Our Journey : West Virginia

Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts

10/23/2023

October 16, 20233 Travel to Pigeon Forge

Today’s journey took us thru more of these beautiful West Virginia Mountains:

Colors are peaking here (and it is still raining!):

Lots of steep declines and inclines:

Thru the mountain:

Into Virginia:

WOW!

Then into Tennessee:

Check out those clouds:

Our first glimpse of the Smokies:

Into Pigeon Forge:

Once we left I-40, the traffic from the exchange to our park was bumper to bumper. Between the attractions and the traffic, it reminded me of being at the shore in July. LOL!

We have a few things planned plus a list of things to check out. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us.

We arrived at the Park, King’s Holly Heaven, set up and listened to the rain for the rest of the evening. Storm cloud

Stay tuned for our next adventure and enjoy today.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 272 Miles

Routes Traveled:

West Virginia: Lawn Road; Morris Branch Road; I-64; I-77

Virginia: I-77; I-81

Tennessee: I-81; I-40; US-441; US-321

October 15, 2023 New River Gorge

We woke to another cloudy, rainy day and decided to do a road trip to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

We took the back road up to the Gorge. The tree colors were beautiful but sadly, the camera did not pick them up.

And the mountains, oh my! We never explored this part of the country so I did not expect these beautiful mountains. There are only a few towns but lots of little settlements both on the mountains and in the “hollow/holler”.

Some pictures on our way to the Visitor Center:

Views from the Canyon Rim Visitor Center:

“Established in 1978, New River Gorge National River was redesignated as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in 2021. 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.

Hiking along the many park trails, rafting the river, or biking along an old railroad grade, the visitor will be confronted with spectacular scenery that certainly makes this place worthy of being included in our national park system. However, the significance of this place goes well beyond the beautiful scenery. When looking out from Grandview, Diamond Point, Long Point, or one of the many other viewpoints in the park, we are actually looking at a globally significant forest containing the most diverse flora of any river gorge in the south and central Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountain forests are some of the oldest and most diverse ecosystems in the world. Here in southern West Virginia, the New River has sliced through the mountains, creating a mosaic of habitats: unfragmented forest, cliff and rimrock habitats, forest seeps and wetlands, and mature bottomland forests. These habitats provide a refuge for endangered mammals and rare birds and amphibians, including the endangered Virginia big-eared bat and Indiana bat and the Allegheny woodrat, a species of special concern in West Virginia and in decline throughout the eastern United States. The waters of the New River system contain a mosaic of hydrologic features and aquatic habitats that support a highly productive aquatic ecosystem that includes distinct populations of native fish, mussels, crayfish, and a broad array of other aquatic life, including rare amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Looking out from the many fantastic viewpoints in the park will also provide a glimpse into the unique cultural history of the New River Gorge area that contributes to the significance of this place. From almost any viewpoint in the park one will see the railroad tracks that opened this rugged and isolated land to the outside world in 1872. From Grandview one will see the rail yards at Quinnimont, where coal was first shipped from the gorge, and the piers of an old bridge which once connected the timber towns of Hamlet and Glade. From Diamond Point hikers will gaze down at the ruins of Kaymoor, an early New River coal mining town. In addition to the coal mines and company towns found throughout the gorge are the old railroad depots, rail yards, rail grades, railroad equipment, and associated towns, like Thurmond, that were developed to support the railroad. Also contributing to the area's rich cultural history are surviving examples of subsistence farms, former community sites, homesteads, and other places in the park where the ancestors of families long associated with the New River lived and worked. Bits of coal along the tracks, rows of old decaying coke ovens, gaping mine openings in the hillsides, old rusted mine cars, and the gravestones of early pioneer families provide tangible reminders of the people who worked and lived here during the late 18th and 19th centuries, supplying the coal and lumber that helped fuel the industrialization of our nation.”

I had heard so much about the New River Gorge Bridge but I did not do my research on this park. There is so much history and places to see. (Sadly, we are only here for the day Sad smile )

The Bridge:

What an awesome sight:

One day a year, the bridge is shut down – Bridge Day. It is open for folks to walk across, catapult down, or jump off with a parachute. That day is 10/21/23 but sadly we will not be here. (I am writing this on 10/23 and a friend of ours, Rick, made it to Bridge Day. His pictures are awesome. Thanks Rick for sending them.)

From there we did the Lansing Auto Route that took us under the bridge and down into the Gorge.

It was awesome. They do walking tours on the metal walkways under the bridge. I would really like to do that!

Back on the road:

Crossing the New River:

And up the other side:

The park is 53 miles long! So much more to explore. We will be back!

What a lovely day.

Tomorrow we continue our journey south and west! Enjoy today.

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10/15/2023

October 14, 2023 The Bunker at the Greenbrier

The Greenbrier Hotel and Resort is located in White Sulfur Springs, WV. It has been around since the 1700s and started mainly because of the springs in the area. After December 7th, 1941, it became a place to keep the visiting dignitaries who were caught here when war was declared. It then became a hospital for our soldiers – over 24000 of them.

(Links below for more in depth history.)

When we arrived, we had to park across the street from the estate and were shuttled to the hotel.

It was MASSIVE.

From the outside – the first two are not my pictures:

The next are my pictures:

Beautiful landscaping:

Many porches all around:

And the inside, oh my:

This chandler was used in the movie, Gone With Wind – the last scene where she is walking up the Grand Staircase:

The lobby bar:

More sitting rooms:

One of the Grand Staircases:

The hallways with the rhododendron rug:

And this was only the lobby area. We walked by some of the banquet rooms and peeked in the doors – I was AWESTUCK!

The property is over 11000 acres and includes the resort hotel and all that goes with the hotel… horses and stables, shops to learn glass, silversmithing, etc., and so much more.

Here is a link to the resort: https://www.greenbrier.com/

The main reason we are here is to see the bunker.

In the late 50’s, a bunker was built for our Congress in the event of a nuclear bomb. This was a fallout shelter to support them for 40-60 days. This area was picked because it was felt that Washington DC might take a direct hit and White Sulfur Springs was outside of the blast zone. It was ready in 1962 and remained a secret and ready to go at a moment’s notice until 1992. Two federal employees blew the whistle on this secret, the Washington Post published the article revealing the bunker, and it was decommissioned.

For those 30 years, only a few people knew about this. The folks that were hired to maintain it, had to go thru background and security checks. It was maintained to be ready at a moment’s notice. Food, toiletries, clothing, bedding, etc. were rotated thru the hotel and replaced in the bunker.

I made reservations for the tour a few weeks ago (yes, this was also on my bucket list). Our tour guide met us in one of the rooms by the lobby bar. He gave a history of the Greenbrier property and hotel and what led up to the bunker build. From there we walked upstairs passed more banquet rooms to this area:

There is a moveable wall that conceals the door – 30 ton! It seals from the inside.

When we first walked in there was another banquet room that was always used for events. However, when the big “event” would happen, this door would be sealed and that big room would be set up with offices in order to keep the government running.

I do not have pictures because we could not take anything with us..

BUT..

Here are three great videos of the tour.

As you watch this - notice:

Beds – this was a dormitory not anything luxurious. Many of the dorms held 60+ people. Notice how much togetherness there would be.

The initial showers when they entered. Imagine, no clothes, blasting shower, then being handed 2 sets of military clothing and a toiletries bag.

This area was to house 1100 people for 40-60 days – Congress and their aids. The Presidential Bunker is not here.

The families of the Congress were housed in another area beneath the hotel. The families would not see their loved ones in the bunker.

It was built to preserve the government, not the individuals.

The main goal was to keep the government running in the event of a disaster.

As I said before, it was to be maintained ready. And it was for 30 years. Food, toiletries, clothing, bedding, etc. were rotated thru the hotel and replaced in the bunker.

Water, Sewage, and Electrical Systems are still in use by the hotel today.

Theory is there are over 1000 of these such places throughout the country. Hmmmm!!!

Here are the videos that can better describe and show you the bunker (since I could not take pictures):

The Bunker at the Greenbrier Tour

UFO Hunters: Secret Government Bunker Under Hotel

The Cold War Bunker Beneath the USA's Grandest Hotel (1996)

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There is a lot of information on the web. Here are some of the better sites if you would like to know more:

NUCLEAR SUPER BUNKER Hidden (Long one with lots of detail)

The Greenbrier Resort's Secret Cold War Bunker

https://www.npr.org/2011/03/26/134379296/the-secret-bunker-congress-never-used

https://ronnysalerno.com/queencitydiscovery/2018/01/charleston-greenbrier-resort-and-secret.html