New River, West Virginia

State #49 West Virginia. August 10-19, 2019 (9days)

Country roads, take me home To the Place I belong West Virginia mountain mama, take me home, country roads…

This is actually the last state all of us have never been too. We will finish up on this adventure in Tennessee but we have all been to Tennessee before.

We stayed at Summersville Lake RV retreat in Mount Nebo, WV. Beautiful quiet place with a view of the New River. The new River Gorge is sometimes referred to as the Grand Canyon of the East. Despite it’s name, it’s considered one of the oldest rivers in the world.

Saturday we drove 5 hours from KY and just hung out at the camp ground. There was a playground and an outdoor ping pong table. The weather was perfect here all week!

Nature’s Own Thrill Ride

Sunday we reserved an all day white water rafting trip for Abby’s 13th Family Birthday activity. We chose New and Gauley River Adventures. We arrived at 9:00am and were off the river by 3:00pm. We had a blast! The water temperature was perfect and our guide was great. During the slow parts we jumped out of the raft and floated down the river on our backs. We stopped at a beach area and they set up lunch for us to enjoy while resting. Our raft never flipped and I owe that to a great guide and everyone on the raft doing their jobs.

These two rivers are known for amazing whitewater rafting. We did Class IV and V rapids!

We stopped and climbed at Jump Rock (as they call it) and plunged 20 feet. Scary but awesome!!

Monday through Thursday we did full days of school and work. Not all classrooms have walls, the playground and the canoe planter for example.

The girls made Mallow melt again. Abby’s favorite dessert.

There is a cool lighthouse on the property with great views of the river. You can climb to the top. We had fun playing ‘tag at ten’ around the lighthouse under the full moon.

Friday while Chris headed over to Greenbrier golf course we headed to the New River Gorge Vistors Center.

New River Gorge National River

At the time we went, it was a National River, established in 1978. New River Gorge National River was redesignated as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve this year (2021 as I’m writing this). The park encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along 53 miles of the New River from Bluestone Dam to Hawk’s Nest Lake. A rugged, whitewater river flowing northward through deep and spectacular canyons, the New River is actually among the oldest rivers on Earth. Here in southern West Virginia, the New River has carved and continues to carve the deepest and longest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains.

I’m on love with bridges, especially this one, the Gauley River Bridge. The girls earned their junior ranger badges.