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Things to do in West Virginia
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New River Gorge Bridge
This steel arch bridge was at the
time of its construction was the longest bridge in the world,
spanning over 3030 feet across the gorge above the New River in
Fayetteville, West Virginia. It sits over the river 876 feet,
with the arch extending 1700 feet. Over 16,000 vehicles pass
over its immense expanse on US Highway 19, and it is the highest
vehicular bridge in the North American continent and the second
highest in the world. When the Millau Viaduct opened in France
in 2004, it became the second highest. The bridge was started in
1974, and finished in 1977, costing $37 million and made from
COR-TEN steel, cutting the travel time from one side to the
other from 45 minutes to 45 seconds. It has become a very
popular place, especially among bridge jumpers, and on Bridge
Day, traffic is not allowed. The yearly festival includes base
jumping, ascending and rappelling, but not bungee jumping since
the accident in 1993. It is held every October on the third
Saturday of the month and it is an amazing sight that brings
jumpers and visitors here to watch or jump. The bridge sits in
the New River Gorge National River and the park service has a
visitor center at the northern side of the bridge with a
fantastic overlook and a magnificent stair way that leads down
into the gorge. The bridge is 70 feet wide and 88 million pounds
of steel and cement were used in its construction. The Fayette
Station Road, or Gentry Road crossed over the gorge in 1909 with
a small bridge that was called the Tunney Hunsacker Bridge and
it was a engineering feat for its time. In the 1960s, Route 19,
or more commonly known as Corridor L had been in construction
when it came to the huge expanse over the gorge. The highway had
to go across the gorge somehow, but no one was quite sure. The
New River Gorge Bridge was the answer and the rest is history;
and the state of West Virginia has a new symbol for its people.
As you can see by the picture to the right that this bridge is
certainly a marvelous creation, and just imagine the spectacular
views and panoramic vistas that you could see if you could stop
for a moment and just enjoy. Unfortunately, the only time that
can happen is on Bridge Day, or to stop at either end and look
for a way to get down a bit into the gorge to see all the
fantastic sights. It is a beautiful area, and in the morning or
sunset, the vision is absolutely gorge-ous.
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Midland Trail
The Midland Trail is part of
the National Scenic Byway that follows US 60 into southern West
Virginia from Charleston and Sam Black Church, an unincorporated
part of West Virginia, where the Methodist Church called Sam
Black is located. Rev. Samuel Black was the circuit preacher in
the turn of the century era and the church was built in 1902.
This trail is part of the transcontinental Midland Trail, which
is also called the Roosevelt Midland Trail that goes from
Washington D. C. all the way to Los Angeles, California. The
trail travels across some of the most rigorous terrain in the
state, over a hundred miles going from White Sulphur Springs to
Charleston in the west. This trail was thought to have been
carved out of the mountains by buffalo and Native Americans, and
George Washington had it cleared further in 1790. It was used by
troops and stage coaches in the Civil War, and by 1988 it was
heavily used by commercial vehicles; especially those carrying
coal and timber. When the interstate 64 was finished that year,
it wound up costing $300 million since it had to go through
difficult regions of mountainous terrain; the most expensive
section of the interstate in the nation. It is quite a bit
shorter than taking the interstate plus sections of the West
Virginia Turnpike, however, the time to travel that shorter
distance actually ends up taking longer because of its route.
Now the trail is used by local commuters and those that have a
big distain of the turnpike and are called shunpikers. Going
through the Kanawha River Valley and the plateau above, there
are numerous small towns and sites that sit on its route. These
include; the Babcock State Park, Sam Black Church, Gauley Bridge
and the nearby Cathedral Falls, Camp Washington Carver,
Rainelle, the New River Gorge National River, Glen Ferris that
is near the falls of Kanawha River, and Hawk's Nest that has the
most magnificent views of the New River, the Hawk's Nest State
Park and an aerial tram that goes to the canyon.
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Lost World Caverns
The caverns are found a
little distance from Lewisburg, West Virginia, and are a natural
underground array of caves. They were made a National Natural
Landmark in 1973, since they highlighted many spectacular
examples of waterfalls, flowstone, terraced pedestal-like
stalagmites, rimstone and domepits. It was called Grapevine Cave
and the entrance is such a big vertical drop that farmers would
throw old carcasses and trash down into it. Virginia
Polytechnical Institute uncovered the cave in 1942, and was
surveyed in the 1960s. They discovered that it had over a mile
of connected passages and tunnels that went down over 235 feet
and in 1967, a prehistoric cave bear's skeleton was found.
During the early part of the 1970s, an entrance that could be
walked was created, trash and other debris removed, and walkways
were constructed for visitors when the cave opened in that
period. A gift shop and better walkways were done in 1981 and
lighting was installed so that algae growth was stopped and the
entire cave was cleaned up for tourists. The walking tour is a
marvelous journey into the depths of the earth, with a huge
chamber that measures 120 feet high, 1000 feet long and 300 feet
wide; and the magnificent formations that exist there include
the Castle, Goliath, Bridal Veil, Ice Cream Wall, Snowy
Chandelier and the most famous of all, the War Club that made it
into the Guinness Book of World Records by Bob Addis, who sat on
top of the 28 foot club for 16 days. They have a more rugged
tour that is called fairly wild that heads to the remote areas
of the caverns and has more incredible sights like the Hall of
the Mountain King, Angel's Roost, Glitter Pits and Birth Canal.
A bizarre story appeared in the Weekly World News in 1992, that
the FBI had apprehended a "bat boy" that had stayed alive by
eating his weight in live insects each day. The black and white
newspaper has since been closed, although there are stories in
Florida, where it was printed, that it may be on the way to a
great comeback.
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