It’s summer. You are supposed to sweat a little when you are outside. And look at the cool night temps— perfect for soaking in the hot tub and sleeping with the window open. Or sitting next to the fire.
Come be lazy and do stuff you do not do the rest of the year. It’s summer. Act like it.
What’s your perfect forecast?
Perfect weather!
Look at this way: vacations are about doing stuff you would not normally do, right? So let’s take a walk on a trail on a warm summer night while the sun is setting and the moon is coming up, and peer into the past in the New River Gorge. You are looking into one of the oldest rivers in the world.
We made another list. Yep, we are stuck in the 60s. That may not appeal to some of you, so let me just say there is very little tie dye and no VW busses. I saw more tie dye at 4H camp last week than I have in past 20 years…
We do have a very happy, friendly vibe. It’s easy to walk around town and find good stuff to eat and buy.
And that friendliness is for everyone! HomoClimbtastic just wrapped up. It. Was. Ossum.
I have an idea: volunteer vacation in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!
There really is a thing called volunteer vacations/ voluntourism. You can sign up for trips to third-world countries online, and pay big bucks to do so. Lots of people do it every year.
Here is the great part: you don’t have to go to a third-world country to help. And West Virginia needs your help.
So here is the deal: you can stay in our really nice cabins, and we will give you 1 night free for every day you volunteer to help with flood cleanup. (There is some fine print to go with this offer— namely weeknights only, unless you stay for a full week, and it’s 1 free day per paid day.)
It will make you feel really good.
Volunteer part: We will help you get signed up with the local agency, so you have meaningful work to do each day.
Vacation Part: Then come back to your cabin in the woods to rest and relax. Take a river trip or some other adventure, and go out to dinner in Fayetteville.
The New River Gorge
Volunteer Part: Back out the next day to volunteer, because it made you feel great!
Vacation Part: Spend another night thanking your lucky stars and enjoying your cabin. Maybe head home after a morning zipline or Bridge Walk. Or just maybe do another day of helping out.
Warning! Some people get addicted to the volunteer work. (I have)
Most of the New River Gorge Area is up and running back to normal, minus a couple of trails and a backroad or 2. Summersville Lake is open again. We understand how the news would scare some people away. But it is not the whole state that got flooded, just some parts of 44 out of the 55 counties that make up Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.
Opossum Creek Retreat was unharmed by the floods. The latest numbers only tell part of the story, and many places will never be the same, never fully recover. The volunteer coordinators tell me they will need help throughout the summer, and in some places, much longer.
I love the muffled, soft quality of the woods when there is a fresh spring snow sticking to everything. A “quiet snow” is different— comforting, calming, giving everything all of its cool embrace and letting us all know to be patient, to hold on a little longer before we bust loose with the exuberance of spring.
All throughout the New River Gorge National Parks, the roads are open, making access to the muted wonder of winter’s last hurrah easy.
Take a driving tour or a walk in the woods, then enjoy a wonderful meal in Fayetteville, WV, and a relaxing hot tub session before cuddling up by the fire. Give us a call. We’ll be here even after the snow is gone.
Shutdown be damned! Bridge day is really happening anyway.
BASE Jumping is still on for Bridge Day, despite Government Shutdown.
It’s Official. “We will have Bridge Day even if the government is shut down,” said Sharon Cruikshank of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.
Yes, it will be a little different, but who will notice? My guess is no one. All the security and traffic control supplied by the State Highway Patrol will be in place, and everything is going to run smooth as silk.
Will we see fewer park Rangers? They are designated as essential, so they will be there.
The crew from New River Jetboats will be leading the team picking the jumpers out of the river— one of my favorite parts. The Ossum food vendors will be there.
We will be there, and we hope you will be here, too.
Everything except the world-famous Visitor Centers are open now. This park does not have a gate, so we are free to enjoy our lands, and the weather has been beyond perfect for fall fun.
Our guests always rank cleanliness at the very top of the scale on the exit surveys— something we are very proud of and work hard to ensure. Actually, now that I add them up, it is easily the highest-rated category. Looks like we need to work on signs, and we don’t answer the phone or respond to emails fast enough. (Why is everyone looking at me?)
So it was not a surprise to see this in the mail, and though it is not the first time, I had to take a pic and show it off.
Okay, we need your help. Well, WVU needs your help. Well, WVU and New River Gorge CVB. We all need your help.
Free night? In one of our gorgeous cabins? Awesome. Win it for yourself.
We will bribe you to help us, too.
It is easy; it will take a few minutes. It’s just a quick survey. And if you are like me, you will get mad at one or more of the questions because some PHD can’t speak English, and the question becomes, well, weird, confusing and/or stupid.
But all that aside, it is good stuff they are doing, and I (we) hope you will play along.
If you do play along, we will put you in a drawing for a free nights’ stay with your next reservation. There are some hoops, but, hey, it’s still free! This offer has a maximum value of $250, and requires a minimum 3-night stay (So, you could pay for two nights and get the third night free, up to a $250 value).
Pretty cool, because we know not everyone will spend the time to fill out a survey. Which means you have a greater chance of winning!
If you are on-site and seeing this, we will hand you a free T-shirt in exchange for the completed survey. (And give you bonus points for adding comments in the sidebar about better wording options for the question.)
They are not trying to talk down to us, they just can’t talk any other way. Maybe they could hire a 5th grader to translate? Next time.
Finish books (a woman stayed in cabin 3 writing for a month because she was “on a roll”.)
Paint.
Painting done during a stay at OCR
Get married.
Get inspired to get married.
Get inspired to stay married! (Maybe not in that order.)
Read books.
Draw.
Fall in love.
Forgive a loved one.
Explore, outside and in.
We talk about relaxing all the time.
These are the kinds of things people experience once they do relax.
All of these are stories we have heard from our guests, who have written in the guest books or in a note on the comment card. Some even have gone to the trouble to send us a thank-you letter. We are humbled and thrilled that you think of us this way.
The BSA Summit is very “Disney-esque.” Very well organized; everyone knows what to do when. Amazing design, wonderfully constructed with attention to detail.
Yes, they are still studying mud.
I heard not one complaint about the mud. But there is lots of it.
But the Tree House is perfect. What an amazing piece of work! Every school kid in Fayette County needs to spend the day in it. Or better yet, every school kid in the region. Heck, the country. This is a truly world-class learning environment.
The Summit’s Tree House
I would like a tour just to tell me about the bridge. The giant swinging bridge. Whoever thought this up was tripping for sure, and wow, is it OSSUM!
There are not many straight lines, and that is really cool. Even when they could go in a straight line, they did not, and man does it pay off in the overall feel of the place.
Could they do things better? Like have a lot more trash cans? And with every trash can a recycling bin? This is a big disconnect from the message that is so perfectly delivered in the Tree House.
Of course, “It will be better next time.”
But we saw so many happy faces, you had to smile along with them. From the fat old white guys in their scout outfits huffing up the hills talking about the wonders their troops had seen and experienced, to the solo young lady in her Venturer’s uniform from some foreign land studying every detail of the Tree House exhibit. I imagine her taking the idea back to her homeland and building something like it.
Geoff and his favorite part of the Summit!
The happy young locals laughed with the Scouts as they sold ice cream and lemonade from under little umbrellas, feeling the weight of the cash in their pockets and the newfound understanding that the Scouts are a lot like us.
Yes, business was slow for us, and all the other businesses I have talked to. Maybe that will change for the next one. Maybe we will see residual positive business from this long-term.
The most fantastic part, one way or another, no matter how distant or disjointed the connection between you and our visitors to the Summit is, this event changed people’s lives, because they came here to our WV.
No, really, it is hard to make a party any better than starting with costumes and dressing up. It’s like Halloween in June.
But there are a few things that really made this day in one of America’s “Coolest Small Towns” even better.
Start with a town full of happy people. (Back in the day I could have used the word “gay” in place of happy, but it has been taken over to mean other things.)
Add: puppies!
So many Sock Monkeys!
Add: a WWII Biplane. A giant Sock Monkey and some dude in a tux.
Add: lots of kids, Kids are shameless when it comes to putting on a costume. When do we lose that?
Add: a skydiver.
Add: a film crew. You are going to want to share the fantastic images later.
Add: perfect weather.
Add: some bikes, trikes, roller blades,longboards, and anything else that moves
Add: more Sock Monkeys.
Next, have everyone run around a lot, laughing, smiling, screaming, and yelling. Then…
Dance! Dance in the streets while the police block traffic for you! You will have to watch the video for this part.
What a great way to spend the afternoon. It reminds me what a lucky bunch we are. Humans, that is.
Out of my comfort zone?
No not at all. You?
All the puppies joined the party!
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