The New River Gorge Thurs Oct 6 2016

Thursday we drove about 50 miles south to the New River Bridge and Gorge.  The bridge is the 3rd highest in the country and 3rd longest single span vehicular bridge in the world.  It stands 876 feet above the river below.  The 3rd Saturday of October is called Bridge Day.  The road is closed and the bridge becomes the site for parachuting and wing suit dives; bungee cord jumps are no longer permitted.  The New River is misnamed for it is actually one of the oldest rivers in the country and unusual in that it flows south to north.  A very winding road leads into the gorge.  The ranger advised that Bob's extended cab dualie would probably be pushing the envelope on some curves, but we made it down and back up with no problem (whew!).



The gorge as seen from the visitor's center

On the observation deck

Nearing the bottom of the gorge

Going across the river on a bridge at the bottom of the road 

Under the girders at the opposite side of the bridge on the way back up. 

The next day we drove north of Sutton, but it began to rain heavily , so we decided to get back to camp and pack up for the ride home the next day.  We did get quite a bit of rain from Matthew on the way back, that is until we got to the Spartanburg area when the rain stopped like someone shutting off a faucet.  We are in  severe drought conditions in Anderson County, and could use some of Matthew's moisture, but it wasn't meant to be.  Lake Hartwell is down almost 8 feet of its full capacity.  Thankfully, we got home safely after another round trip of over 2500 miles, and Bob is already making plans for a trip out west next spring.