Valentine's Day Gift — Life Downstream

I can be tough to please on Valentine's Day, I don’t like chocolate very much nor do I like things that sit on my shelf without serving a purpose, although I do like cards! But this left Chris a little high and dry on our very first Valentine’s Day in 2009. Luckily it was an unseasonably warm day in West Virginia so, rather than celebrate the day with manufactured goods, we were able to make do with an experience. We were headed for the New River Gorge Bridge!

We packed a picnic for the event and headed out on the West Virginia Turnpike! Never being too fond of interstate highways when the goal is pleasure, I escaped at the first opportunity and we found ourselves in Scarbro, WV home of the Whipple Company Store.

We didn’t stop in for a tour at the company store, but this was the first coal company store I'd ever seen in my life. Since our drive-by we’ve been told time and time again that the tour is a must. Therefore it is on the list of things to do when we’re in that area (along with the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine). We accepted the company store as a sign of good fortune and we continued our way toward the bridge. Coming from the south, we had to cross over the bridge before we could get to the visitors center or on Fayette Station Road. It never ceases to amaze me how little you realize is below you when you cross the bridge.

The Canyon Rim Visitor Center sits past the north end of the bridge and for most people the exhibits and vista point can sate their interest in the bridge. But I’m in civil engineering. There is no substitute for taking a closer look. After a quick visit to the exhibits at the visitor’s center, we began our descent on Fayette Station Road, the road that will take you to the bottom of the gorge, the way you had to travel prior to 1977.

Just a woman and her bridge (New River Gorge Bridge, 2009)

Once at the bottom of the gorge, I parked the car and we made our way through the branches and across the pebbles on the beach to the riverside with our picnic. About 20 feet into the water we spotted a huge boulder and decided it would be the perfect place to eat. So we carefully stepped from stone to stone to get to this large boulder (or little island, depending on how you look at it). The food was delicious, I’m sure of it, but the view was incredible. Perhaps most interesting was seeing this sight through the eyes of a native West Virginian, who had never previously had the opportunity to look at the bridge and the wondrous landscape below it.

Perfect place for a picnic on the New River

Every time you visit a location, you have the opportunity to see it through a different lens. No two visits somewhere are exactly the same. This experience worked out quite well, Chris and I are still together.