Heading South

Well, it's that time of year again where we pack up the 5th wheel and head south. This year the magical date was 1 November and the place is Bonita Springs, FL. Yes, our park took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma but they reassured me it's open for business as per usual.  

We moved into the 5th wheel the day before we left. That gives me time to winterize the park model and do the final cleaning. Normally I have the winterizing done in an hour. This year it took almost 5 hours. Let's just say different place, different things to go wrong.

We crossed the border at Fort Erie Peace Bridge. All of our ducks were in order so we were through in a matter of minutes. It started raining as soon as we crossed and didn't let up until Morgantown, WV our first stopover. We were noticing that many of the trees had not yet changed. We're hoping the leaves in the higher elevations are colourful this year.

The second days drive did not disappoint. The fall foliage was beautiful. Unfortunately it was rainy and overcast, but still breathtaking. Our climb was just over 3,000 ft at this point and the leaves are still on the trees. How unusual. We arrived at Fort Chiswell RV Park in great time, the sun was shining, the temperature was in the 70's, the shorts came out, and the pups are all pooped out from a long walk up and down the hillside. Life is good. Again a single night stopover.

The next day we woke to fog so we waited an extra half hour and it was like magic. The fog lifted, the sun was shining, the dogs are packed in the truck, and away we go. Oops forgot Susan. Here she comes 😓

When I was in Myrtle Beach last season I received a gift certificate for 2 free nights of camping at Barnwell State Park in South Carolina. It's not really out of our way so we decided to take advantage of it. More on that later. Coming down out of the mountains is always breathtaking. There's about a 7-10 mile descent out of Fancy Gap, about 2500 ft drop in elevation, and 10 degrees difference in temperature. Amazing.

We arrived at Barnwell State Park in great time, stay tuned for my blog on this great park. 

New River Gorge National River

Waking up to another gorgeous sunny day is always a delight. Stepping outside into the nice cool refreshing air is a bonus. Even Stuart had a little pep in his step. After breakfast we broke camp only to continued our journey on the dreaded day two. The second day of travelling has always been the hardest for me. It doesn't matter where we are going I find it long and boring. So we decided to make a stop at New River Gorge National Park. The parking lot looks like it can handle any size RV so we shall see. But first we have a 2 hour drive. 

After a quick stop for diesel we continued on down the I-79 from Morgantown to Fort Chiswell. This part of the trek takes us over the Appalachian Mountains. Meaning, lots and lots of hills to climb and monster valleys to descend in to.

We arrive at New River Gorge in great time only to miss the entrance into the parking lot. The signs were obscured by shrubs. Okay! Have you ever been in that situation where you go "now what"! The only choice was to go in the DO NOT ENTER or descend 825 feet into the abyss. We made the shape turn with no damage to the RV thank goodness. It was all worth it.

Our first stop was the Canyon Rim Visitors Center which housed tons of exhibits and a short film.

The New River Gorge National River in southern West Virginia was established in 1978 and encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along 53 miles of the New River.

The New River is one of the oldest in the world. For centuries it was inaccessible to most people. In 1873 that all changed with the building of the railroad. Coal mining boomed causing towns to spring up overnight. Today, the rich cultural history of coal mining is preserved along many of the scenic drives.

The area is known for recreational activities. The New is renowned for its whitewater boating. With over 100 rapids dropping more than 668 feet, technical runs, and high volume of water  it is known to challenge even the best in the world.

In 1977 the New River Gorge Bridge was completed shortening the once challenging 40 minute drive on narrow steep mountainous roads to 1 minute. At 876 feet above the river it remains the third highest bridge in America.

How high is the bridge you ask. Beneath the bridge the Statue of Liberty could stand twice atop the Washington Monument and still have 20 feet to spare. These steps only took me half way down into the gorge below the bridge. What an amazing view of the river and the bridge.

The steel used on the bridge is called Cor-ten steel which rusts slightly on the surface. This surface rust inhibits the deeper rust eliminating the need for painting. What a brilliant person who thought of that, must have been afraid of heights. Steel was brought to position by trolleys running on 3 inch cables.

In comparison, the old Fayette Station Bridge under the New River Gorge Bridge.

After a nice hour of walking around we continued on our journey but first we had to cross over this massive bridge. WOW it's a long way down.

With the Appalachians behind us we pulled into Fort Chiswell RV Park for the night. Day two turned out to be not so bad after all.

Travellin' To Florida

Many people have asked which way do we travel to Florida. My response is whatever way suits us at that point in time. Meaning there are several ways of getting there I-75, I-79 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, or the route we took this year I-79 to the I-77. Your probably wondering what in the world is she talking about. If you don't know the roads you wouldn't have a glue of what I'm talking about. So let me explain our route, the overnight stops, and so on.

As we pulled out of Fifty Point it was a gorgeous fall day. The sun was coming up and of course shining right in our eyes. Well that was short lived. The closer we got to the Fort Erie/Buffalo border the more cloudy it got. Luckily, it's too warm for snow and their's no rain in the forecast. We crossed over with a short wait and minimal questions asked. 

Our first days drive is always the longest, approximately 320 miles to Morgantown WV. This route takes us down the 1-90 from Buffalo to Erie PA. At Erie we catch the I-79 south towards Pittsburgh then straight into Morgantown. This far north, campgrounds that are open this late in the year are few and far between. So you take what you can get. While in Morgantown we stay at Mylan Park. A place we have stayed before. I also wrote a short blog on this park. Like I said before it's nothing but a big paved parking lot with water, electric 20/30/50 amp and if your lucky to get there on a non football game day you get sewer for $40 per night. We weren't so lucky. Yes, it's pricey considering we didn't have sewer but they do have 24 hour security, it's well lite at night, and there's lots of open space to walk around. This picture is from November 2013. You get the idea.

The drive to Morgantown is all interstate and relatively flat. The leaves have fallen off the trees so it's not real pretty. The sun did start shining again in Erie PA making for a nicer day. Other than a stop for diesel and another to stretch our legs we made the drive in great time. My average speed was around 60-62 mph and I got about 11.5 - 12 mpg. We left at 8:30 am and arrived at 2:30 pm.

I've often suggested to Susan that we should spend some time in Morgantown since there's so many interesting things to see and do. Well, maybe next time she has her eyes on the bigger picture...Florida, warm weather, and a heated swimming pool. In the meantime we still have 4 more legs of our trip to go but we're getting closer.