September 19, 2013

September 19, 2013

From the Ohio River, we traveled along the Kanawha River into the heart of West Virginia. Near the capital Charleston, we stopped so Aimee could spend the morning sitting at McDonalds. At noon we continued following the river upstream. It was very slow going. Situated in the middle of the steep-sided Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia cities are long and thin crowding the narrow riverbanks. There is barely room for a two-lane winding road and a rail line, let alone houses and businesses too.

Eventually we make it to the Visitor Center for New River Gorge National River. Here the Kanawha changes to the New River. Apparently an early surveyor seeing the river flow into an impassable gorge temporarily marked it as "new" on a map. Unfortunately it stuck. The name is also ironic since it is very possible the New River is actually the oldest in North America. It is one of the few rivers that doesn’t originate in the mountains but cuts across them indicating it is far older than even the ancient Appalachians.

The Visitor Center sits next to the New River Gorge Bridge, the world’s longest single-arch span and the second highest in the US. We take a rainy walk out to a vista point. Today the river gorge looks pristine and forested (and shrouded in fog). A century ago it was the opposite; the river was almost completely lined with coalmines, houses, smoke, and roiling with labor strife. After the coal seams played out, Mother Nature quickly reclaimed the land.

From the New River we drive a half hour north to the Gauley River National Recreation Area. The Gauley is a tributary of the New. When water is released from the Summersville dam, the Gauley becomes a torrent and is a favorite of white water enthusiasts. I got invited to raft it when I was younger and chickened out when I read how dangerous it can be. Older and wiser, we are again passing on the opportunity. Instead we watch the water shoot out from the dam and then spend the night along the lake above the dam. It is the exact opposite of the river; very peaceful and quiet.