Day 1 Humpback Bridge, The Greenbriar and New River Gorge National Park

 

After over a year of sitting on the side lines the crew was ready to co-pilot me to another wonderful adventure. We grabbed breakfast said good bye to Erin and then the puppy and it was out into the wild.

Our first stop would be in Covington, VA. In 1857 this covered bridge was built and is the oldest remaining covered bridge in Virginia. Even more interesting is it what is called a Humpback Bridge and is one of the few remaining bridges that was built that way that is still standing in the United States. The bridge runs over Dunlap Creek.

Interesting side note about this bridge is that it is part of the LOVEwork initiative in Virginia. 

Each letter in the word LOVE was constructed from items in the area. The L is historic bricks from the area. The O is a gear from a retired paper machine at MeadWestvaco. The V is from the tree and the E is from railroad ties showing thing significance of the railroad to the area.

After that stop off on the road we went. Funny story here and no picture. I passed an old open back Military Humvee. The owner had decked this thing out with a giant black plastic rat attached to his drivers side mirror. On his hood was some sort of skeletal animal. Halloween prop. It is possible it was suppose to be the rest of what was attached to his front. A FULL SIZE ANTLERS AND ALL DEER HEAD. Gotta love West Virginia. 

Next stop was a walk around some of the grounds of the The Greenbriar in White Sulfur Springs. The reason for this stop is I have died hundreds of times on the hallowed grounds of this place in the game Fallout 76. Are you surprised? This is called Wandering Dorks?

Other than being a death trap in a video game The Greenbriar is quite famous actually. Originally built in 1858 it was later rebuilt in 1913 and by the late 30's the main building had doubled in size as they lived up to their status as the best resort in the south. Hiding underneath all this luxury though is one of the coolest things. I did not have time to do the tour but beneath the Greenbriar lies Project Greek Island. A massive bunker complex built during the Cold War to house Congress in case of WWIII.  Other cool tidbits about the Greenbriar include the fact that 28 Presidents have stayed here. It is currently owned by the sitting Governor of West Virginia Jim Justice. 

After that it was back on the road to the first National Park on this trip, New River Gorge. So side story, Susan, who you may remember from previous adventures (she is my garmin) is out of commission. So I am using Google Maps as my navigator. It was taking me to the trailhead I wanted to hike, the Endless Wall Trail. But neither trailhead I passed said Endless Wall. So I went to the visitor center. Where I promptly learned that both trailheads for the Endless Wall are not called Endless Wall.

So before we get back to Endless Wall, grabbed some goodies and took the stairs boardwalk thing to Canyon Rim Overlook. What a view. Damn it was hot. And lots of stairs.

Facts and figures time. The New River Gorge Bridge is 876 feel high making it the third highest bridge in the United States. I have now been on the #3 and #4 highest bridges. Golden Gate is #4. 

From here I drove back to Endless Wall Trail. This was a fun hike. Most people go from one trailhead to the center, Diamond Point Overlook and turn back. I am not most people. I went from one trail head to the other trail head and back. Looking back on this decision I should have just walked up the road for a half mile. Instead I turned it into an awesome 5 plus mile hike I believe. My GPS cut out a lot so have no clue exact miles.

So in another fun side story on the walk back I was rolling along and the last girl in a group of four people looked amazingly like my old neighbor Amy Woody! Was it here I dont know? Maybe. 

Sorry here are the pictures and enjoy!!

 

To close out the day checked into what on the outside looked like a disaster but inside was amazing! Then promptly failed on two different places to eat before settling on Elliot's Whitewater Bar and Grill. Enjoyed a Mountain Mamma pale ale and a Mountaineer Burger!

See y'all tomorrow. 

Below are links to the pictures above and more.