Friday, September 17, 2021
Guest River Gorge, Cumberland Gap National Park, Home
Moments after leaving our hotel in Bluefield, West Virginia, we entered its twin city of Bluefield, Virginia, and were on our way. We could have made it home in four hours, but we weren't done having fun, so it took all day.
Virginia is very pretty as well, so we decided to avoid I-81 for a more scenic drive on state and US highways. In Coeburn, VA, we stopped to hike a portion of the Guest River Gorge Trail. This is a bikable path, but we weren't going far enough to justify the loading and unloading. We hiked just far enough to reach an old railroad tunnel and bridge, about 1.1 mile in all. Not a lot of folks here on this beautiful, late summer, Friday afternoon.
Now in Virginia
Former railroad tunnel
Guest River
Where is everybody?
Less than an hour and a half from home, we decided to make one more stop, at Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. So after entering Tennessee, we immediately left again via the Cumberland Gap Tunnel and entered Kentucky.
Roadside view before leaving Virginia
Cumberland Gap Tunnel
Cumberland Gap National Park straddles the tri-point border of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The gap is a natural break in the Appalachian Mountains that long facilitated travel for Indians, westward pioneers, and Civil War soldiers. There's much history here, but today we were visiting for the views.
A steep, curvy road followed by a short, easy walk led us from Kentucky back into Virginia, ending at Pinnacle Point, with a breathtaking view for miles - a wonderful ending to our scenery-filled trip!
Tom at Pinnacle Point in Virginia
Looking out on Kentucky
Looking out on Tennessee
THE END
Tom
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