Below is the 64 mile route that I drove today. Weather shortened my activities.
In this one hour and ten minute video I visit the Thurmond ghost town and Fayette Station Road. |
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Soggy greetings, My luck with the good weather ran out today. It was pouring rain when I woke up this morning and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. So I needed to find something else to do since my plans were all weather dependent. I decided to drive down to Beckley which is twenty miles south of here. I went to see the 12:10 showing of Downton Abbey. When the movie let out the rain had stopped and there was even a couple small patches of blue sky.  I wouldn't be able to do everything I had planned to do today before it got dark, but I did manage to do a couple things before the sun set. My first stop was in the ghost town of Thurmond. I arrived in town by crossing the one lane bridge, which is also shared with the railroad.  In the pictures above and below you can see the Thurmond Depot. A train came through while I was here. Below is a screen grab from my video of that.  The population of Thurmond was five at the 2010 census.  During the heyday of coal mining in the New River Gorge, Thurmond was a prosperous town with a number of businesses and facilities for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.  The nicest part of my visit to Thurmond was the scenic drive there and back. It was on a VERY skinny road running alongside Dunloup Creek. In the picture below you can see the pretty fall foliage and a small waterfall ahead.  It was really a very nice drive. I pretty much had the road to myself. I saw very few other people. Below is another picture of Dunloup Creek. {Click HERE to watch my video of Thurmond.}  Next I drove down Fayette Station Road under the New River Gorge Bridge. In the picture below I was directly under the bridge.  When you get all the way down to the bottom there is a nice view of the bridge along side the railroad. No sooner did I get there than a train went through.  Next you cross a skinny one lane bridge to the other side of the river. I walked out to the center of that bridge to take some pictures.  And the picture below is the New River and the New River Gorge Bridge. {Click HERE to watch my video of the bridge.}  The clouds were probably a good thing. The setting sun didn't get in my way like it did yesterday. I drove back up the other side of the river. There was a pretty stream here as well.  It was almost dark but I had just enough time to visit downtown Fayetteville. Below is the courthouse.  And across the street is Town Hall.  Despite the gloomy weather it ended up being a pretty good day. I'm staying at the same Quality Inn that I was at last night. I'm leaving tomorrow. Have a good evening. Tim |
my scenic drive to the Thurmond ghost town and under the New River Gorge Bridge on Fayette Station Road. |
Click on the arrow above for tomorrow's adventures.
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