August 3rd, 2014

My Summer Road Trip

August 3, 2014

	I set off early because I thought it would be a long day ahead of me. I'm glad I did because there certainly was a lot to see. Here's the bridge I crossed at Chelyan, WV to get onto US60. There was a huge plant (mining?) that's hidden in this view on the river.
	A nice community tucked away!
	Just a short way up 60 was this pretty church.
	There was a lot of fog, especially higher into the mountains because it actually was a fairly cool morning. It didn't stop these fishermen from taking advantage of...
	... THIS peaceful fishing area complete with...
	... a set of falls! (Glen Ferris, WV)
	This is part of the Kanawha River system.
	I followed the river (on 60) down to highway 16 (I'd travelled on the northern part of 16 yesterday). That was an exceptional ride. Having said that, there was absolutely nowhere to stop to take pictures on that road.
	Once I reached Fayetteville, WV, and turned onto 19 to cross the New River Gorge Bridge, nothing was going to stop me from taking pictures of it. I'm not alone in this regard. so there's actually a scenic lookout on the east side of the river to get a good look at the bridge. Here I'm walking down the path which led to 176 steps down to a viewpoint.
	Halfway down the stairs, I could already see the bridge, but as you can see, it was pretty much shrouded in clouds at the time.
	As I went further down the stairs, the clouds didn't interfere as much with my view!
	Here's the New River Gorge that the bridge spans.
	Here's a "normal" sized bridge over the river.
	And here's a good view of the "super" sized bridge. Chuck Yeager, Rumour had it that Chuck Yeager, a West Virginia native who was also the first man to break the speed of sound in a jet, flew a jet under it. That's just a rumour BUT if you read this story, you'll discover Yeager DID buzz under a bridge... just decades earlier, under another bridge (South Side Bridge, Charleston, WV) and with a MUCH SCARIER amount (lack) of clearance. Had he flown under THIS bridge, it would have been a piece of cake.
	Another view from the lookout.
	Soooo... here's an interesting fact... going down I counted 176 stairs. Climbing up, 178. Hmmm. Could it be the lack of effort going down vs up that caused this discrepancy?
	When I started out from the motel in the morning, these people had also been. Laurie, Jeff, Carla, and Ted had been on the same basic route as I had been. I met up with them here at a gas station in Rainelle, WV. I took off before them but...
	... a stop at this logging yard allowed their two bikes to catch up.
	The photo op was too strong and after all, it wasn't a race! We saw one another on I-64 into Lewisburg, WV, but I turned north towards the Monongahela National Forest when they turned south into Lewisburg. I'm sure they enjoyed all the twists and turns that highway 60 offered as much as I did.
	Of all the roads I travelled on during this trip, 219 may be my favourite. Sweeping curves leading into a mountain climb with twisty turns... and then back to sweepers. And the scenery?? LUSCIOUS!!
	Rolling hills, wildflowers, farms, forests... everyth, ponds, rivers... everything you could ask for on one road.
	I stopped in Marlinton for lunch. Highway 39's bridge dead ends into 219. The bridge crosses the Greenbrier River.
	You can certainly see why "Green" is part of the river's name.
	Remember that the sun kept playing "peek-a-boo" that day and the green was STILL intense.
	Over the bridge, there was a restaurant/inn. I was told the restaurant was top notch and who wouldn't want to stay over in such a peaceful and beautiful spot?
	I wasn't the only one who liked this river!
	It was around now that I realized something. Often, when on a road trip, my pictures start to focus in on a particular thing... hmmm... what was capturing my interest most during this trip? Hint: It starts with old and ends with barn! whatever! Look at the wood under the roof's overhang! That wood is nowhere near as weathered as the rest!
	In Pocahontas County, there's a real find on the highway... Sharp's Country Store, Sharp Farm, Sharp B&B... you get the idea.
	Looking out from the front of the General Store.
	Looking for unusual antique items?
	The Sharps have a real sense of humour, I'm thinking.
	They also had the requisite quilt painting on their barn.
	"Antique" buildings for antique carts.
	Fun statue adding to the fun decor...
	... in case you missed it in the other picture.
	They even built their own covered "kissing" bridge (Bridges don't talk, you know!).
	When I got to Huttonville, WV, I turned onto US250 to travel to Virginia. I stopped on the bridge just out of town to take a picture of the Tygart Valley River...
	... a neat barn on the south side of the road...
	... and a pristine farm in the distance.
	A good place to rest and take in some of the surroundings... the bridge over Shavers Fork on US250. It's in Cheat Bridge County.
	I stopped in Durbin, WV, to take pictures at the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad. Neat caboose... wonder what the other machinery is for (someone is laughing at me right now).
	Locomotive is pretty cool, too. My Uncle Frank was an engineer for CP rail and although I had the chance to, I never took a ride in the locomotive. I regret that I didn't.
	US250 was similar to 219. You'd sweep along for several miles then you'd twist and turn to climb a mountain then go back down the other side. In between, there were beautiful valleys like this one.
	Farms would be tucked neatly into these valleys.
	After all the twists and turns, my shoulders were getting a bit tight so I stopped in Monterey, VA, to have a cup of coffee and relax for a bit. There I met Cheryl. She's half Irish and half Native American and she farmed her family land since she was young. She is alone now (an only child I think she said) but enjoys the company of all her "critters". Evidently she feeds many of the wild animals that visit her farm so there are always an abundance of deer and raccoon to keep her amused. She was a really nice lady. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat.
	Although it had looked as if the twists and turns were pretty well over, there was one FUN set just after Monterey. I stopped briefly in the valley that followed to take these pictures and loosen my shoulders up.
	Great porch. Couldn't you just imagine sitting outside on a nice summer night, breathing in the fresh air?
	My motel in Staunton, VA, was TOTALLy on the outskirts of town. I had to ride into Staunton to find dinner. Harder than you think to "find food"! I ended up at a Taco Bell and there I met Katrina and Charles. He rides and she is his passenger and they had JUST come back from a ride of their own. They'd ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway... something I was going to do the very next day. They gave me some suggestions and warned me about a bit of rough road near the front end of the Parkway. Nice people... thanks to you both for your good advice!
	Route: I-64 to Chelyan, WV US60 to 16 16 to Fayetteville, WV US19 to US60 US60 to I-64 I-64 to Lewisburg, WV US219 to Huttonsville, WV US250 to Staunton, VA 262 to Staunton, WV motel Next Back to Main Page