After awaking, we packed, remade the bed, and loaded the car. Nan and George were already up, and we discussed whether or not we would travel home via the New River Gorge National Park (NP). We said our goodbyes, and once in the car opted to drive to the out-of-the-way park. After driving 200+ miles west on mostly interstate highways, the small NP visitor center sat among the southern West Virginia mountains. 

President Jimmy Carter signed legislation establishing New River Gorge National River on November 10, 1978, as a unit of the national park system “for the purpose of conserving and interpreting outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects in and around the New River Gorge, and preserving as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the New River in West Virginia for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.” And then the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Designation Act was incorporated into the 2021 Appropriations Act (former Senator Joe Manchin, WV), and signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020, changing the designation to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Less than 10% of the original national river (7,021 acres) was redesignated as a national park (NO HUNTING), while the remaining 65,165 acres was designated as a national preserve (HUNTING ALLOWED). Some months ago, this same ploy was attempted in Arkansas regarding the Buffalo River (making it a national park and preserve), but never materialized due to the mass outcries of the public.

We drove to various locations to observe the NP’s highlights, but were grossly underwhelmed—it is a rafting river, no more and no less.

After the route deviation, we began the long drive towards home, overnighting in Cookeville, Tennessee.

The drive home on Friday was definitely a Friday the 13th adventure. First, I began breaking out in whelps similar to mosquito bites, mostly on my left side (I sleep on my left side) except they didn’t go away and swelled to the size of quarters. Over a dozen bites appeared (BED BUGS). And we stayed in a highly rated and somewhat expensive hotel (Comfort Inn and Suites), Room 213. As we slept in different beds, Kay escaped any bites.

And then, just west of Little Rock in Interstate 40, traffic came to a complete standstill for an hour and forty-five minutes due to a 4-vehicle wreck. Another standstill was experienced southwest of Little Rock on Interstate 30, but only for a few minutes. We were very happy to arrive home, our place of refuge.