have been all shocked because at one point, when we booked this stay we most certainly knew what we were coming here for, but seriously with all this travelling it’s getting hard to keep up! 😆   We’re continually asking each other “What state are we in again?”  “What were our plans for here?” “How long are we here for?”   All that to say, it doesn’t take much, we’re entertaining ourselves! Sometimes ya just gotta laugh! 😂  Anyways after we got parked and unhooked, it’s becoming routine to then hit up the Visitor Center and make plans for our stay.  Once there we discovered you can drive down to the bottom right underneath that massive Gorge Bridge. Oh my goodness, I probably should have just been blind-folded for the drive down this road! 🫣 😳  In my estimation not enough of it was designated one-way; it was VERY narrow, sheer rock wall on one side, steep bank drop off on the other, multiple switch-backs (one required a 4-point turn), huge boulders overhanging the road, trees and vegetation encroaching the road etc!   On the upside though, absolutely beautiful scenery! I just may have been less anxious in a mini cooper rather than in our big AT4 truck. The perspective of the huge span from the bottom looking up was so impressive! …. but I’m pretty sure Lynn didn’t want to let me back in the truck because now we had to drive all the way back up the other side on the same kind of a road! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Haha 😐

Keeping the trees, vines, and vegetation from encroaching the roads and trails in this state has to be a 24/7 job!  As soon as you venture off the beaten track the roads are narrow with mostly no shoulder to speak of, huge tree branches overhanging the road, vines hanging down and thick undergrowth everywhere!  It seemed like it rained some amount every night only to be full on sun again the next day!  Perfect recipe for all this growth! 

We visited the Historic Thurmond townsite, which in the early 1900’s was a giant economic hub. Today the railroad is still used to transport coal and is also an active Amtrak Whistlestop – very cool old terminal!   

While we were there we saw a bunch of Whitewater Rafters that had just put in and they looked like they were having a lot of fun already … then I noticed young kids and even older people in those rafts! Without saying anything to Lynn yet, I’m thinking in my mind – “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (1Tim.1:7).

When we got back to the Joey, and before I lost my nerve, I did the unthinkable!  I bought tickets for us to go White Water Rafting down the New River Gorge …. What?!!!  If you know me, you know I’m a big fraidy-cat when it comes to speed and/or heights, and I’m getting noticeably worse with age 🙄 so in the spirit of conquering this craziness that has enveloped me, I thought it best to tackle it head on … but then before the day was out, I got right crazy (“sound mind” … a distant memory haha) and also signed us up to do the Bridge Catwalk under the New River Gorge bridge! 😳 😬

Although my stomach was in quite a turmoil before both of these events, I actually lived to tell the story, and show the pictures! The Whitewater Rafting was absolutely exhilarating! Might not be just a ‘one and done’ thing 😎

Our rafting guide told pointed out a rock outcrop way up the mountainside and told us it was an amazing hike with beautiful views – so the next day we hiked up to Diamond Point – all fun and games til someone noticed a copperhead rattlesnake! 😳