Virginia Adventuring, Back to Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia

Tuesday, 25 August

The night was very quiet and very dark. It was almost like boondocking in some remote National Forest area.

As today's activity was bike riding nearby, we enjoyed a very leisurely start to the day. Kris made scrambled egg, bacon and cheese wraps. We learned how to make scrambled eggs in a microwave from Scott of the "Go Small, Live Large" YouTube channel. Quick, easy and no messy fry pan to have to clean up afterwards.

The bike ride today was the Wilderness Road Trail. The trail description from TrailLink: "History runs deep along the Wilderness Road Trail, which roughly follows a path carved by Daniel Boone in April 1775. The path later became a route on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad before finally being converted to a rail-trail that stretches from a national historic park to a state park."

https://www.traillink.com/trail/wilderness-road-trail/

One of the trail's reviews included "We were cautioned by the ranger at the Visitors Center that the trail deteriorated once it left the State Park grounds. It certainly did. It ran right along route 58 and was overgrown with weeds and a poor base. We turned around before reaching the National Park as riding beside the highway on a shifting base wasn't much fun."

A check of Google Maps (same source that provided so much added adventure yesterday) found an unpaved park service road that led from the National Park campground to the west end of the Wilderness Road Trail. Darrell proposed the idea of riding our eBikes,was from the campground to Kris, and included what the reviews had said about the west end of the trail. Kris wisely suggested we stick to the original plan of driving the 6 miles to Wilderness Road State Park and riding from there.

We got Sprinty settled with a majestic view to enjoy while we rode. We learned on the ride that white rocks near the tops of the mountain ridge were used by 18th century pioneers to know that they were getting close to Cumberland Gap.

Wilderness Road State Park Visitor Center is located about 2 miles west of the east end of the trail. We rode the 2 miles to the east end, then turned around to ride to the west end. The state park section was quite nice. Mostly shaded, crushed gravel base, with only a few muddy sections and horse droppings to avoid.

When we left the state park's western boundary, and continued west towards the national park, the trail basically followed alongside US58, was unshaded, and got much rougher - larger gravel, more bumpy. Just like the trail review said. It would not have been rideable with our regular bikes.

We were able to ride some gnarly sections with the eBikes making us very glad that we had them today. Riding the rougher, gravely terrain reminded us of a ride we did in Quartzsite with our regular bikes on similar loose gravel where we had to turn around.

For the record, Darrell is the one who cried "uncle" and decided to turn back after the trail got rocky and really, really rough. Kris was a trooper - never complained, never said stop. But she will tell you she was close.

Photo from turnaround spot:

As mentioned, the reviews on the trail were accurate. The part outside of the state park was not fun. Plenty of nice trail to ride in the state park though. Plus while riding in the state park you're in the shade the entire way.

We would not consider this a destination bike ride, but if you're passing through the area, it's a nice place to get the bikes out and get some exercise.

While you can park at the state park and pay the five dollars day use fee, there is free parking at either end of the trail where it won't cost you anything. There is a parking lot on the east end of the trail accessible from US58 about 2 miles east of the parks main entrance, and a parking area on the west end of the state park park portion of the trail.

On the ride west, we passed a sign describing how long before Warriors Path came into being, an even more ancient road threaded its way through Powell's Valley. That road was a pathway, a migration route carved by Eastern Woodlands Bison.

What we missed on the way by the first time were the bison just on the other side of the fence by the sign.

Back at the main part of the state park, we checked out the Fort at Martin's Station. The Station features the most authentic reconstructed frontier Fort in America. We learned later, it is only open Wednesday through Sunday.

After putting the eBikes away, we enjoyed a lunch while we reviewed the plan for the day. The original plan had us staying at an RV park in Big Stone Gap, VA. However, taking a look at the Offbeat Attractions app found a point of interest called Flag Rock near Norton, VA, another 13 miles East. And Norton, VA had a city campground with 18 electric sites for $20/night. With no reservations, we decided to give it a try.

Once again, we laid in the route in Google Maps and set off without giving much thought to the route. After all, Google Maps has proven to provide reliable directions. ;) Most of the route from Wilderness Road State Park was on US58, US 58 Alternate and US23. Until you got to Norton. Then we turned off the highway on to another squiggly road that climbed about 1,000 feet in elevation in less than two miles to Flag Rock Recreation Area.

That the road had no centerline (again) provided a bit of a clue to the road. And as we climbed up, the road got narrower and narrower, with some very steep, tight switch back turns. Fortunately, other drivers were watching as they came down and would stop so we weren't both trying to navigate the tight switchbacks at the same time. We estimated the grades in some places were in excess of 20%.

We checked out the campground and found about 2/3rds of the sites were available. We then went to the Flag Rock Observation Point. As narrow as the roads had been up to this point, they were even narrower to the observation point. Sprinty had to share the road with several oncoming vehicles on the way up and back down.

Atop Flag Rock is a flag pole with an American Flag flying, with the city of Norton down below. Story is that the flagpole was erected by a German immigrant in 1925 to show his appreciation for his adopted country.

Also at the observation point was a statute of Darrell's other brother "Darrell":

The plaque is a City on Norton resolution declaring this area to be a Sasquatch/Bigfoot sanctuary.

From the city website:

• "The Legend of the "Woodbooger". If walking the gravel footpath to the Flag Rock Overlook in Flag Rock Recreation Area, you can't miss the giant statue of a Bigfoot-like creature located just beyond the parking area.  Known locally as the "Woodbooger," the city erected the statue and Norton City Council designated the recreation area a "Woodbooger Sanctuary" following a visit by Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot TV show. In 2011, the show spent a week in Southwest Virginia filming an episode that features scenes from High Knob, as well as Washington County, Damascus, and Saltville. Since then, the city has embraced this mythical creature, with local businesses selling "Woodbooger" merchandise and the establishment of the "Woodbooger Festival." The festival is held each fall in Flag Rock Recreation Area."

We returned to the campground and registered Sprinty in his site for the night. Verizon must not like this part of Virginia very much. Despite 1, 2 sometimes 3 bars, the data is unusable. AT&T is better and is enabling us refine our plans for the next few days.

A check of the Compass app found our campsite is at 3,090 feet elevation, while the city is at 2,133 feet elevation.

Wednesday, 26 August

A pretty quiet night in a mostly empty campground. With a 10:30am tee time at a golf course 35 minutes away, we enjoyed a leisurely morning. And were still ready to go before we had to. So we did, as the online tee system indicated there might be some earlier opportunities available.

Sprinty navigated the squiggly road down the 1,000 feet elevation drop in 1.8 miles like the champ he is. Kris watched for vehicles coming up the squiggles so we could avoid passing anyone in the tight hairpin curves.

Once back to Norton, VA, we continued north on US23, aka the Country Music Highway. An uneventful trip. As we crested a long grade up, we crossed back into Kentucky.

We arrived at Raven Rock Golf Course in Jenkins, KY about 9am. The staff was very nice and welcoming, and confirmed we could start earlier than our tee time. We would be following a large group that started at 9am. We later learned the large group (three four-somes today) played everyday at 9am.

The driving range was very short - maybe 130 yards to the furthest point. So we did not practice too many shots. We started about 9:45. The first holes was a par 3 that crossed a ravine. The landing area was just larger than the green. We were both relieved that we carried the junk. Darrell started strong on the first two holes, then had his ball play hide-n-seek in the jungle on the right side of the third hole. Kris made birdie on the next hole. We made the turn with Darrell leading. The four-some in front of us invited us to play through on the 11th, which we declined as we knew we would just be waiting on the next four-some. We appreciated the gesture though. We both scored the same on the back nine. Darrell held on to have honors despite having three balls win at hide-and-seek, managing to find the one that tried to hide by running through the fairway on a dogleg par 5.

We finished in just over 3 hours, which made our decision last night to stay in Paintsville Lake State Park near Staffordsville, KY seem really smart. Our original plan was a city campground in Pikeville, KY, which was only about 30 minutes from the golf course.

We did stop in Pikeville for Darrell to pay up. He asked Google Maps for directions to what looked like a stand-alone Starbucks. We prefer stand-alone stores as you can usually order using the Starbucks app, thereby limiting the time spent inside. Just before we got there, we learned that the store we were headed towards did not do mobile ordering. Just as we were about to make the last right turn to what appeared to be the Starbucks parking lot, Darrell saw that it was actually an entrance to an parking garage for the medical center. He was able to recover before creating a traffic obstacle by aborting the right turn. After getting sorted out, it was obvious that there was no nearby parking for anyone within a reasonable walking distance of the medical center, much less something Sprinty sized.

We also saw signs for the Hatfield and McCoy Feud Museum. Hmmmm. Maybe next time.

So on to plan B which was a Starbucks in a Food City grocery store about 3 miles away. As we transited the three miles, we both noticed much more aggressive drivers than we had been experiencing. A couple for guys in pickup trucks seemed intent on reading the labels on the Rad eBikes on the bike rack. A little unsettling.

After the brief stop for Starbucks, we continued to Paintsville Lake State Park near Staffordsville, KY. As we got off US23, aka Country Music Highway, we passed the Country Music Highway Museum. Also for another time.

As we drove up to the campground checkin, the lady manning the booth handed us our registration packet without even asking our name. When we made the reservation last night, they had 4 sites left. By the time we arrived, one of the sites we considered was now occupied, making us glad we made the reservation last night.

We kicked back the rest of the afternoon as temperatures were in the mid-90s, and the heat had already extracted a toll during golf. We immediately plugged in and put Sprinty's air conditioner to good use.

After dinner, when temperatures had cooled to the mid-80s, we strolled through the campground and adjacent state park marina. A short stroll as mosquitoes were hungry. We did manage to enjoy the evening sunset by the lake. And we both commented on the contrast between this campground and the last two Sprinty picked.

Thursday, 27 August

Our original plan was to ride our bikes on the Dawkins Line Rail Trail. A Rails-to-Trails trail that has 18 miles of the planned 36-mile completed. Although only half-finished, the trail has already become the state's longest rail-trail. https://www.traillink.com/trail/dawkins-line-rail-trail/

Part of choosing Paintsville Lake State Park was its proximity to a trailhead in Collista, KY, only a few miles away. However, with the fun Sprinty has had with Google Maps over the last few days, it seemed prudent to research a bit more thoroughly. A review of trail parking areas via Google satellite view found they seemed a little too remote to leave Sprinty unsupervised for two to fours hours.

So we came up with a new plan. To play golf. Surprise?

As we wanted to continue in the general direction of Deep Creek Lake, we looked for courses along that general heading. We found some that were described as challenging, and looked to be yet another mountain course. With two mountain courses under our belt recently, we looked for something different.

We settled on Sugarwood Golf a Course in Lavalette, WV. Their web site indicated they did not reserve tee times on weekdays, only on weekends. There was another golf course in the same town that also looked promising if Sugarwood was not available.

With no tee time, we were in no particular rush other than the typical summer afternoon thunderstorm threat. We broke camp just after 8am, and continued up US23. We enjoyed light traffic, pretty scenery. Sprinty must have liked it too as he returned almost 20mpg.

We arrived about 9:30 to a modestly full parking lot, but no one waiting to start. We spent a few minutes on the practice green, and went off. We both opened with very nice drives but could not convert for a par. We made identical scores on the first 8 holes, with Darrell picking up one stoke on the 9th to make the turn up. Kris tied it up on the 14th, and bested Darrell on each of the final three holes to take honors.

We went into Huntington, WV for diesel and Starbucks. While at the Starbucks, we reviewed the latest weather forecast for the rest of today, tomorrow and Saturday. Remnants of Tropical Storm Laura was supposed to arrive in West Virginia on Friday, so playing outdoors would be wet, if at all.

We picked Forked Run State Park in Reedsville, OH as our destination for the night. We enjoyed a nice drive along the Ohio River. Just as we crossed into Ohio, we encountered rain. From the Ohio State Park reservation system, we knew most of the campsites were unoccupied tonight. When we arrived, we found the office closed, and a sign saying campsites were only available with a reservation, either online or by phone.

We wisely decided to drive through the campground to check out our options. The first loop had no cell signal. Most of the sites in all the loops were very short something the reservation system made hard to decipher. We found a site in the loop at the top of the hill (so it had marginal cell service) that we could just fit Sprinty in. After verifying we could tuck Sprinty into the site, with enough cell signal, we made the necessary reservation online. Despite the site description for the site which suggested a 24 foot motorhome would fit, when it came time to checkout, we had to say we were less than 20 feet. As we were tucked in enough, we secured the site.

No doubt the fact that the majority of the sites are 20 feet or less is a key contributor to why the campground is nearly empty when many RVers around the country are complaining about crowded campgrounds and inability to get in to many campgrounds.

In our loop, there are only four other campers. The other loops were similar. With our cellular boosters and other equipment, we were able to get enough internet to check email, plan the next few days, spend some $$ on Amazon, and even stream some YouTube videos.

Friday, 28 August

With two days of rain forecast and lacking indoor adventure opportunities due to COVID-19, we decided to just take it on in to our place at Deep Creek Lake. Checking the weather when we got up suggested we might be able to get to ride in before the rain. So we picked the North Bend Rail Trail, which runs from Parkersburg, WV to Clarksburg, WV. Our original trip plan had us riding on this trail around the midpoint.

The western trailhead was on the east side on Parkersburg, and as we crossed the Little Kanawha River just before the exit, we saw the river was very muddy brown. As we pulled up the the trailhead, there was a bunch of construction equipment and piles of gravel making the parking area almost unusable. A fellow walking by asked if we planned on riding the trail, and suggested not riding the first few miles as there was a pipeline project that had torn up the trail. He suggested we start riding a few miles further down.

So we looked up another trailhead and headed in that direction. Along the way, we saw that the trail was not in the shape we thought it should be, and very muddy. It was obvious this area had seen a lot of rain. Of course, in the process we had to transverse another road with no lines that narrowed up to barely one lane wide before turning into a gravel road. For the record, the designated trailhead we were headed for did not require going down the road we did. We saw a sign for the Rail Trail and decided to check it out.

By now, any enthusiasm for riding on the North Bend Rail Trail has been dashed, so we headed for Deep Creek Lake. We made a stop in Clarksburg for groceries. As we crossed into Maryland on I-68, we saw rain in the distance. Maybe by stopping for groceries, we got behind the rain. Just as we stopped for diesel in McHenry, MD on the north end of Deep Creek Lake, Glotfelty Tire called to say our tires were in. We we decided to go ahead and have them installed this afternoon instead for our scheduled appointment on Tuesday. Sprinty now sports new front tires.

Photo of Sprinty at tire place with Kris in the COVID-19 waiting room:

And our visit to the tire place was between rainstorms so we did not get wet in the "waiting room",

The trip to Deep Creek Lake wound up being a nine-day trip and we covered 1,000 miles (Google Maps shows it being 669 miles). A nice adventure.

Sprinty now gets a break from adventuring as he shifts into daily driver mode for awhile. Several projects await which will keep Darrell busy for awhile.