Tuesday, 9 April 2019
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| today's route |
Thick low clouds again early. When the highway went above the clouds, that's when the outside mirrors started clouding up. Fortunately today wasn't the complete fogging I had a couple of days ago.
I've noticed signs along the interstates that say West Virginia Turnpike Emergency D Detour. Or A Detour. Or C Detour. And no other explanation. So I finally looked it up. Turns out there was a really bad snowstorm in 2009 and a whole bunch of people were stranded along the interstate for up to 20 hours. So WV came up with a plan to reroute traffic in the event of another highway-stopping emergency, and these signs are part of it. If I lived around here, I'd probably know where the detour on my usual routes went. There are 5 of them spread out along the turnpike.
My driving route today passed by Fayetteville, ranked as one of the 10 Coolest Small Towns in America. This website explains why. www.onlyinyourstate.com/west-virginia
New River Gorge Bridge
I was on my way to the New River Gorge Bridge. Remember I said the other day that this is one bridge I'd never drive across? The gods must have been laughing their heads off. Turns out I'd misunderstood two things: (1) this bridge is part of a major thoroughfare and not some curio; (2) the visitor center is on the east side of the bridge, not the west as I'd thought.
So there I was, driving innocently along, following the highway signs for the visitor center, when I suddenly realized that sign I'd just read seemed to indicate I was actually going across the bridge right at that moment. I didn't dare look down to be sure, but it was a bridge, and the next right turn was for the visitor center, so I knew I was doing the unthinkable. And yet I lived to tell the story.
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| closer to what I saw while crossing |
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| this is the bridge |
Built in 1977 with an arch of 1,700', for a long time after it was built it was the world's longest single-span bridge; it's still the world's 4th longest.
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| ... about how the bridge was built |
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| these graphics give information ... |
The bridge is the 3rd highest in the US at 876' above the New River, which isn't new at all but instead one of the world's oldest. It's even older than the Appalachian Mountains it runs through. A park ranger told me it begins in North Carolina and farther along from here is joined by the Gauley River, when the combined flow becomes the Kanawha River, which flows into the Ohio River. (There's a lot of rivers around here.)
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| the New River in its gorge |
You might be able to see the whitewater where the river is winding out of sight in the distance. There are whitewater rafting companies making a decent living because of that characteristic.
And you might vaguely be able to see the railroad track running along the right side of the river. It was originally put in because coal was found here, and mining towns mushroomed like those in the gold fields of California. The mines are all closed now, but two railroad companies still run daily trains along those tracks.
There was also logging in this area, so men and their families lived in communities dotted all over. There were no roads here, though, and people used to walk the railroad tracks to get someplace.
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| these looked like violets to me |
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| the whole hillside was covered with rhododendrons |
Rhododendrons are West Virginia's state flower. All the plants I saw were covered in buds and I'm really sorry I won't be here when they bloom.
I walked the dogs for a bit in the general area and encountered a man who looked askance at both of them, which surprised me. I reassured him that they were friendly, and he said, still looking worried, that he was terrified of all dogs. As many dogs are there are in the world - and especially in our country - these days, I think that's a fear I'd get professional help with.
Along the various highways I've seen signs indicating that area has been seeded with wildflowers in honor or memory of someone. And again I'm sorry I won't be here to see the wildflowers bloom.
Route 19 is designated part of the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System. Remember I said a week or so ago I figured there'd be lots of Sen. Byrd honors around the state? There are. I see them everywhere.
Another section of the road is named for Hank Williams, Sr., which seemed surprising so I looked it up and found another oddball story. www.roadsideamerica.com
I passed an old apartment buildingwhere the old apartments are surprisingly being repurposed as storage units. I guess it makes sense.
I passed a billboard saying, "Be Prepared - Revolution Tactical." The company's website says they sell tactical gear and weaponry. But "be prepared?" For what? Just personal safety or a "revolution?" Seemed a little creepy.
King Tut Drive-In
Turns out a slaw dog is a chili dog with mustard and coleslaw on it. Pretty simple. Tastes pretty good too, though I doubt if I'll try it at home right away. I think both the chili dog and the slaw might taste better served separated, but that may be just a personal opinion. Can't fault the price, though - $2.75, I think it was.
The drive-in is very old and is really a drive-in with servers who come to your car to take your order. I had to park way over to the side, so as not to get stuck under their roof. Then I had to back out into the street when it was time to leave - the cars can pull forward and just barely squeeze by in the space in front, but obviously not an option for me.
Along the way, I passed a sign for Mary Jane Church. It didn't sound like this was a woman with the last name of church so I looked it up, and all I could find is that it's a church in Summers County in southeast WV. Surely not anything to do with marijuana?
I passed a woman who was just finishing decorating her very large front yard for Easter, and it would knock your socks off. She had a big green lawn covered with Easter rabbits and other bunnies and chickens and colored eggs - dozens of things - very festive-looking.
I passed through Hinton, which seemed to be the largest of the small towns in this area. It's on the national register for its historic district, but the town seems to have lost its life. I drove past multiple young adults - men and women - who were just sitting around or pushing baby strollers or doing something at the local elementary school (though I couldn't see any kids). I wouldn't think they all work the night shift, so I don't know why so many of them weren't at work.
The page online about the historic district says the town fell into economic decline during the latter part of the 20th century, but the town's trying to reinvent itself. It's selling history and outdoors activities for tourists, apparently, but I didn't see any tourist glitz at all. Got a ways to go, I guess. Maybe they just need to find a funding source.
This road, Route 3, is your basic West Virginia local roadway - all up and down hill and s-curve after s-curve. Dexter doesn't like s-curves because he often sits up on the passenger seat and doesn't have any way to keep his balance when we go around those curves. Gracie's much better off because she lies on one of the beds all the time.
The rock along the road in this area is pink. I had plenty of opportunity to see this because much of the road is carved between a mass of rock on one side of the road and a steep drop on the other side.
John Henry Memorial
The directions online were sketchy, to say the very least, but it turned out to be easy to find because the signs were obvious.
I'm very sorry to say that at this point my camera stopped taking anything but fuzzy photos.
There are a number of plaques, none of which is legible in my photos, that talk about John Henry in reality, in literature, in mythology, and in burial. Without my cheat sheets, I can't tell you any specific information about his place in history any more clearly than this wikipedia page does. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(folklore) Given the controversy over various bits and pieces, this was a surprisingly moving memorial.
I decided to take the interstate back to get to my new campground, rather than drive over that road again, but it turned out there wasn't a lot of difference. Well, the interstate is much wider, but otherwise . . . . I passed a sign saying I'd topped Sandstone Mountain, elevation 2,765'. When I looked the mountain up, I found other people think these roads are a little tricky, too. www.crashforensics.com/sandstonemountain
Actually, having just driven on Route 3, I didn't think the interstate was as bad as they make it sound on that webpage. And Route 3 isn't a problem either - it just takes so long to get anywhere because I can't go very fast on those curves and hills, and the actual driving takes concentration. I think sometimes about driving these roads in the cars people had back in the '40s and '50s - the big heavy ones with no automatic transmission or power brakes or power steering - those.
I think I've gotten inured to these roads because I had no problem with the one leading to the campground. I'd seen online comments where everyone was talking about the hair-raising approach to the campground, such that I almost didn't want to stay here. But when it came to it, I was already in the campground before I realized I hadn't noticed any problem. I'm guessing none of those folks has driven on Route 3 - either the part of it in southeastern WV or the part of it I drove on southeast of Huntington/southwest of Charleston. Their loss. My growing experience.
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