The New River, West Virginia

West Virginia.
When you live and raft out West you hear these stories about Eastern rafting and most of the really good stories are about the New and the Gualey rivers in West Virginia. This past Thursday Dan and I had a chat about what each of us really wanted to do in our remaining two months and Dan said The New. So we detoured off of the Blue Ridge and made our way to Fayetteville, which is home to the 18 or so companies who commercially run the river.



After a few discouraging hours we had almost given up on Dan getting to paddle the lower gorge (the class III-V section). Since I am not as good a boater as Dan I cannot go with him on those kind of stretches and it is unsafe to attempt it alone. We tried to find some local boaters that Dan could tag along with, but this too is a bit dicey since you don’t know their capabilities and vice versa.

Additionally given some of the “neighborhoods” we had been driving through we were starting to have some serious Deliverance flashes and were getting a bit scared. I heard a joke yesterday…”Given the choice I’d rather be dropped off at night in Compton than West Virginia. In Compton they just shoot you, in West Virginia they keep you.”

This is when we stumbled onto Rivers’ base camp and met up with Jeremy. Jeremy is a video boater; he follows commercial river trips down the river in his kayak, stopping to video the trips at the bigger rapids along the way. He and Dan discussed the possibility of Dan working for him on the Gauley and next thing we knew we were booked on the 8:30, full-day, lower gorge trip for the following morning. Since Dan is a potential employee we were allowed to camp with the other dirt bag rafter types for free. Note: in this context dirt bag is an honorary title.

Rivers has its own bar, restaurant, campground and outfitters store, very near the take-out for the lower section. The bar is genius because raft guides like to drink so they will never be short of customers. When you go down the river with these guys you get two free drinks after the trip, so everyone gathers in the bar and has a drink with their guide while watching Jeremy’s video. Friday night we met a bunch of the guides at the bar and I managed to secure a seat on a guide boat instead of the usual customer boat.

Dan barely slept that night. This was going to be one of those “check off your list of things to do” kind of days, and he was excited. The river was everything we had heard. The gorge is beautiful, deep and lush and steeped with history. The river is a hoot! In the first rapid, which is named Surprise, we flipped out 12’ boat, more or less on purpose, since we were all guides this was just a fun flip and we had the boat righted a minute later.




After lunch we splashed through rapid after rapid all ranging from class III to V (really probably III’s and IV’s by western standards, at this water level). It was like a giant wet rollercoaster, boats flipped, swimmers swam and everyone had a blast. Rivers puts on a good show and runs a safe trip, we were impressed.


Meanwhile Dan was busy spinning and surfing in every hole he could find. He had an ear to ear grin all day, even after he got surfed upside-down in a nasty hole named Nose Bleed and only popped out when a raft ran him over. He grew up watching videos of eastern kayaking and now he has gotten to run one of the big eastern legends.


We returned to the campground happy and satiated. We were recounting the day’s adventures to each other when Jess and Kimball, both Rivers’ guides, came knocking at our door with great stories, conversation and a jug (really a jug) of moonshine. This might be Dan’s perfect day.


A big, no a HUGE, shout out to Jeremy, Goldie, (Dingle)Barry, Amanda, Kimball, Jess, Thomas and all the folks at River’s. We’ll see you again.

I was a bit behind in my posts so this is the second one today. Click here to read about our time on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Each and every person who reads this should promise themselves right now that they will take the time to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway some day. This road is so stunning that I am sad now writing this because we have temporarily veered off of the parkway.









After we left Kevin and Leslie we spent a night in the Pisgah National Forest, which while the forest was very pretty I cannot recommend the campgrounds there. Our experience was that the campground was unkempt and overly expensive. The campground host told us repeatedly that the cost was worth it because we’d get a hot shower unlike the Parkway campgrounds. Well there was a shower there, but it did not work the first night and didn’t drain the next morning. In hindsight I wish we would have pushed on to the Parkway that night.


But then again if we'd pressed on we would have missed sliding rock, which was hilarious.



We picked up the Blue Ridge outside of Brevard, N.C. at around milepost 415. That day we drove only 100 miles but we took our time and didn’t get into camp until late. Along this leg we toured the Folk Art Center, Craggy Gardens, and Mt. Mitchell (the highest point in the eastern U.S.). We detoured only once due to the extensive damage last year’s hurricanes caused to the parkway. In three spots the road was simply washed away and the rebuilding projects, already long underway, looked daunting. We camped at the Linville Falls campground which was immaculate and nice. That night it began to rain and it wouldn’t stop for the next 56 hours.




Mount Mitchell lookout tower.


Mount Mitchell nature trail.


View from Craggy Gardens.


Us at the highest point in the eastern U.S.

The next morning we drove down to the Community of Linville and spied some of the falls and cascades along the road. We stopped at the caverns and saw remnants of mudslides and pictures of the aftermath of hurricanes Francis and Ivan. At noon we met up with Vicki a dear family friend of ours. We along with her golden retriever Sweetie Pie hiked all around Linville Falls. Around three we returned to our cars soaked to the bone. That evening we spent in Boone with Vicki and her husband John who was out of commission due to a very recent Achilles tendon injury. We tried not to rave too much about how great our hike had been, since poor John won’t be hiking for a while.





Linville Falls.


Rock slide from hurricanes.


Dan, Vicki, Sweetie Pie and me.

Thursday morning we all drove out to John and Vicki’s recently acquired land where they will be building their dream home over the next two years. For the first time I was the jealous one. Their home will be surrounded by forest with a view of the cascades and nearby mountains, no more than a mile off of the Parkway. Perhaps it is an effect of our impending settling down phase, but I sensed a new dream coming clear for us. A nice piece of land with a simple home, near water and surrounded by trees.


The cascade.

John and Vicki sent us off with a goody bag filled with sugared pecans and we promised to return soon, hopefully some fall when I can only imagine how beautiful it must be there.

Yesterday we drove from Boone, milepost 280-ish to Rocky Knob campground at milepost 170. Again we drove very slowly and made lots of stops. Most notably we visited the Mabry Mill. The first photo on this page is the standard/ required Mill photo, complete with rhododendron in the foreground. Again we were impressed by the campgrounds here; we camped in a completely empty loop, and enjoyed our solitude.






The Mabry Mill still.






Dan's new favorite place.

Carolina on My Mind

On our way to Savannah we learned of Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House. We had budgeted enough money to do a tour or something touristy. Since Mrs. Wilkes’ came so highly recommended we decided that lunch would be what we splurged on. To find Mrs. Wilkes’ drive down James St. until you see the line of people. We waited in line and then were seated at a table with three other couples. The meal is served family style and costs $13 per person. Lunch consisted of, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, lima beans with black eyed peas, beets, cabbage, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, spinach, potato salad, okra and stewed tomatoes, two kinds of rice, fried chicken, sweet tea and banana pudding for desert. It was fantastic!





After lunch we walked all through the historic district and along the river. Savannah is a beautiful city.



Savannah City Hall.






Windows along the Riverwalk.

From there we headed for Charleston and a visit with my Godparents, Rick and Edith. Edith took Dan to the surfing beach on Folly Island and he returned with a huge grin on his face. The next morning we went out at high tide and caught some really fun waves. We were lucky enough to hit Charleston during their Spoleto Festival. The festival is a two-week arts extravaganza. We strolled through the craft and arts fairs and took in an evening, outside Pops and Bluegrass concert. Also we got the .25 cent city tour, Rick and Edith are some of the best tour guides around. They showed us the city, battery district and the beaches.

Rick and Edith loaned us their sea kayaks and we paddled from their dock all the way out to Fort Sumter. We are guessing that this was about and 7 mile paddle round trip. The fort was very interesting and well restored. On the return trip we were entertained by about nine porpoises who were playing where the river pours into the channel.


Fort Sumter.





A very special thanks to Edith and Dr. Louie Costa, for making arrangements to have my, still fat, cheek checked out. Dr. Costa is Rick and Edith’s neighbor and he just so happens to be a facial plastic surgeon. He agreed that I have a fat cheek, but assured me it will go away eventually and that I hadn’t managed to break anything. This was a relief for both Dan and I to learn and we are grateful to both Dr. Costa for squeezing us in and Edith for being a worrywart.


The dock at Rick and Edith's.

Mostly though during our stay we just hung out at their very comfortable house and enjoyed their company. Have I mentioned lately how great it is to have this chance to spend time with our friends and loved ones? We had a hard time leaving Charleston and have made a promise to return soon.

Saturday we hit the road again, this time for Charlotte, North Carolina and our friends Kevin and Leslie Mueller. Dan and Kevin grew up together and he is a good old rafting dirt bag of the finest quality. His lovely wife Leslie has managed to refine him a bit, much to her credit, but he’s still just the same dirt bag deep down. They gave us a bike tour through the city, culminating in a stroll through Charlotte’s weekend festival. However, unlike the subdued events we enjoyed in Charleston this was a rowdy NASCAR festival. The feathered hats of Charleston were replaced by Dale Earnhart Jr. ball caps, horse drawn carriages for souped up race cars, and praline pecans for funnel cakes. I love how vastly different our days can be.


Our campsite.


Hummingbird.

Sunday Kevin, Leslie and we headed for Ashville and some boating. Today (Monday) is Kevin’s birthday and Leslie got him a brand new whitewater kayak. Dan and Kevin were elated to be together and kayaking. They ran stretches on the French Broad and the Green. We found a great campsite right along side the French Broad- no small feat on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We said goodbye to Kevin and Leslie and are now headed for the Pisgah Forest where we will pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway.


Downtown Charlotte.


Dan kayaking.


Kevin surfing.

Jekyll Island, Georgia

Jekyll Island has a reputation. We had been hearing about it since we bought our camper. We got flyers in the mail, people in campgrounds were quick to say “oh you’re going to Georgia…you MUST go to Jekyll”, and so on. So off we went and low and behold next thing I know we are paying $27/ night to park in a no-see-um infested campground less than 5’ from the camper next to me.

Florida was financially a bit rough and as if to really punctuate this for us, our last fill up ran $2.69 a gallon- quick math…33 gallons…$88 a tank!!!!!!!!! But Georgia is a much more diesel friendly state, a mere 20 miles from the aforementioned fill up we were surrounded by signs for diesel at less than $2 a gallon. Not since February 2004 have we seen such prices. We were elated. This is what my life has come to- I celebrate gas prices, how far I have fallen and how fast…


I digress. Back to Georgia. Once parked in our spot we decided to tour the island by bicycle. This is where the Jekyll everyone gushes about starts to come into view for me. Our first stop is the fishing pier from which you can see the surrounding islands, lighthouse and the mainland, as well as teams of fishermen and looky-loos. From there we dumb lucked our way onto Driftwood Beach. It was a surreal tangle of downed and bleached trees, sand and surf.




The fishing pier.





There are about 18 miles of bike trails and that night we rode eight. We passed by the historic district, some old ruins and expansive beaches. At night back at camp we locked ourselves in our muggy camper, unable to so much as open the windows since no-see-ums seem to pass through our screens with the greatest of ease.


In the morning we loaded up packs and hit the bike trail once more. We rode all 18 miles of trail. We toured the Island Museum and played croquet on the lawn in front of the Jekyll Club Hotel. (I won). We walked the southern beaches and marveled at the dozens of sand dollars we saw. What we did not do is go swimming. The chocolate brown water was not inviting, so instead we drank smoothies and sought shade to cool off. One more night in the entombed camper and our time on the Island was over.






The hotel, see the croquet court in front?

It is a beautiful place. A perfect family island where you could send your kids off on their bikes knowing they’d be safe and well entertained. The island has an interesting history and the museum or an island tour are worth the time. Also Jekyll is home to one of the coolest bookstores I have ever seen. It is in the old infirmery, which was a residence before that. Cookbooks are in the kitchen, kids books in the nursery and so on. Today we crossed the bridge and are staying in Passport America campground for $12. Tomorrow we venture on to Savannah and Charleston, South Carolina.