Joyce and Gayle decided to drive a short distance to the public access to the Meadow River, down a Jeep road past a Civil War soldier’s grave. The road we walked down was at one time the road to the Carnifax Ferry across the Gauley River and our destination was where the Meadow River flows into the Gauley and the site of the ferry crossing.
We enjoyed our downhill walk of about 2 miles and then walked along the river for about a half mile. There are huge boulders, many rapids, and large flat rocks that are easy to walk out on right by the flowing river. At the junction of the Meadow and Gauley, there is a large wide pool. We could see large expanses of rivers flowing through the mountains with no other people or development in sight.
The two mile trip back to the car was arduous. Joyce had been on the trail before in a Jeep and declared that the distance seemed much longer when walking up hill in the sunshine. We finally got back to the car and back to Joyce’s house where we collapsed into rocking chairs on her porch.
What a great walk! We hope to still be making that trip when Joyce is 90 and Gayle is 86. However, we hope she has a side by side by then.