Here’s our selfie from this stop.

We were in spot 7B at Wapocoma Campground.

We have never camped anywhere that had so many rabbits. They were EVERYWHERE. Piper tried like hell to figure out how to catch one of them, but he never realized success.

This is a photo of the campground before the weekend. Our view from Friday through Sunday was into the kitchen window of another camper. We preferred this version.

The view of the mountains off in the distance changed constantly, depending on the sun, clouds and all other atmospheric contributors.

There weren’t too many attractions around the Romney area, so I spent some of my time just floating in the river.

The mountains during sunset.

Wapocoma Campground is on the South Branch of the Potomac River. They have about one mile of riverbank that wraps around the boundaries of the campground.

Mike and I tried to get out in the inflatable kayak, but we were going against the current at first. Our effort at teamwork was challenged prematurely and we came back into shore after about 30 minutes. That was better than remaining in the kayak until a full-tilt argument ensued. I’m not very good at paddling in unison. Let’s just leave it at that…

All of the camp sites were set off the water by a small distance, so there was a large rocky beach area for everyone to share and enjoy.

Our trip from Gauley Bridge to Romney was an arduous one. I was terrified of the twists and turns, which wasn’t so much fun for the driver of the rig. We could not take the ‘direct’ route through the mountains because of all the switchbacks, so we had to travel north to Morgantown in order to stay on a large interstate for as long as possible. When we exited I-68 in Cumberland, the Truck Route to Hwy 28 was almost impossible to find. We had to detour into a shopping center and take a hard look at google maps to find a road that was big enough to get us through town. In exasperation, I called UPS and asked the lady for the route that their big trucks take through town. It worked and we found our way. When we arrived at the campground, this was the sky that greeted us. Needless to say, that was an intense travel day.

This is a better picture of the rocky beach area at the campground.

We had a quick but fierce storm pass through Gauley Bridge on the last night we were there. A small branch pelted our roof and damaged our big awning. Our roof leak resurfaced and it has detained us while in Maryland, but this is what happened across the river from us. This big tree blew over and took over the entire house! Luckily, it was only a weekend home and no humans were displaced.

A waterfall on the way to our campground.

New River Gorge

Trains transporting coal rumbled through the base of the mountains and echoed back up into the hills until the environment vibrated ever so slightly with the rhythm of engines, tracks, breaks and horns. When it passed, everything would be magically quiet until the hint of the rumble started the sequence all over again.

One of Mike’s fishing holes was from the rocks under the shade trees at the far end of the campground boundary, on the New River.

Kanawha Falls

Heeeerrrrree Fishy Fishy.

A typical view from our Cliff Side Trail Hike at Hawke’s Nest State Park. If you looked the other way, it was just straight down. Just tops of trees is all you saw, basically. I didn’t stop to ponder the view in that direction too intently.

We went to church from this stop. The Methodist Church was just down the road, and they had a 9:45 service on Sunday. There were SEVEN people in the sanctuary that day, including the minister and the piano player (who was a member of the Baptist Church down the street, and just volunteered her time on Sunday mornings). It was a nice service.

Bald eagles flying over the river at our camp.

Do you see the face?

The view from my bedroom window at this stop.

The Governor’s Mansion in Charleston, West Virginia.

West Virginia Capitol Building

A section of our trail on the Cliff Side hike.

The whole time we went DOWN the Cliff Side Trail Path, I kept dreading the part when we turned around and went back UP! Ugh.

The economy in West Virginia is very depressed. There is no shopping, there are no restaurants. Not much to ‘do’. The natural beauty is phenomenal… and this is pretty much how we spent our afternoons during the stretch of beautiful weather.

Cathedral Falls was, literally, right around the corner from our campground.

The historic bridge over the New River Gorge.

A blog post would not be complete without a photo of Mike’s beloved geese.

Our spot from Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. They told us the people at the dam would call if it was going to flood.

The treat of our Cliff Side Trail Hike was finding this waterfall. The sound of it lured us along the path for what seemed like an eternity.