D-Day

Miles Driven: September 1st  310.4   Falls Church to New River Gorge, WV
Total Miles: 310.4    Camping Fees: $0

New River Gorge Bridge, WV

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.  It’s the day, no, not that day but D-day has arrived.  D, which is for driving, driving to New River Gorge., WV.  There are a couple of things which tell me I’m on vacation.  1. Losing the signal to your local radio station.  2. Leaving the state in which you live in.  And lastly, not recognizing any names of towns you drive by.

The drive to New River Gorge was fast and easy, not much traffic and very sunny.  I pulled into the parking lot at about 3pm.  Chatted with the National Park service for a good place to camp.  After being given directions I headed out to the viewing outlook to see the bridge.  There are two overlooks to take pictures.  The second spot requires you to walk down 200 wooden steps, well worth the effort.  The bridge is an amazing piece of engineering.  I hope my pictures does it justice.

Steps leading down to Overlook

The bridge elevation is around 3000 feet.  Driving down from the bridge was fun, around steep declines and sharp S-curves.  I had to say that Penelope (my name for the GPS unit) came in very handy for this kind of driving.  She allowed me to view upcoming curves in the road., very handy for driving down these kinds of roads. Although, I have yet to get used to her ‘belching’ out directions at random times.  After another thirty minutes of driving I arrived at my camp site, right on the river, New River.  Did I mention is was a primitive site?  There was a clearing for a campfire, two metal benches and a metal stove.  There was NO running water and a building with a hold in the ground for the restrooms.  I pitched my tent and began to collect firewood.  The old saying about firewood is very true.  If you think you have enough, think again and collect as much as you already have.

I lit the fire as fast as I could, why?  Mosquitoes and gnats.  As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear the little devils cry fresh blood.  The axe I bought came in very handy.  It was a very “I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR, kind of evening.