New River Gorge, West Virginia

My husband was born and raised here in West Virginia but he went away when he joined  the military.  He spent most of his 20 years of service  overseas so he never really got the chance to see much of his home state.  When we came back here in the US and settled down for good after he retired from the Navy, I wanted to explore the  beautiful mountain state. 

 The New River Gorge is one of the many attractions here in WV but we have never been there because it is a 4 hour drive from our city.  In fact my husband  have never seen it  even though he was  born here.  But as a treat to our daughter's  12th birthday, we finally went and see it last Sunday.  I can tell my husband was dreading the  long hours of drive but he was glad we did it when he saw how beautiful it was down state.  It was worth it.

To be able to see the New River Gorge Bridge, we went to Hawks Nest State Park.  They offer jet boats ride  tour in the river.   We rode  a tram going down and there was a one hour wait  before the next  jet boat ride  so we had the chance to  explore the place.  Nature has always been my favorite spot of relaxation so it was a treat for me.  There was so many butterflies  in that place.  

I love  the set up of the state park.  If you want the jet boat tour, you have to  ride the tram also so it was kind of a package.  However, you can go down and see the  river without riding the tram, you can  walk down the Lovers Leap trail which I wanted to do but we had limited time so we didn't get to do that.

Hawks Nest State Park is located in Ansted West Virginia.  We drove 320 miles from our place and back.

We had a great time riding the  jet boat as the captain was very funny.  He was an older witty man who told us a lot of jokes

The captain took us upstream  to see the famous New River Gorge bridge.  The ride is 6 miles long and it takes approximately 25-30 minutes.  

It was a very relaxing  tour, my husband was all smiles.  We all enjoyed the  ride especially  with a captain that made the  ride very entertaining.

According to the captain of the boat, the New River Gorge bridge was completed  in 1977.  It is the longest  single span steel arch  bridge in the Western Hemisphere.   Spanning the  picturesque New River at 876 feet high.  The bridge is a spectacular site  and has become a nationally recognized  icon for Southern West Virginia.  

 Locals   just calls it "The Bridge" according to the captain.  We couldn't advanced the boat due to the  rough water flowing through.  This is the place where  they do  white water rafting.  We passed by  a lot of folks that does that.  I want to do white water rafting, maybe when the kids are old enough to do that, we will come back there and do it.

So after a 30 minute minute of relaxing tour, it's time to head up and ride the tram again.

Folks downstate are so friendly.   They make  every visitor feel so welcome.  The old lady that was  receiving the tickets  before the jet boat ride was originally from England.  My husband talked to her and we  just love hearing her talk because of her English accent.

If you want to connect with nature and have an invigorating  experience of natural beauty, West Virginia has it.  Take a deep breath and head downstate, you'll find national and state parks  that offers some of the most breath taking  natural settings in the world.  

Southern West Virginia is blessed  with ten spectacular state parks that offers breath taking scenery.  There's a lot of historical sites, fabulous golf, hunting and fishing, resort style lodges, and  wonderful camping sites.

My husband  wants to return there  where we can  stay for a couple of days and  fully explore the  place.  I told him we can  go back  and celebrate our wedding anniversary there, that would be romantic.  There's nothing  like bonding with nature.  At least for me because I love  outdoors.  There's more  pics to come in the  next  post or two so tune in.

Here's some clips of the tour.