New River Gorge Bridge

In honour of the continued American Government shutdown, let me tell you about the National Park I visited the day before it was closed.

(And let me just say that I'm very thankful to be Canadian today on Thanksgiving Day. Miss you Canada!)

The New River Gorge Bridge is located in West Virginia and is the world's longest single-arch steel span bridge. I've driven over this bridge multiple times on our journeys up and down the East Coast but never stopped to explore until Justin's dad suggested it.

The bridge is huge. It's 924m (3,030 ft) long and is 267m (876 ft) above the Kanawha (New) River (making it the third highest bridge in the US, preceded by the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado and the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge spanning between Arizona and Nevada...in case you wanted to know). The arch alone is 518m (1,700 ft). Beside its sheer size, the bridge is beautifully situated among a tree-filled gorge and a lovely river. I've heard the river is great for whitewater rafting...perhaps an adventure for next summer?

A few leaves had turned colour but the trees were still green. I imagined what the place must look like in a few weeks...then decided to let google image search show me.

The park had a trail leading partway down the gorge to give a better scale view. A few designated viewing spots along the trail included placards complete with fun facts, drawings, and history of the bridge. (Two Statues of Liberty and one Washington Memorial could fit underneath the arch!)

Photo via http://www.sasha-digiulian.com/blog/page/6

Happy Thanksgiving!