7/24/16,
“The Three Rivers”
Hinton, West
Virginia (Bluestone State Park)
The day
today consisted almost entirely of visiting the three rivers in southern West
Virginia. The three rivers (New River,
Gauley River, and Bluestone River) represented three different National Park
Service units, and they had four Visitor Centers, each with their own
stamp. That was our goal, to see each of
the three rivers and collect all four stamps.
We did it, but not without difficulty and adversity, a lost expensive
lighter (not found), a broken cell phone (fixed), and a lost wallet (recovered)
chief among them. It, along with our
stop at the State Capitol building this morning, was what it took for me to
say, “West Virginia Complete”, and I said it. We will soon be going to the famous, historic Greenbrier for dinner, but
most of what we did today about natural, scenic beauty. Here, in front of the Bluestone River is
where my quest came to an end.
After I
closed last night, I was pleased to learn we would only need to do three hours
of driving to get to this spot. It would
be an easy day, so we slept in. I don’t
use an alarm clock to sleep, so I had become the group’s alarm clock. I woke us up at 8:45 AM, and we got ready
before heading down for breakfast. It
was the traditional fare, and I had coffee, an omelet, and some sliced
sausage. It was good but nothing
special.
After breakfast, we hit the
road, going straight to the State Capitol, where Stu and I took a ceremonial
picture. From there, we drove to the
first VC: Canyon Rim. That was where I
learned the details about the three rivers.
The four VCs were all part of New River Gorge NR. Gauley River NRA was to the north of this one
and Bluestone NR to the south of the southernmost VC. We would actually thereby need to make six
stops, not four.
Canyon Rim was the main
VC, and it had brochures for all three rivers, along with stamps except for
Bluestone NR. We would need to get that
stamp at the southernmost VC: Sandstone.
Canyon Rim had a nice overlook of the gorge, so I lit up a Padron
Damaso, and we took some pictures there.
I have had no cell data service all day, so I was on Wi-Fi only, which
meant only the VCs for the most part.
We
then drove up to a place where we could access Gauley River, so that marked our
second river, where I finished my cigar.
Meanwhile, my phone had stopped charging, so I was being very careful to
make sure I could preserve my battery until I got home and could fix it. Also, my left wallet pocket had torn open, so
I needed to use my right rear pocket. We
took our ceremonial pictures at Gauley River NRA and then went back to the VC
to post it.
Next stop was Thurmond Depot
VC, which was literally located inside an Amtrak station. I was told that there would be a train coming
that would take me back to New York if I wanted, with no connections. I was shocked. I got my stamp there, and we took some
ceremonial pictures at the tracks. That
was actually the most interesting site of the day.
From there, it was the appropriately named
Grandview Ranger Station. We continued
along winding roads and got lost along the way.
We stopped at a rest plaza for lunch and some West Virginia
souvenirs. It was around 3 PM, and we
only had two more VCs to hit up. After
the rest plaza, we soon found our way to Grandview, and I lit up a Las
Calaveras. We walked to the grand view
spot, and it was the most stunning vista of the trip so far. I took some ceremonial pictures and some
regular pictures to use as profile pictures on dating websites and such.
Afterwards, we headed back to the car, and I
let the cigar go out by whizzing around the parking lot with the cigar sticking
out the window. We drove from there to
Sandstone VC, arriving about 15 minutes before they closed. It was perfect timing, and we got our last
stamps. I was quite pleased with myself. The lookout for Sandstone Falls was a little
more down the road, and I finished my cigar there. I was quite pleased with myself.
That just left Bluestone River NR. We continued even further down the road to
the State Park VC, which was actually opened until 8 PM and had Wi-Fi, so that
was a boon. They even had a stamp, not
an NPS stamp, but, still, a stamp. I
bought some souvenirs and paid with my debit card. I then wanted to fill my water bottle, so I
looked for a water fountain. There was
none, just a vending machine. I went
back inside to the VC and asked if they had water. She asked if I said wallet.
Wait, what.
Wait, where was my wallet? I had
put it back in my torn left pocket, and it had fallen out. They had it.
Phew. I used the vending machine
to refill my water bottle, and we headed down to the river. We found a beautiful overlook of the river,
so we parked there, and I got out of the car.
I lit up a Punch and stepped in the river to take my ceremonial
picture. “West Virginia Complete. All three rivers complete,” I announced,
quite pleased with myself. Since Stu
would not let me finish the cigar on the road, I figured I might as well write
my entry. I grabbed my laptop and sat
down in front of the river, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will
now close so that we can make our way back home.
En route,
I-81 N, Virginia (“The Return Journey”)
Well, our
journey comes to an end, or, at least, it will be in six hours when we arrive
in NYC. The GPS notes an arrival time at
our friend’s apartment of 4:30 AM. My
drop-off will be shortly after that. I
hope to get three hours of sleep in the car and then another three hours at
home. It has been an adventurous trip,
but, now, all that remains is the return journey. This has been just another chapter in Stu and
Steve’s excellent adventures, West Virginia perfectly fitting into our list of
random places we have visited. We even
got another State Capitol Building into the mix for our collection.
Stu spent most of the day complaining about
how he didn’t enjoy these sites. I spent
very little time yesterday complaining about which amusement parks I did not
enjoy. Seeing the National Park Sites
today was not for him. This was the
trade we made, his amusement parks for my National Park Sites, the same trade
we have made five years in a row now. He
seemed to forget that arrangement once he we left the amusement park
yesterday.
This region of the country
had no special charm to it, nothing special or new that I hadn’t seen before,
just a nice trip to the heartland. I was
glad to have been able to say “West Virginia Complete,” and the dinners the
past two nights were a particular treat, dinner tonight being an unexpected and
very welcome addition to the agenda. In
fact, that is the only thing I really have left to record before I closed out
the trip.
After I closed at the river, I
ditched my cigar, and we headed back up to the parking lot. I connected to the Wi-Fi there and posted everything
to social media. We would be having
dinner at The Greenbrier. When I looked
at the National Historic Landmark list for West Virginia, they only had 13 of
them. The only one I even considered
wanting to add to the agenda was The Greenbrier. Imagine my surprise when it was recommended
to us that we stop there for dinner and that not only was it on the way back to
New York but that we would be able to get there in time for a sunlit photo out
front. We arrived at the hotel, passing
through security and the valet, by 8 PM.
It was as iconic as I would have expected, and it was as ritzy inside as
imaginable. It seemed very much the kind
of place I would expect Donald Trump to stay.
There was a golf course out back, but we did not have time to even see
that. We took some pictures out front
and then headed downstairs to their casual restaurant. It was at this time that the reality of our
arrival time back in NYC (between 3 AM and 6 AM depending on a few factors)
started to kick in, and tempers flared.
Once Stu calmed down, we sat down for dinner.
I opted for one of their burgers combos,
which came with fries and a pistachio shake.
My burger was topped with their famous fried green tomatoes, along with
bacon, cheese, lettuce, and onions. I
got a beer to start off with, a Budweiser of course, nothing more iconic than
that. The meal was delicious, every
single bite. I ate the whole burger, not
modifying it like I usually (no lettuce, no bun), but it was just so good. It was the first real sit down meal we had at
something that wasn’t a diner, dive, and drive-in. I still think dinner last night at the
drive-in was the best meal of the trip, but this was a close second.
After dinner, we headed up, and I got an
overpriced keychain at the gift shop. We
stopped for snacks and gas before we got on the Interstate, taking way too long
for that process. From there, it would
be a 7-hour drive back to NYC, and we would not stop for anything other than
gas or bathroom breaks. Stu would be making
the whole drive, since I drove all day today and most of yesterday. He is not happy that it will be 6 AM by the
time he gets back to Brooklyn.
The
Greenbrier was right at the West Virginia border with Virginia, so we almost
immediately entered Virginia. An hour
later, we were heading north on I-81, where I proceeded to write this entry,
which I will now close, along with closing out this trip, so that I can publish
and take a bit of a nap. Next stop: Rio
for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad!
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