Off we go on another summer adventure. This time it will be a return to Lake Superior to finish the circle route we started a couple of years ago.

Heading north from NC, we often drive through the Virginia mountains and notice this shot tower from route 77. Only a short detour from the highway, we finally stopped to check it out.

 

Completed in 1807, the tower was used to make lead shot. Molten metal was dropped 150 feet from a room at the top of the tower into a large kettle of water at the base. Forming a sphere on the way down, the cooled shot was sorted and sold for ammunition. What we can see is only half of the drop as there is a shaft in the hill that extends down to the shore of the river below. The tower is often open for tours. More details can be found on the Virginia Parks website.

Exiting the park, we noticed a sign for the New River Trail State Park, less than 3 miles away. Of course we chose to head over there. We, well me mostly, were rewarded with a parking spot next to a vintage N&W Caboose.

Contrary to its name, the New River is one of the oldest rivers in the world. Flowing 360 miles from the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina north through Virginia and West Virginia, it meets the Kanawah River on its way to Ohio and the Mississippi.

Long a pathway for animals, people, and transportation systems, the park preserves some of the local buildings like the Foster Falls Hotel, constructed in 1887. The hotel served as a post office, commissary, and boarding house for the active local iron mining industry. 

If you enjoy bicycling, Foster Falls is a gateway to 57 miles of former railroad right of way along the river. We need to return and ride the scenic trail. From what we observed, it appears to be a beautiful trail made from finely packed gravel with gentle grades.

An eighty-four mile drive north, through the West Virginia mountains, had us at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine where we would spend the night.

Greeting us was an engineer emerging from the last mine tour of the day.

Preserved mining and railroad equipment surround the mine building. This 1910 “Dinky” steam engine helped remove 792 million tons of coal here. Mining was active for the hundred years between 1891 and 1991.

Admission to the Exhibition Coal Mine includes access to the surrounding historic buildings and a youth museum.

The city owned Coal Mine has an adjacent small campground with powered sites for $37.45 per night. The campground was clean and shaded. Restrooms were not open during our visit.

A couple from Wilmington, NC in a Pleasure-Way Excel were our neighbors.

P.S. You can fit a two person inflatable kayak behind the passenger seat of a Lexor and still squeeze through the sliding door.

Both of these State Parks are well worth a stop when traveling through Virginia on I77.