The Dimming of the Day

Once we completed the Pocahontas County geochallenge for this year, we learned about another geochallenge happening in the area, the Route 39 Byway Challenge. Unfortunately, this series proved to be somewhat more disorganized than the Pocahontas County challenge. We had managed to find a few of the geocaches in this series (the first one, Jailhouse Blues, was entirely accidental), but one was entirely elusive and it turned us off of completing series. Several other experienced cachers had failed to ever log a find on the cache and the cache owner appeared to be oblivious on how to remedy the situation. 

What this drove home to us is the power of geocaching as a tourism tool. The promise of a cool, fun, well-curated geocaching tour lures cachers like us to an area. However, a poorly executed series rapidly leads to grumpiness. Other issues with this series included lacking a central place to get information on the trail, incomplete and inconsistent passport sheets to record the finds, multiple owners of the caches (which makes it difficult to find a list or contact owners online). Though probably the most egregious error was in creating a series commemorating Route 39 specifically, one of the caches required a 90 minute round trip deadhead south of the route to log one of the caches. But no one says you must complete all of the challenges, so we didn’t. We enjoyed the quick detour into Bath County, VA and once we became annoyed we changed strategies.

The original Jefferson Baths at Warm Springs, Virginia along Route 39

We headed north on U.S. Route 220. This is an utterly stunning drive in Virginia and West Virginia. It isn’t even too bad if you keep following it through Maryland and Pennsylvania. But we headed toward Seneca Rocks and right at dusk found ourselves at the New Germany Valley overlook. We got out of the car stretched our legs and took photographs (and logged an earthcache!).

Sitting on a guadrail with Germany Valley behind me, utterly breathtaking

Given the dimming of the day, we cruised down through Monkeytown and toward Elkins where we had dinner. The long days of late spring sometimes seem to have a disorienting effect on when it’s time to eat or even when it’s time to head toward home.

Bath County: Finding the Homestead

Outside of the immediate area, Virginia is often thought of synonymously with Washington, DC or, during the summertime, as having some excellent beaches on the Atlantic. But in the west-central part of the state is a unique place that takes guests into a time past. Bath County is one of relatively few on the east coast that has never been widely settled. Bath is a county without a single incorporated city or town nor a single traffic light. There are no scars of heavy industry nor has the population of this county ever topped 10,000. What Bath County does have is stunning natural beauty and phenomena, which has fueled it’s economy.

The Homestead Resort, a National Historical Landmark

The most notable landmark of Bath County is the Homestead Resort. The Homestead pre-dates the founding of the United States and in the hey-day of America’s “Grand Resorts,” few could compete with the service and the grandeur of this summer hideaway. The presence of natural springs, perceived to be of great medicinal benefits, and the altitude made Bath County the ideal location for the resort, despite the challenges of transportation once posed by the Allegheny Mountains. And unlike some of the other mineral springs resorts still in existence, visitors are still able to take a seat next to and slip their feet into the hot springs.

Seats to slip your feet into springs at the Homestead

Many of the “Grand Resorts” have been victims of the times, whether through improved transportation, changing tastes in how to spend vacation time, or failure to invest in the resort to strike the right balance between modern tastes and classical elegance, yet the Homestead nobly rests in the village of Hot Springs, solidering these changes. Approaching Hot Springs from the north on U.S. Route 220, you round a curve less than a half mile from town, and are greeted by the immense structure of the main resort building.

Touring the inside of the resort, it is unclear what the future holds for the resort. It is a unique combination of classic elegance from the turn of the 20^th century as well as mid-century ideas of what turn of the 20^th century décor looked like (think Dorothy Draper/Modern Baroque). While the overwhelming feeling from the resort was one of absolute grandeur, the times have been taking a toll on the resort for the reasons stated. If I may make a personal appeal, if you have the opportunity to visit Hot Springs, do stop at the Homestead. Explore the resort and if you see fit, spend some money there. Living, breathing National Historical Landmarks are harder and harder to find and are worth supporting, even if it’s just a cup of hot cocoa or a keychain.

Ballroom in the Garden Wing of the Homestead

It is clear the effect this area has on it’s natives. Only a few miles south of Hot Springs is Ashwood, home of legendary golfer Sam Snead. Despite traveling extensively as a professional golfer, all roads always led back to the Allegheny Mountains. If he was not in the Hot Springs area, he was a mere 50 miles away working as the golf pro at the Greenbrier Resort. His love of the region is not unique to him though, many people find themselves returning to the region year after year to refuel their spirits in the unrivaled natural beauty and solitude.