I told you we were fortunate to stay at the Count Gilu (pronounced "Guy - Lou") Motel with a group of friends who book their rooms a year in advance for their annual reunion during the October Sky festival. Most of these interesting people are connected by their long history with Coalwood; some of them are festival attendees who have returned year after year. In fact the entire founding board of the Coalwood Historical Society is in this photo. [If you click on the photo, you will be taken to my flickr album showing all the names and current cities of the folks in this photo.]
So, the festival exceeded my expectations largely because of the fun times and interesting stories shared by our new Coalwood friends. As Rhonda Goad (a Coalwood native) put it, "I love coming to the festival to meet people like you who come all the way here to see Coalwood!" Among those pictured are David and Lucille who are from London, um, that's London, KY. They ride motorcycles, and we have talked about a spring bike trip to meet somewhere in the middle between our hometown and theirs. Lucille sings like an angel. In addition, we met Jerry and Peggy who live in Erin, Tennessee. That's just 35 minutes north of our place on the Buffalo River. In fact, they drive by our place on their frequent trips to the Mennonite store just 8 miles away. I'm counting on having them stop by to visit on their next trip to the store. Folks, it's a small world just filled with interesting people.
Our journey to Cumberland Gap via mountain roads took us back through the coal mining towns of Coalwood, Caretta and War, West Virginia. I managed to get this shot of the homes built by the Carter Coal Company in Coalwood on Substation Row. It looks like the roofing material is the original from when the houses were built in the 1930s! The coal company rented the homes for years and supplied free coal for heating. In the late 1950s the company decided to sell the houses to the residents and charge for coal for heating. That's when the homes went from the standard white to whatever color the resident wanted.
Although West Virginia towns are small, they are long. The buildings are built along the roads in valleys and hollows between the mountains. Some of the communities cling tenaciously to the mountainsides. During the festival, I met two bikers from Webster Springs in central West Virginia. They told me the mountains there are twice as high as those in Coalwood. They assured me that sunlight has to be "piped in" to their valleys.
I was thrilled to catch this shot as we drove through Caretta. The morning sun created a silhouette of the inactive skip hoist. The coal mine in Coalwood and Caretta shut down in 1986 which really changed the face of these towns. Of course, I had the lyrics of a song in my mind. I can just hear the deep voice of Tennessee Ernie Ford singing this:
I think this is the Bay Star Coal Mine outside of War, WV. Take note of the green canvas at the bottom of the photo. This is a screen (8 to 10 feet high) erected all around the coal yard. We saw it at all of the active coal mines that we passed. It is a visual barrier only or does it have an additional purpose?
We were hoping to make it to Cumberland Gap before the end of the day. When we stopped for a late lunch in Duffield, Virginia, Sid was visibly exhausted - pale and shaky. Our trip through the West Virginia mountains in addition to Virginia Highway 65, a winding two-lane mountain road that follows the path of the Clinch River, really took a toll on Sid's stamina. His shoulders were really aching. I suggested we stop for the evening, and we were fortunate to find a nearby motel to give us a respite from the road. I immediately took a "sympathy nap" in Sid's honor.
The next morning it was chilly and gray, and we hit the road again - refreshed, but with a new plan to travel shorter distances each day to make sure we are not "biking while exhausted." Sid suggested we get off the Hwy 58 bypass to drive through this little town, Ewing, Virginia. "Who knows?" he said, "We might even see a movie theatre!" This town was so tiny I never expected to see this theatre. Clearly, it had seen better days. We had hoped to find a cafe for breakfast. No such luck! Where do these folks eat along Hwy 58? I would be happy to see a convenience store.
We followed this bank of clouds for miles on the way to Cumberland Gap. Wouldn't it have been nice to run across a Rock City barn? In spite of this gray, drab morning, this is a beautiful drive. Gorgeous farms line this wide valley. Such a difference from the constant mountains and tight valleys of West Virginia.
Cumberland Gap is, without a doubt, one of the most important pieces of land in American history. It is a low point in the Cumberland Mountains where the states of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia all meet. It was the path generations of Native Americans and early pioneers took. Historians now estimate that between 1760 and 1850, almost 300,000 people walked, rode, or were carried through the Cumberland Gap. We headed to the town where we had eaten a lovely lunch at the Tea Room cafe in the past. My stomach growled as we rode up to discover the cafe had been replaced by the Wilderness Road Outfitters store - not a muffin in sight!
Before the day was over, the sun came out when we finally reached Tennessee. We saw several of these barns with quilt patterns which told us we were on the Appalachian Quilt Trail. It is a great way to experience the variety of rural life in one of the country's most scenic areas. It's easy to spot waypoints and trail stops along the trail: just look for the painted wooden squares. We have seen these squares throughout our trip...sounds like a good excuse for the next bike trip.
We drove through Allardt, Tennessee, home of the Giant Pumpkin Festival and Weigh-Off, which was held on Oct 3 & 4. This year's winner was John VanHook of Somerset, Kentucky, with a pumpkin that weighed 1266.10 lbs! I hate it that we missed this event...After a late lunch in Livingston, Tennessee, we stopped for the evening at a motel with no internet.
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