10-Nov-2023 New River Gorge National Park

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday temperatures were in the low 70s and I was hiking in a T-shirt – even when a few sun showers went by. Today I woke up to drizzle and 42°. It was cold and raw. Decided to take advantage of the bad weather and not go back into Shenandoah to hike but rather to push forward and go to new River Gorge national Park in West Virginia. Had a slow morning and enjoyed editing down the Marie of pictures I have already taken and hit the road around 11:30 AM. Got to new river around 3 PM. The ride was eye-opening – first I went through some super poor and rural areas (unincorporated towns) of West Virginia and then through some incredibly curvy and winding roads up through the mountains. One of the main features at this national park is that it has the largest arched bridge in the western hemisphere which spans a 1700 foot gorge. I enjoyed checking out the bridge from the visitor center and taking a staircase down 178 steps to another viewing platform. And then downloaded an audio guide which narrated as you drove down one side of the gorge, crossed the river at the bottom and then wound your way back up – the way people used to do it before the bridge was built in 1977. Planning on spending a full day tomorrow in this (the newest) National Park.

Pictures really don't do it justice how deep this gorge is! River base to road level is 1 Washington monument, 2 statues of liberty and 20 extra feet tall.