Humpback Bridge

This morning I was driving to our next destination along the I-64 and had enough of the traffic so I got off at an exit that was  before the one we had planned.   Went through a little town that was not in any way a tourist destination.   But on the outskirts of town I saw this bridge!   It was a slam on the brakes kind of stop and almost a uturn to get to the road leading to the parking lot.     What a great surprise!     A really nice park for the people in the little town.  

We drove a couple more hours to the New River Gorge in some really scenic farm and cattle country.  Since I was driving, there are not photos.  Jerry tried to take photos but most we chopped off or blurry.  He is not too good at taking photos from a moving vehicle unless it is straight out the front window.

 
Anyway, we made it to the New River Gorge.    This river area is just spectacular with the bridge the main focus.    A steel arch bridge just over 3000 feet (924m) long with an arch of 1700 feet (518m) long it sits 876 feet (276m) above the river.   The visitor center is at the top with multiple boardwalks with steps as well as trails to walk closer to view the bridge and get down to the river.      We did not do those walks...instead we drove to the bottom to the river and walked along the shore.  The road down and back up the other side is one way.  Thank goodness as it is very narrow. There are numerous creeks and springs coming down the mountain to the join the river.  Everything was so green!   A photo of the river and the bridge in the extra.

I made a short video of the drive down and back up.  new river

This river actually has its start near my son's home here in North Carolina along Meat Camp Road and Elk Knob State Park.   This is the north fork.  The south fork starts in the mountains near Blowing Rock and the two small rivers  pick up more water from all the creeks in the area (including the one that is in the front yard here!) then meet up near Jefferson and continue on into Virginia and into West Virginia.   The river is a huge whitewater rafting location in West Virginia.   

The thing about visiting places that you love to visit is that you find out there is more.   When looking at the map of the river's route, I saw an area where the road runs along the river for miles. I did not know this was even an option so we drove down to a location where this drive started but I could tell that the man was not really interested in making this long drive along a windy mountain road at slow speeds. So we went back up to the main road and made our way to my son's.  

Heading home tomorrow as there is rain forecast for all day.   Plus I think the man is really wanting to get home to his chair and his ice packs for the knee.