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There are few things in life better than a great drive. This weekend I visited my family back in WV and was reminded that sometimes the best drive is not the easiest.
We made a decision that instead of getting a good night of sleep and driving early Saturday morning we would head out Friday night. Leaving Columbus and spending 2 hours on I-70 we had no idea what was in store when we left the 4 lane and hit the country.
Our route took us down WV2 to US 250 to Wadestown Pike then Guston Run Rd (according to Google maps). These are all roads I grew up driving and all resemble a plate of spagetti. The adventure began on 250 where we kept seeing orange extention cordes across the road, every house had one which was very weird. About the same time the cords started showing the fog thickened up. Now I know central Ohio has fog warnings from time to time, but this was country fog thick as pea soup and unlike central Ohio these roads curve and climb and decend.
We drove and drove and after getting on 250 I do not think I ever got the car into 5th gear the combination of having the family in the car and the fog and a damp road really slowed us down. But the real fun came when we turned off 250 and headed over the hill. Ever since I was little this turn was refered to as going over the hill because the road gets steeper and narrower and curvier. Wadestown Pike is what I call a 2 line road, as in there are two yellow lines in the middle and no white lines, they were probably there at one point but have long since eroded into the hill. Even without traffic you feel like you could fall off into an abyss at any moment (a few times the road has simply fallen down the hill making a no line road or a 3/4 lane road).
Finnally we made the turn onto the final road into Fairview. Google calls this Guston Run Road but everybody calls it Klondike it is another 2 line road and the longest straight is probably 125 yards it is also pretty steep and the drive up has some serious exposure, a wrong move and you would roll a dozen times before hitting the valley bottom. Needless to say this is one of my favorite roads of all time. Friday night all you could see was fog filling the valley and those 2 yellow lines. After you climb the last hill the road gets straight and before you know it you are in Fairview WV safe and sound.
Saturday we drove to my aunt and unkle's farm which is another 20 miles of 2 line road with a 1/2 mile 3/4 lane dirt road at the end for good measure. Yesterday we went back the way we came and had half dry half wet roads.
Next time we go I will take some pictures of these roads they are amazing and demanding and make every trip to grandma's house more interesting!
West Virginia? "Over the river and through the woods to Ned Beatty's house we'll go" , all while squealing like a pig! SWounds like a great drive. Did you every find out why the orange extension cords were laying across the road?
Actually it looked like they were getting ready to run new lines so I am sure they were a stop gap of some kind. Before we figured them out we thought 2 things:
1. Jill thought it was an alien booby trap.
2. I thought Jed left town and the rest of the state was steeling his electric.
I too love roads like that. Maybe this fall I can do some exploring on those roads.
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/gallery/data/500/Signature81.JPG
