West Virginia

8/12/26 - We arrived at another hilltop campground near Fayetteville, WV.

Another pretty, wooded spot. We'd frequently hear acorns dropping down onto the RV.

We spotted deer when we drove around at dusk looking for the bears (supposedly scavenging the campground's dumpster)

8/14/26 - We left for a 2-night stay near Parkersburg, WV, for another half marathon.

West Virginia is very hilly, with rivers/creeks far below the bridges we used

On the way, we stopped in Charleston to tour the capitol building. The state was formed when it broke from Virginia at the start of the Civil War.

The state has adopted John Denver's 1970s "Take Me Home, Country Roads" song which starts with "Almost heaven, West Virginia..."

We spent at least an hour visiting the state museum, also on the capitol grounds. Here, I'm looking at a 4000 pound block of famous WV coal!

Before leaving Charleston, we stopped for a "West Virginia hot dog": topped with chili sauce, mustard, onions, and their unique topping: creamy coleslaw. Very good!!

8/15/26 - We completed our West Virginia half marathon! 16 states left.

The course was quite interesting so time went by fairly quickly. Plus, we were motivated by pizza at the finish!!

8/16/26 - We drove back to the RV. We were VERY glad our RV park was on a hill since we saw lots of raging/swollen rivers and flooding from overnight storms.

On the way home, water coming down a hill and washing debris across the road

8/18/26 - We went white-water rafting on the New River (actually one of the oldest rivers in North America—and possibly older than the Appalachian Mountains it cuts through). Our guide was very knowledgeable about his job (and funny!) making the journey through Class III-V rapids very fun!

Near the end of our trip, we went under The New River Gorge Bridge. Built in 1977, it reduced the drive time across the river from 45 minutes to 1!

8/19/26 - We explored New River Gorge National Park. We stopped at the Visitor Center, the bridge overlook, and then went on two hikes.

The "Endless Wall" hike took us along the top of the gorge (formed by the river) and provided great views.

We also noticed this tree. Chatty confirmed it had most likely been hit by lightning to cause this narrow strip of bark to blow off from top to bottom!

Our other hike was to the Nuttallburg Mine Site. It harvested a 3.5-ft seam of coal from 1873 to 1958. The mine entrance in the background was 1) closed off (to allow bats in & out and keep people like Pat out!) and 2) blowing out 54F air which was a welcome respite from the mugginess.

We leave 8/21 and continue west into Kentucky, where we will be for 16 days. We are looking forward to seeing friends and family there!!