Day 6

Today was waterfall day. We started at the bottom of Sandstone Falls. Sandstone Falls are a very wide falls. People fish here, and we saw a raft paddle up to the bottom of the fall to ride the wake of the fall, and a beaver had built a dam on a stream, by the falls Watch the video to see the awesome power and beauty of the falls. We then went to the overview of the falls. The view was obscured by fog but it was still a nice view. Then we went to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. There we were not only able to see the mine but also a mine town church, house, outhouse and a museum that had mining tools. The tour was interesting especially when our guide told us about the fire boss. It was a fun and informative tour but I was glad to get out of the tunnel. We then looked at the New River Gorge Bridge. The bridge is the longest steel arch bridge in the Eastern Hemisphere and a feat of engineering. Next we visited Hawks Nest a very beautiful place with a tragic history. At Hawks Nest we went geocaching and found the cache. Then it was off to Cathedral Falls one of the highest waterfalls in West Virginia. Next stop was the Kanawha Falls. It was another wide falls. The most interesting part was that they had used the river to produce energy in the past and were preparing to once again preparing to harness the power of the river. The rivers seem to be an underused source of power in our state. Our last stop before dinner was the Morris Massacre, the last Indian Massacre east of the Mississippi River. Dinner was at the picturesque and historical Glen Ferris Inn.

Day 5

Interesting day today we visited 2 mine sights that were being reclaimed. The first one, Joe Knob, was reclaimed by man and had lots of greenery but not native greenery.

The other site, Nuttalburg, had been reclaimed by nature and had a variety of local plants. It left me with many questions about which is better and why each way was chosen. What factors impact the decision to do the different reclamation.

We also went to the Babcock State Park and saw the Glade Creek Grist Mill. The mill was very picturesque. Today we saw Thurmond where Matewan was filmed. Bridy Mae was not waiting at the train depot instead it was a ghost town lost in time. It was fun and educational to visit. Finally we saw the Hatfields and McCoys at Grandview State Park The park had beautiful views, rocks to explore, and a theater. The play was very good and was a great way to end the day.

day 4

It is day four and we are moving a little slower but we have another full and exciting day. We go to Green Bank the first and see the radio telescopes. It is huge. Next we go to Cass and see the town and the Shay locomotive ( a slow powerful, smoky train). The timber business was very important and Cass showed how a timber town could spring up and the importance of the railway in getting the wood to the saw mills. Then we went off to Pearl Buck’s birthplace. After that we went to Droop Mountain Battlefield , the last significant battle in West Virginia during the Civil War . In the picture you can see why they would want to hold droop mountain since it looks down on the surrounding countryside. In this battle the Confederates lost their chance to control West Virginia. Finally we went to Cranberry Glades. Here we were able to see the succession of a bog from a glade to a shrub forest to a bog forest to a forest. The bog ground felt like a big sponge. I learned many facts here and saw plants that you usually do not see like a pitcher plant, and a wild orchid. Next we had a wonderful dinner and then watched Matewan to get ourselves ready to see Thurmond tomorrow.

third day

Today we visited many natural sites. First we went to Dolly Sods. Our walk started off with a sign warning visitors not to touch the bombs. Luckily we did not see any bombs, but we did see lichen and carnivorous sundew plants. We saw the sphagnom moss which will eventually become coal ( not anytime soon). Next we climbed around on the rocks at Bear Rocks. It was beautiful enough to make you not afraid of heights. Then we went to Seneca Rock and saw the vertically layered rocks. Then it was off to Smokehole Caverns. It was interesting to see all the stalagmites, stalagtites, flowstone, an underground lake and an artesian well. It was a comfortable 52 degrees in the ¼ mile long underground cavern. We then went from underground to the highest point in West Virginia, Spruce Knob. The weather did not cooperate but it was still interesting to see what we could. On the way to dinner we saw the sign for the Eastern Continental Divide and of course we all jumped out to get a picture.

2nd day

Started day at Harper's Ferry. We checked out the sites on Virginius Island. Here we saw the ruins of industrialized Harper's Ferry. These sites included the cotton mill, Island Mills (flour mill) , water tunnel, Shenandoah Pulp Mill, and Hall's Rifle Works. We then visited Fairfax Stone, an important if not a thrilling place. We were able to see the large windmills used to harness wind power. We then visited Blackwater Falls and Lindy Point which were both beautiful. Next we saw the damage that industrialization can cause when we viewed the coke ovens and the yellow boy along the Blackwater River. The acid caused by the mining created an eerily beautiful place. Looks can be deceiving though because with a 3.7 ph there is no life in the water.

First Day of Trip

Great start to the trip. Stopped at Sideling Hill Exhibit Center (and rest stop) and saw the different layers of rock in the road cut. Next we stopped at Antietam site of the bloodiest day of fighting during the Civil War. Then we drove to Harpers Ferry and saw the site of John Brown's raid. Then we took a break and ate a delicious meal of crabcakes. We ended the day at Bolivar Heights and learned about W E B Dubois.