Bookends

Frustration is a real issue when geocaching at times. It can be frustrating when you can’t find what you’re looking for. It can be frustrating when you can’t figure out how you’re supposed to extract and then sign the log. Geocaching is a hobby of problem solving, but sometimes you don’t realize you’re in the mood for certain problems until you’re teetering precariously on a hillside, placing a lot of faith in what muscle tone may exist in your ankles.

Let me introduce you to Cinders Petrie’s Hexahedron.

Named for a feisty old ferret, it made a lot of sense when we found the cache. It seemed like it should be easy, just a short walk up a hill from a park and ride on I-68. With a name like hexahedron, I thought it would just be a cube or some other six-faced object. We didn’t realize how devious Ms. Petrie must’ve been.

The container had a lot of places where a log could hide. 56, to be exact. Previous logs had indicated it took folks anywhere from about 5 to about 30 tries. I figured it couldn’t be that hard. I looked in 53 places. It became progressively more difficult as it was a chilly December morning and my fingers slowly lost fine sensation while my ankle was reminding me that I could stand to be in better shape.

The victory dance was abbreviated by the cool air. Once the log was signed we hurried back to the car. Down the hill, through the spilled contents of someone’s purse, and across the parking lot. We cranked up the heat and continued on to our next errand.

Since moving back in with my husband in December 2013, we’ve been paring down. When we had two separate households we duplicated a lot of items and did so in as cheap a manner as possible, knowing that the magical time would come where we could donate one of them and then slowly replace our cheaper items with nicer, less college-y items (once my loans are paid off and I get a new or newer car!). In 2014 we donated over $1000 in good condition household items and clothing to Goodwill (never donate to Goodwill what you wouldn’t give to a friend!).

Feeling as if our home sighed with the relief of having just a little bit less junk in it, we continued on to the Mountain State Brewing Company for Team Bingo and, my favorite, their own root beer brew. Never big on real beer, a good root beer never fails to satisfy. There were some large teams at Team Bingo so we never managed to win a round, though after stuffing ourselves we decided on a different prize.

We headed south of town on old Route 73. Before I-79, Route 73 was the most efficient way to get between Morgantown and Fairmont because U.S. Route 19 bows way out to wind through some settlements. 73 largely travels through unsettled areas, a golf course, past a long-abandoned roadside park, and eventually spits out on the east side of Fairmont. It is how one gets to the Uffington trail head of the Mon Trail South, the rail trail that follows the Monongahela River south of Morgantown.

The goal was to walk two miles and avenge a Did Not Find log from a geocache along the way. While we had plenty of time to talk over pizza during bingo, nature always has a way of directing our minds. The conversation was at least as lively. These are the opportunities we have to get to know ourselves and our loved ones the best. Oh, and we did find the geocache, The W080°00.000 Incident IV.

Opekiska Geocaches

Autumn is my favorite season, despite the fact it ends in winter and winter is my least favorite. Autumn is my favorite because the days are still warm but the nights are cool (consider that even in the dead of winter the ceiling fan swirls above our bed because we are both furnaces) and there is nothing prettier than the Appalachian mountainsides blanketed in hundreds of shades of yellow, orange, and red. Taking advantage of yet another perfect autumn day, Chris and I headed to the Opekiska Lock and Dam trailhead on the Mon Trail South, the rail trail that follows the Monongahela River, to seek out two geocaches.

GC2RCC1 – Paul Bunyan’s Lunch Box

We chose to come to the Opekiska area because of this cache, which at the time of this writing, has 18 favorite points. Once a cache hits about 10 favorite points it really captures my attention. But Opekiska is interesting and unique for a few other reasons: you can get very close to the lock and dam, the road out to the trail is beautiful, and it is less congested and busy than trailheads in more populated areas.

The cache was a few feet off of the rail trail and did require navigating over a small ditch filled with water, but once we located the cache it was clear why it had so many favorite points. The container was not unique, but it was placed within a custom-made host. Given the size of the host (hinted to with the reference to Paul Bunyan in the title) I am still not sure if it was made elsewhere and brought to its location or if a dedicated cache owner came out to the area numerous times to craft the host.

GC1EYNN – lock n lock at the lock

Looking at the map, it seemed as if this cache would be hidden similarly to the previous cache. We were wrong in so many ways. First, while the distance off of the trail was only a little bit further, it involved substantially more vertical terrain. There was also more overhead foliage, which interfered with satellite reception and accuracy of our GPS units.

We spent 30 minutes going up and down the hillside, trying to find the cache. After being on the hillside for six years, the area around the cache had changed somewhat so the hint was less useful than it likely was in 2008. As we were about to throw in the towel, I realized I was standing on a nice, flat rock. I lifted it up and found the cache quietly waiting to be found.

Sore from moving up and down the hillside so much more, it was nice to be back on level ground. When we made it back onto the trail, it looked like there was a twig on Chris’s shirt. But then it seemed like it was moving. I was puzzled. My lack of confidence in what I was seeing led Chris to pull off his hoodie in a hurry. It was a walking stick insect. I had never seen on before. So it truly was a twig that was walking. My eyes weren’t deceiving me. Making these discoveries is just one of the multitude of reasons why walks in nature are so rewarding.

Local Successes: Preston County Buckwheat Festival

Perhaps the most exciting sign of fall for the denizens of the Morgantown area is the Preston County Buckwheat Festival. Besides, Monongalia County (where Morgantown is) doesn’t really do a great job with the whole county fair thing, so this is like the best shot for something as good or better. And though you can find buckwheat cake mix year round in the local supermarkets, there really is something quintessentially fall about the sweet and sour flavor.

There are a few ways to get to Kingwood from Morgantown, most take about a half hour (I-68 to WV-26, WV-7, and Kingwood Pike). On this day, we took Kingwood Pike, favoring the rolling hillsides and pastoral farms coupled with the lack of heavy truck traffic.

Parking could be a disaster, but they handle it well, using a large parking lot on the periphery of downtown and offering continuous free shuttle service on the Buckwheat Express (the local transit agency) from the lot to the center of downtown, which is also the center of festival activities.

The first stop is the Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department Hall, this is the place to gorge on cakes. Many other places around town also sell buckwheat cakes and I’m sure they’re delicious too, but you can’t go wrong here. At the KVFD hall, you pay at the window, walk in, they direct you to a kitchen area, and you can get your first serving of cakes and sausage. The sausage and milk are finite, but the coffee and cakes are not. With true Appalachian hospitality, you can eat until you’re ready explode. We did. Thinking about it, six weeks later, still makes me feel stuffed!

Once you’re so full it hurts to move, you’ve got to move on to the crafts and exhibits. Like a county fair, local children are showing and selling the animals they’ve raised. Chris and I are partial to the goats.

We love a lot of the vendors at these events. Forget about Bath Fitter and that stuff, I love the local businesses. This year, we discovered Mountain State Honey, a honey company based out of Parsons, WV. At the urging of our friends Kelly and Cody, who we ran into unexpectedly while perusing the craft and vendor area, we loaded up on all kinds of tasty of honey. It is true, there are at least two things you should spend the money on: honey and maple syrup.

After taking in a bit of the parade, we picked up the shuttle and headed back to the car. While the parking lot was deserted when we first got to the festival, when the shuttled pulled in on our way out, the line of people waiting to go to the festival was immense. It is so awesome to see such a successful local event!

We decided it would be lovely to go for a hike up at Coopers Rock to top off the wonderful day. We headed out WV-7 to Masontown, where we took Rohr Rd/Snake Hill Rd to Tyrone Rd and eventually got on to I-68 to get to Coopers Rock. Then the strangest thing happened: for the first time ever, we could find absolutely no place to park our car. Not a single picnic area or trailhead had a parking place. When we started noticing the trend, I started counting license plates, almost three-quarters were from out of state. I hope each one spent lots of money in Morgantown!

Somehow, we managed to work off the energy because eventually we made it to Chaang Thai for dinner. The weather was perfect so we enjoyed what would probably be our last meal on a patio in Morgantown for the year.

Average September Sunday

Around town, it can be hard to find easy geocaches and some days I just don’t want to be pushing myself to climb a hill or walk several miles. Luckily, the Daughters of the American Revolution placed two relatively easy new caches in the area. On this cool Sunday morning, we helped ourselves to Fort Pierpont.

While retrieving the cache on a perfect, cloudless (though quite breezy) day the evidence that cooler weather was headed in was clear. And being beat from the adventures in the coalfields from the prior day, the desire to huff it up a mountain just was not going to do it for us. Besides, we had bingo plans for later.

We hit the road for Point Marion. While Point Marion is actually very close to Morgantown, we never get up there. Being on U.S. Route 119 it is only ever traveled through when seeking an adventure, because to get to Pittsburgh I-79 is faster and to get to Uniontown the Mon-Fayette is much faster. But we keep hearing that our lives will not be complete until we try Apple Annie’s. We will get around to it, I swear.

Windows down, music playing, the drive was divine. Even when it began to lightly sprinkle as we passed over the Monongahela River and took the back roads to wind back around by the Longview Power Plant (and the signs of protest that’ve been there for 20-odd years) and the west side of Morgantown.

Early afternoon we headed over to the Mountain State Brewing Company for bingo. Each Sunday they have Team Bingo, which is an awesome way to spend a few hours with friends. In the past, we’ve done well here, sometimes winning over half of the rounds. Today, we did not fare so well, winning nothing—except the pleasure of the company of good friends over tasty food (I swear, their home-made root beer is the best). During the cold, cold winter Sundays, I feel like I’m going to be spending a lot of time here.

Local Gems: Cooper’s Rock

The best thing about having guests from out of town is the ability to view your most familiar surroundings through the eyes of those encountering them for the first time ever or at least the first time in a while. Though I really hate it when I visit somewhere and my hosts ask me what I want to do because, as an outsider, I probably don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. My typical approach is to ask my guests what kinds of things they’re interested in seeing (e.g. museums, scenery), doing (e.g. shopping, hiking), or eating. From there, I go through the mental rolodex. Today, I’d hit on Cooper’s Rock State Forest.

Cooper’s Rock has numerous features that make it popular among locals and visitors: easy driving access, plentiful parking, in addition to easy walking access to some of the most stunning features. Not everyone is an avid hiker, plus it’s nice to be able to take in some scenery wearing a pair of lousy sandals once in a while. 

Cooper’s Rock State Forest

This state forest supposedly gets its name from a fugitive who hid out from authorities in the area of what is now the main overlook. He apparently lived in the forest making barrels and selling them to locals for the better part of four decades. I am unclear of the timeline of these events because in the 1930s into the early 1940s much of the forest’s infrastructure was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Most of these structures are still in place to day and are easily identified by the style of architecture—rugged beauty, often close reflections of the areas they are found in.

For our purposes, we visited the Main Overlook. This ADA-accessible overlook offers breathtaking views of the Cheat Canyon after only a short walk from the main parking areas, restrooms, and large picnic pavilions (there was a wedding reception happening on the day we visited). It was also wonderful to be able to point out that, for the most part, the viewshed of the Cooper’s Rock overlook is protected due to the state forest status on the east side of Cheat Lake, the Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area on the west side of the lake, and some recent custodial agreements regarding non-Snake Hill land on the west side of the lake.

View from the Main Overlook at Cooper's Rock State Forest

The other popular overlook, Raven Rock, requires a rocky, ~2 mile hike for what is, in my opinion, not a much better view—though definitely worth it to those more physically inclined. The other great feature is the Henry Clay Iron Furnace, which is reachable via several trails and is a well-preserved example of the iron furnaces that used to number in the thousands in the general region (especially if you head up into Pennsylvania).

The Perfect Caching Vehicle

A common question asked in the “Getting Started” forum at Geocaching.com is: what is the best geocaching vehicle? Truthfully, our Honda Civic does the trick over 99% percent of the time. The other less-than-1%-of-the-time, we employ a 1994 Toyota SR4 pickup (though sometimes we will rent a vehicle if the rough road adventure is part of a larger road trip—mostly because it’s fun to drive different cars sometimes). In the case of this day, we needed the ground clearance to help clean up some caches near home, in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The primary reason for the truck was to find A Busy Day in West Virginia. This cache is located within the Little Indian Creek Wildlife Management Area, which is home to a lot of potholed gravel roads that aren’t getting a lot (read: any) maintenance. While the hide itself was unremarkable (except for the creepy feeling we always get while hiking around Little Indian Creek), to log the find required fulfilling a challenge. In this case, a cacher must find a minimum of six different geocache types in a single calendar day. I could never seem to make it work and the best I seemed to manage via serendipity was finding four types in one day during a stroll through downtown Baltimore (daylight hours only!). As if they could read our minds, the organizers of the Cache N Cabell geotrail in Cabell County, WV made it possible to all six types in one day, provided you attended the kick-off event for the geotrail. Despite the fact one of our cats had died just two days earlier, we weren’t sure we were up for the challenge. But the urging of a friend had us making the trip and it was so worth it. We had an amazing time and even got a trackable geocoin for being one of the first to finish the geotrail, not to mention being able to log this challenge cache near Morgantown.

            Our second target was the recently re-enabled Take a Walk in the Park at the stunning hidden gem, the West Virginia Botanic Gardens. While we have been frequent visitors to the gardens, we always had to park at the top of the gravel road to the garden area and walk down. Today, for the first time in our visits there, we could drive to the lower parking lot where we were greeted by a kind garden volunteer who eagerly told us a bit about recent happenings and was armed with maps and newsletters. She said they’re planning on having the lower lot open for several hours each weekend day while the weather is nice so now there’s no excuse to visit if you haven’t done so yet! The cache was nice too, it took about 30 minutes of walking on mostly level ground to make the find and get back to the car.

For the remaining three caches we would find, we picked up perennial caching buddy bitmapped. Our first stop was to try and locate the information needed to locate the final stage of A Stellar Hunt. This is a very unique two-stage multi cache. We had never seen anything like it before though the idea itself is actually pretty simple. After some careful work with the recommended binoculars, we found what we were looking for. Punching in the coordinates, we realized the final stage would truly maintain the stellar theme and bring smiles to our faces. I highly recommend this cache, even to those who normally really hate multi-stage geocaches (like my husband!).

            From downtown Morgantown, we headed high into the hills of South Park to locate Breathalyzer, a new and improved version of the well-loved Take a Deep Breath cache. In addition to the first cache of the day, this is the only other one of the day that we truly benefitted by having the truck. With a higher clearance vehicle, this cache can almost be obtained by sticking your head out the window of the vehicle. Without it, parking and walking about 200’ will get you the same smiley. It is great to see this gadget cache back in action. Bring a sanitizing wipe or swap if you’re leery about germs, but it is also a very worthy find.

The final cache was along the straight segment of Dent’s Run Road that is probably part of Westover but sometimes feels like Granville and definitely doubles as a large truck parking lot. The same caches had populated this stretch for a very long time (which is fine because they were good caches!), but caches, like people, have life expectancies and the time has come for some of those great, old guard caches (I loved A Taste of Canada, Eh). Two new caches had popped up here. The first, PIPE DREAM, is one of the best gadget caches in the area and the second, our target today, Swag Trading Post, is intended to be a large, kid-friendly cache where any kid can come up a big winner with a nice toy. It certainly lives up to this expectation while simultaneous scratching at your legs on the way in and out.

So despite earmarking this day for caches requiring a truck, only one of the five really called for the higher ground clearance. So don’t worry, your normal, everyday care can almost always get you where you want to be!

Caching Close to Home

When you’ve found well over 2000 geocaches, odds are, unless you’ve moved very recently, you’ve burned through all of the particularly easy and the best rated caches within a few miles of home. At least, that’s been my experience living somewhere for more than a few months. So this is the story of a Sunday in Morgantown, West Virginia and the five caches we tried to find.

Cache #1: Quick Find in a Parking Lot. It always feels like a bad omen when the first cache sought is a DNF (Did Not Find). We figured the odds of this occurring were low in the parking lot of an Econolodge, blocked from sight by the husk of a former Shoney’s. Expectation met: cache in hand before the husband had a chance to turn off the car. Though this cache type is common, it also commonly goes missing and there is commonly some question as to whether the cache owner actually received permission for the hide. Remember, having permission for placements and then indicating such on the cache page is crucial to ensuring a great experience.

Cache #2: A Nice View of the City. To be fair, we weren’t super optimistic that we would get this one. Normally, parking coordinates are a blessing, guiding your way to a safe place to leave your car and instructing you on where to begin your journey. But the seasons take their toll on a well thought out cache, what seemed ideal in the winter and spring appears to be an impassible jungle of particularly sharp, jagged, and angry briars and overgrowth. Even if we had a machete, I think it would have struggled to clear a route to the cache, at least as it was described on the cache page. Though credit is due, since our attempt, a group of caches managed the hike to the cache, though they took a different approach. We will be back when it’s colder, but it is so important to revisit your cache throughout the year to get a sense of any additional challenges.

Cache #3: Shopping Under The Lights: A very common hiding place for geocaches is beneath lamppost skirts in parking lots. In theory, these should all be very easy geocaches to find. However, in practice, the lighting is there for a reason and these areas are often saturated with people who may or may not be paying attention to the activities of geocachers hence why parking lot caches do not always have a long life. This was our third try and finally there were no occupied cars or parking lot stragglers that could be struck with curiosity regarding our activities. Some people really, really loathe these cache types, but I don’t mind them too much. Sometimes these finds can be quite satisfying and indeed a lamppost cache was the first I ever found and the first my mom ever found independently.

Cache #4: The Observant WV Cacher Prelude. This cache had stumped us before and today was no different. But it was along the Decker’s Creek Trail, where we were going to be anyway because we were on a mission to find Ben. This cache was hidden with the intention of being challenging and unique. Logging a DNF is not a sign of defeat, it’s a testimony to the effort of the cache owner who, after we logged our second DNF, eagerly came forward and sent me a kind email with multiple hints. Suddenly it seems like a DNF may be avenged. Involved cache owners who monitor their caches are just the best. They are a credit to the entire hobby and getting to interact with them can be a treat. It can also enable you to learn how to think differently about hides and actually help in the long run.

Cache #5: Ben. To preface, this was a good cache but we believe the terrain rating of 2 is not high enough. At least, it is not high enough without some direction on how to approach the cache so the lower terrain rating is warranted. We continued down the trail from the previous cache and had been warned by a prior finder that the most direct route was not the best route. Acknowledging the advice of this cacher, we found an old tram road we followed much of the way to the cache, though at periods it involved penetrating walls of briars, inability to discern where the road was, and some very steep stretches. When we were finally within 100’ of the cache, a steep descent was necessary. My husband was a star and he managed the descent and logged the cache. He felt the container was entertaining and unique, but we loathed the idea of returning to the trail. It was rough and we ended up on different tram roads, encountered what appeared to be an unoccupied sheet metal shack as well as a possibly occupied tent, and tore up my legs.

Back in the Saddle

As long as I have been aware of its existence, I have dreamt of taking one day to make a return trip on the Decker’s Creek Rail Trail by bike. The 19-mile trail follows the former Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad from Morgantown, WV to just east of Reedsville, WV. Aside the distance, the other challenge is the grade: over the 19-mile distance is an elevation gain of 1000 feet. By now you’re likely judging me. That’s alright. I understand. Until this past weekend, I hadn’t been on a bike in over three years.

Grad school has not been kind to my waistline. It happens to the best of us. There are long hours behind the computer screen and it is often just so much easier to throw something in the microwave and chew it down in front of the computer. But I have tried to free up one day a week where I try to avoid my research, research of my classmates, and classwork. With this time, as I’ve shared on this blog before, I love to geocache.

On Sunday I took the opportunity to merge geocaching with my interest in getting back on the bike. As soon as they opened, we stormed Dick’s Sporting Goods in Morgantown and found the perfect bike rack, the Yakima MegaJoe Elite 3-Bike Trunk Vehicle Rack, which was on sale no less! We wanted a rack that could hold three bikes because we frequently go on road trips with one of our good friends and wanted the flexibility to bring an extra bike with us. Installing the rack wasn’t too bad, though there’s a little scratched paint on Chris’s Honda Civic. The rack carried the bikes flawlessly.

We had our sights set on GC2X9BN NOTICE Cheat Haven Hiking Trail, which is at the far end of a 3.6 mile trail stretching out from Cheat Lake Park. Chris, our friend Brian, and I set out on the trail along the like which, a long time ago, was a railroad (it’s a trend in this part of the country). Within minutes, I could feel my wrists straining and my thighs burning with the unfamiliar movements of riding a bicycle.

About two-thirds of the way to the geocache we took a brief break on the side of the trail to allow a service vehicle pass us and I could barely extract myself from the seat. The pain was intense. But, whether we kept going or returned to the cars, the only option ahead of me was to get back on the bike and pedal. In case you were worried, we found the geocache.

 Through the trees, Cheat Lake

The ride back seemed so much easier. In fact, when we returned to the trailhead near the parking area, we decided to head the other direction on the trail to pick up two other geocaches. The soreness never disappeared and the pain in my arms persisted, but I felt like I accomplished something great: 8.6 miles, total.

On the drive back to our home, we were excitedly planning future bike trips to help build our abilities up so within two or three months we will be able to conquer the Decker’s Creek Rail Trail. Two days out, the pain my shoulders is intense and the stiffness in my neck persistent. To me, it is motivation to get back on the bike until multiple days of muscle pain aren’t the reward for attempting to make a solid life decision.

Transportation Landmarks: Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit

Beginning in 1975, the “PRT” as it is referred to locally has served to shuttle students between the Downtown, Evansdale (Engineering), and Health Sciences campuses of West Virginia University. Since 1975 over 60 million people have ridden the public transportation system (it receives some FTA funding) and on any given school day about 15,000 rides are taken.

The system takes 11.5 minutes to ride from end to end and the vehicles can travel up to 30 mph. Each of the vehicles is entirely electric and built on a 1973 Dodge truck chassis. Each vehicle seats eight passengers, but can hold up to 20 (though the record is 97).

A PRT vehicle

How the system works: There are five total stations. When a customer arrives at a station they either pay ($0.50 per ride for the general public) or swipe their WVU ID (those affiliated with the university ride free) and press a button to indicate the station they wish to ride to. Usually within a few moments a PRT car arrives in the station and a sign above the door indicates the destination of that car, matching the request of someone waiting for a PRT car, it then travels directly to that destination. This is what makes the system “personal” rapid transit and different from other urban bus and rail services.

The system is currently the only one in the United States and was built as an experiment. During the 1960s several government reports examined the feasibility of personal rapid transit (PRT) systems with very promising results. Coupling these results with the mounting traffic congestion in Morgantown it seemed like the perfect test site for the technology.  Construction began in 1970, however the fact the system required not-yet-fully-developed technology and the collaboration of a number of organizations (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Boeing, Vetrol, Bendix, and F.R. Harris Engineering) both cost and time estimates were overrun.

The PRT infrastructure at Towers, which are largely freshman dorms at WVU

Despite the substantial cost overruns in the development and construction of the system, it has been a largely reliable and relatively inexpensive system to operate. It has also helped the university triple in enrollment since the 1960’s by improving mobility for students between campuses. Of course, there are groups that believe the PRT is a complete boondoggle. However, one would be hard pressed to find a transit system that has no enemies. A fundamental drawback to transit is the issue of the last mile, filling in the gap between the nearest station and your final destination. Furthermore, because of the nature of the PRT system, during peak periods, there can be delays in getting PRT vehicles to the stations with highest demand if they are already in use between two other stations.

But traffic congestion is a mounting problem in Morgantown, with the growth of the university has also come the development of other businesses in the area both to support the university and benefit from the human capital developed by the university. The PRT does help and expansion of the system has been discussed, although the costs are likely to be prohibitive due to the fact it is an orphan system.

Take a ride on the PRT! This video shows the PRT traveling around on March 30, 2009.

Transportation Landmarks: Dents Run Covered Bridge

Covered bridges are ubiquitous in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. These bridges tend to span small creeks and rivers on back roads serving picturesque farms. At the time, wood was the natural choice for construction an affordable and easy to obtain material. But, wood is susceptible to rot. By covering wooden bridges the structure had protection from the elements.

Dents Run Covered Bridge

Dents Run Covered Bridge is one of only 17 remaining covered bridges in WV. It was built in 1889 for a mere $443. The kingpost truss designed bridge is 13’-wide by 40’-long. The bridge spans Dents Run near Laurel Point, which is about 15-minutes west of Morgantown. The bridge was restored in 1984 and remained open to vehicular traffic through 2004.

In the time the bridge has existed, the environment around it has both changed dramatically and remained impressively unchanged. In the not too recent past, Dents Run ran orange with acid mine run-off and was entirely devoid of life. It is difficult to imagine this when the creek runs green between two grassy banks. This transformation was a concerted effort by Consol Energy. Not far from the bridge is Morgantown, which has exploded with growth over the past few decades, but looking out from either end of the bridge there is little evidence of this boisterous neighbor.

It was added, along with over half of the other covered bridges in West Virginia, to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The specific application for Dents Run is available for review. It is the last covered bridge in Monongalia County, but with recent restoration and closure to vehicular traffic, it will likely last a very long time.

If you are interested in visiting, there is room for a few vehicles to park on the far side of the bridge. There is also a geocache located here.