A Short Trip to WV & PA

Rambling Jane & John hit the road again. This posting summarizes our recent six-day trip to Fayetteville, WV and Kane, PA.

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Tuesday, July 26

Trails End Grill

We left home this morning around 9:40. For lunch, we pulled off of I-77 with Pilot Mountain in view and ate lunch at Trails End Grill. The food was good and the diner was hopping with locals. The scenic views along the route through Virginia and West Virginia were beautiful and involved passage through a couple of tunnels. We briefly stopped at the West Virginia Welcome Center and collected a few brochures and arrived in Fayetteville a little after 3:00 in the afternoon. Because our B&B host had phoned that he would be running an errand until 4:00, we decided to proceed directly to the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve.

New River Gorge NPP is our country’s newest national park, designated in 2020. The New River originates in the mountains of North Carolina near Blowing Rock, and despite its moniker, is one of the world’s oldest rivers. The displays at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center documented the key roles of coal, trains and the bridge to the history and culture of the area. This was supplemented with a short film in the center’s theatre. (Background music for the documentary was a clawhammer banjo rendition of “Ridin’ on that New River Train”, a song that I sometimes play with my music companions.) The lush gorge and its famous bridge were visible from windows and a deck in the rear of the center. After visiting the gift shop, we followed directional signage from the center to a boardwalk trail that descended for 178 steps to an observation deck with a closer view of the bridge. On the 178 step return trip, the threatening skies began to rain (again).

Canyon Rim Visitor Center, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

Gorge View from the Rear Deck of the Visitor Center

New River Gorge Bridge from the Trail Observation Deck

Next, we headed to Fayetteville and checked in at the Historic Morris Harvey House Bed & Breakfast. Our friendly host showed us to our upstairs room and after we moved in and got settled, we were ready to explore. The Harvey House was located a few blocks from downtown with two tap rooms in easy walking distance in opposite directions. We couldn’t decide which one to visit and so went to Pies & Pints first for a Happy Hour beer and to the Southside Junction Tap House for dinner and another beer. There, we were challenged to translate the Portuguese subtitles on an adventure television show highlighting extreme kayaking of wild rivers in South America (and later, Iceland). After dining and beering, we retired to our B&B room for a peaceful but rainy night.

The Historic Morris Harvey House B&B

Period Decor in the Harvey House Parlor

Our Happy Hour Stop

Dinner with Beer Here

We were Rescued!

Wednesday, July 27

This morning we had a delightful breakfast served on the deck. Our first adventure was to drive the Fayette Station Road Tour. This audio-supplemented driving tour followed the old road used before the modern New River Gorge Bridge was built in 1977. Via hairpin curves, it wound down to the bottom of the gorge, crossed a narrow bridge and then ascended the other side of the gorge. Along the way, we took in views of the river, the old and new bridges, verdant hardwood forests, and remnants of communities of bygone times that had once teemed with activity. At river level, the former company towns of Fayette and South Fayette had once flourished but were eventually deserted after the local coal seam was exhausted. Due to the unusually high rainfall that the area was having, the station rapids were roaring out of their banks and carving pathways through the forests before merging into the New River. (These were the same storms that caused severe flooding in Eastern Kentucky.) We thoroughly enjoyed the travel back in time that this route evoked.

Under the Bridge along the Fayette Station Road Tour

Immediately after exploring the historic passageway across the gorge, we investigated the modern approach. Set amongst the gorge’s natural beauty, the New River Gorge Bridge is an architectural splendor in its own right. It is the longest single arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere spanning 3,030′ and towering 876′ above the river; the arch alone spans 1700′. The bridge is constructed of 88,000,000 pounds of approximately equal parts (by weight) steel and concrete. We elected to walk across the gorge underneath this remarkable structure.

Our BridgeWalk began at an outfitting shop near Canyon Rim Visitor Center. There, our lively 74-year-old guide, Paul, greeted us and six fellow walkers. After receiving instructions and harnessing up, we were bused to a nearby trail and hiked down to a ramp that lead to a narrow catwalk under the bridge. Below the bridge, we lined up on the catwalk (which had sturdy side rails) and clipped our harness straps into an overhead cable. We walked across the gorge single-file listening to Paul’s folksy banter. We learned about the history and construction of the bridge as well as Bridge Day celebration which is held every October while the bridge is closed to motor vehicles. As we were walking, the overhead clouds as well as those in the gorge below provided an ever-changing scene to behold. Viewing the Fayette Station Bridge and other features that we had visited only a couple of hours ago from above provided a surreal aerial perspective. Heavy rains came down during part of our walk but we stayed dry as we watched water pour through heavy round downspouts and cascade into the river far below us. At one point we sat down on the catwalk to enjoy the view. At the conclusion of our unique trans-gorge tramp, we were provided a bottle of water and a bus ride back to the shop.

After our exhilarating BridgeWalk and receiving our sticker to prove it, we drove back into Fayetteville. The rain briefly lessened long enough for us to enter the Wood Iron Eatery where we enjoyed a tasty light lunch. Judging by their wetness and muddiness, many of our fellow lunchers had not received the protection that we had from the world’s largest umbrella.

Entrance to the BridgeWalk

Paul, our Animated Septuagenarian BridgeWalk Guide

A Gorge-eous View of Fayette Station Bridge

Safely Dry under the World’s Largest Umbrella

Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six Feet High and Still Smiling

We lunched at the Wood Iron Eatery

After lunch, we drove about 20 minutes to the parking lot of the entrance to Long Point Trail. The overcast skies had lightened considerably as we were preparing to start our hike but menacing dark clouds heading our direction were visible in the distance. We grabbed our hats and rain gear hoping to ward off the inevitable. The soggy trail lead us through a beautiful Appalachian hardwood forest while we routinely forded large puddles. After over 1.5 miles, we reached a rock outcropping where we had a long-range view of the gorge including the bridge to the north and the Endless Wall and Fern Creek Falls across the gorge to the east. We lingered there peacefully enjoying the vista, resting and rehydrating. On the return trip, with only a mile of the trail remaining, the inevitable began. We donned our rain gear and plodded on along the increasingly muddy trail back to our car.

The Trailhead

Mountain Man

Jane sporting her “Pirates of the New” Cap above the New River

Enjoying the View (and the Rest)

We then drove back into Fayetteville to visit the New River Antique Mall. We changed out of our muddy footwear in the car before entering and enjoyed strolling through the huge inventory although we did not purchase any merchandise. I suppose you know you’re getting old when you experience waves of nostalgia while antique viewing.

After antiquing, we went back to our B&B room to clean up and rest. The rain had subsided so we walked back to Pies and Pints for a pizza and beer dinner. Afterwards, I sat in a rocker on the B&B deck reading. Jane was uncharacteristically sleeping soundly when I returned to the room to retire for the evening.

Thursday – Sunday, July 28-31

After our West Virginia adventures, we drove to Jane’s hometown of Kane in northwestern Pennsylvania for a family reunion. We stayed uptown in the Kane Tourist Home. Jane’s oldest sister, Stephanie, flew from Denver to Philadelphia. Jane’s other sister, Nancy, and her husband, John, who live in Lancaster County, PA, picked her up at the airport. They all three drove up to Kane and stayed at an air B&B near where we were staying. Jane’s brother, Dan, lives in Kane

During our stay, we visited many of our favorite local restaurants including the Logyard Brewing Taproom where the weather forecast was 100% chance of beer. We also traveled to the Kinzua Bridge State Park. The Kinzua Bridge was a spectacular railroad trestle bridge spanning a valley but in 2003 over half of it collapsed during a tornado. The remaining section has been developed into a tourist Sky Walk and the remnants of the destroyed sections remain where they fell. The Sky Walk affords great views of the valley and the state park offers nice hiking trails and an informative well-designed visitor center.

The purpose of our reunion was to inter the ashes of the Gregory siblings’ mother, Helen Tuhovak Gregory, who had passed last March. This brief but solemn event took place at the family plot in St. Callistus Cemetery near Kane on Saturday morning. Stephanie read chosen Bible verses and appropriate secular material. Then the small marble casket containing Helen’s ashes was laid to rest in a pre-dug hole next to Helen’s husband’s grave as tears were shed.

During our visit, Dan was in the process of moving from his house in town to a newly purchased house a few miles from town. We helped with some of the moving and with installing a new bathroom sink faucet. The home has a large back deck where we all gathered to socialize and eat. The large backyard was also put to use playing football and other activities with nephews and nieces.

On Sunday morning, Jane and I got off to a late start heading home. After an uneventful journey home, we were shocked by the North Carolina heat and humidity as we exited the car.