Weekend Road Trip: Part 1

Second post today! 

We took a road trip Saturday, which ended up being a big circle. 

Our goal was Hawk's Nest State Park, where the New River Gorge Historical Society was sponsoring a ramp dinner. Ramps, for those who aren't familiar with them, are an Appalachian plant (they may grow elsewhere but I am not sure about that), that is a cross between leeks and garlic, as best I can describe them.  They grow only in certain locations, and have been sought by mountaineer as a spring tonic, and an early fresh green, for generations. 

Ramps are famous for making a dreadful stink. If you eat them raw, you will literally ooze that pungent smell from your pores for days. Boys used to wat them to get kicked out of school. But prepared properly, they are delicious (although they will still make your breath pretty strong!).  In Soring, mountaineer communities across West Virginia put on ramp "feeds" as a fundraiser and they are always well attended. 

As you can see on the above map, the first leg of the trip was easy, down I-77 to Charleston. Then we took US Route 60, the Midland Trail, which follows the Great Kanawha River to its beginning at the junction of the wild Gauley and New Rivers, we'll known for their whitewater and class 4 rapids. This route was the path for early settlers here, and is also the home of the Dickinson Salt Works. Back in the day, it was a very active coal mining area, but today many of the mines are closed. The tipple below is still operating, so there must ve a working mine or mines somewhere in the area still.

This is a beautiful drive in Spring, before the trees leaf out, because you can see the river almost the whole way, winding along on the other side of tge railroad tracks.

Another feature of this drive is waterfalls. This little falls doesn't seem to have a name I can find.

No one was there when we stopped, but there were so many butterflies! We saw this one, a red spotted admiral, I believe,

Here he is with wings folded.

And this one, o e of the comma butterflies,  but I couldn't get a good enough picture to be sure which kind.

Isn't this a great rock cliff?

If you embiggen this photo you can see some of the butterflies. It was honestly like being in a butterfly house. We saw tiger swallowtail, zebra swallowtail and a spicebush swallowtail in addition to the admirals. There must have been 50 flitting around, often flying right by our noses.

Tracks and road intertwine in several places on this road.

We passed by Kanawha Falls, where we stopped last year for lunch one day, but couldn't resist Cathedral Falls. There were quite a few people there, but only one butterfly.

First wild geraniums I have seen in bloom this spring. 

And finally, Hawk's Nest. Such a view! 

More tomorrow!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

New River Gorge

I started this post yesterday but never finished it. Stuffed pepper soup canning got in the way. This morning it was nice again, 62 when we got up, and warmed up to 80. Today I'm canning cabbage soup, but maybe I can take a few minutes to finish this post.

10.10.2021 60 this morning and fine. Warmed to the upper 70s, just a perfect day.

So yesterday we went adventuring to southern West Virginia's New River Gorge. This is the location of the latest--and only-- national park in our state. The area isn't new to us, but it has been years since we just explored there. We had a fantastic day. Although it was showering when we left, we were determined. The Mystery Hole was going to be open and I wanted to mark this place off my bucket list.

Our first stop was Kanawha Falls at Glen Ferris. I should note that we traveled US Route 60, aka The Midland Trail. It snakes along the edge of the Kanawha River to Gauley Bridge where the New and the Gauley converge to create the Kanawha. Its a beautiful drive past a lot of West Virginia history, like the salt works at Malden, Booker T. Washington 's childhood home and more. 

The falls were beautiful, full of water.

This and the photo below are part of what was once a hydroelectric plant that took advantage of the powerful falls. I wish this facility could be made operable again; it would be a good source of clean power.

We then drove east to Cathedral Falls which were actually pretty dry as the area is suffering from lack of rain. There were quite a few visitors here, as people were getting out to enjoy the great weather. 

Next stop was the Mystery Hole. At last! The Mystery Hole is one of those quirky state treasures that everyone wants to see. A tourist-trap kind of place from the 70's, it survives as a kind of cult classic. The place was closed for several years, and although I tried several times to visit, the limited hours when it re-opened always foiled my attempts. Was it worth 8 bucks? Yes, just for the pure fun of it. It's certainly odd to see a man sit on a chair that is several feet off the floor, among other oddities. I can now check the Mystery Hole off my bucket list.

Then we went on to the Hawks Nest State Park overlook, where one can look over the steep canyon edge to the New River far below. 

A picnic lunch at the pleasant grounds of the park. We seemed to be the only picnickers on Saturday; the main part of the picnic grounds and the shelter were being used by the wedding that was in progress while we were there.

Does this viewer look like an alien to you?

Do you see that dam in the photo below? That is an operating hydroelectric plant, and to the right of it you will see the entrance to the infamous Hawk's Nest tunnel, where over 700 men, mostly African-Americans, lost their lives to silicosis. The power plant and the tunnel was meant for the trains that would carry coal to Union Carbide's plant at Alloy, WV. That plant is still in operation, we were surprised to see, producing non-ferrous metals. 

We will see that dam, and the railroad trestle in the other photo, again, from a different angle.

We had heard about jetboat rides on the New River being offered by the park, so we went to the lodge to book tickets. We had a 2 hour wait so we used it to visit the New River Gorge National Park and walk down to the overlook where the famous bridge could be seen. We were pleased to hear at least 5 languages being spoken by park visitors who had come from many countries to see the bridge and other natural wonders in this unique area. The park is the newest in the national parks system, and is the only national park in West Virginia.

Finally it was time for our boat ride. 

Larry meets Captain Jack.

We shared the trip with 4 gay men from Cincinnati and a family group of Indian natives from Maryland who conversed in both English and Madras, pronounced by our fellow travelers as Madree. It was once again satisfying to see such diversity in the visitors to our state. It is something West Virginia needs a lot more of.

The boat ride took us both up and down the river. We passed under the railroad bridge you saw in the above photos; I actually rode over that trestle on the train in 2019. 

A poor photo, but this is the power plant, and the big square is the former entrance to the Hawk's Nest tunnel. 

Then it was downriver to see the iconic bridge. 

The jetboat was fun, but very loud.

The scenery was simply stunning. Small primitive fishing camps, reachable only by boat, dotted the banks and the cliffs of the Gorge rose almost perpendicular on either side as the green river flowed beneath us.

Then it was time for the return trip home. We ran into some rain that cleared to reveal this stupendous sky. We arrived home before 9, exhausted but happy. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.