August 10, 2020 #7 West Virginia~CathedralFalls, HawksNest, Grandview

Wild and Wonderful West VIrginia.
Today is our 2nd 'day trip' in 3 days.
A Monday Extravaganza.
This is our #7th West Virginia trip in search of ahhhhhhhh moments, sweeping vistas, waterfalls, roads less travelled, and checking off a bucket list of West Virginia sites 'not-to-miss'.
Our first destination stop ...........CATHEDRAL FALLS,  a beautiful 100' drop waterfall on Cane Branch in Gauley Bridge. The Falls are tucked away in its own little canyon, practically visible from the road on Rt 60. Unfortunately, the area was dry, due to lack of rain, and the falls were but trickles.😢😢😢. We made the best of the situation, and captured a few photos. Cathedral Falls is known to be West Virginia's tallest waterfall.

Not far, from this spot, on a windy route 60, we arrived at our 2nd destination......Hawks Nest State Park , known for it's scenic overlook of the New River Gorge National River. Located in Ansted, WV, this is a go-to destination for whitewater rafting. The highlighted link above provides the history to the property. Dining, trails, and nearby attractions are also included.

Thurmond and Fayetteville are towns close by, as well as the famous  NEW RIVER GORGE BRIDGE , the second highest bridge east of the Mississippi.
Our last destination of the day was GRANDVIEW. The dramatic scenery was unforgettable!
The park provided the perfect rest stop for walking trails, hiking, picnic. OH THAT VIEW from 1400 feet above...... WOW

Enjoy the short utube video!

Not to be missed while driving through West Virginia are the off the beaten paths.
Route 61 (which runs parallel to 60) led us through Holy Grove, Handley, Montgomery and Smithers.
West Virginia is known for his coalfield towns along the Kanawha River.
Here is the Mammoth Coal Processing Plant. 👇👇👇

"More than half of the nation's electricity is generated from coal. In West Virginia 99% of the generated electricity comes from coal. There are currently 14 coal fired electric generating facilities located in West Virginia. Coal is one of the state's primary natural resources, first discovered in the state in 1742.

 As soon as we crossed over to route 60, we ventured through Boomer, Alloy, and Kanawah Falls,..... ending up at our first destination of Cauley Bridge.
This ends the #7 West Virginia blog.
Here are links to several other trips taken in October 2018:
https://undertheflaps.blogspot.com/2018/10/2018-sandstone-falls-west-virginia.html
https://undertheflaps.blogspot.com/2018/10/2018-west-virginia-4-seneca-rocks.html