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I had three days for New River Gorge national park because I visited in the spring and wanted extra time in case the weather didn’t cooperate. But I found that it’s very easy to fill the days, especially once you combine some excellent nearby state parks, not all of which I even had time for! How to Get There I flew in and out of Charlotte, NC, which is about 3 hours… Read More
[Beckley, WV / New River Gorge National Park / Hawks Nest State Park, Apr 12, 2025] As forecasted, temps dipped into the mid 30s overnight! It was cold! I decided to spend the morning doing indoor touristy things in Beckley while waiting for the temps to rise in the afternoon. My first stop was the Exhibition Coal Mine. The mine opened about 1889 and operated until 1953, when the property sold to… Read More
[New River Gorge NP, Apr 11, 2025] Two weeks into my trip, I was finally on the way to New River Gorge National Park – my 49th! I knew that spring weather might be tricky, so I allowed myself 3 full days in the park. This seemed like a lot when I planned the trip, but it turned out to be a good call. The forecast called for a cold front to… Read More
[Tallulah Gorge State Park / Helen, GA, Apr 4, 2025] Now that I had made my way to Northwestern Georgia, I couldn’t resist two more locations in the area. I dont’ think I knew about Tallulah Gorge State Park when I lived in Georgia. I only became aware of it in the last few years through a reel I had seen on Instagram. It featured some lovely waterfalls and I recall the… Read More
[Baranof island, Alaska, Aug 1, 2024] After Chichagof Island, we moved south to Baranof Island. We were only 20 air miles east of Sitka, the largest city on this otherwise sparsely inhabited island. The Russian names of these islands remain from the time Alaska was a Russian colony. Russians are believed to have arrived in the 17th or 18th centuries and were the first non-native people to come here. They encountered the… Read More
