July 21, 2025 • 41 mins
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve is one of the country's youngest National Parks. Natural environment, industrial innovation, and the rights of workers all take center stage in this park. And one weekend a year, so does jumping off the bridge.
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Missy (00:02):
We are headed to the country's youngest national park
where natural environment,industrial innovation, and the
rights of workers all takecenter stage and one weekend a
year.
So does jumping off a bridge.
Join me as we explore New RiverGorge National Park.
I'm your host, Missy Rentz, andthis is the Parks podcast.
(00:26):
We are so happy to welcome EveWest, who is the chief of
Interpretation and education atNew River Gorge National Park
and Preserve Eve.
Welcome to the Parks podcast.
Eve (00:37):
Well, thank you.
I'm very happy to be here.
Missy (00:39):
So we start every episode with some stats.
Let me go through this for thispark.
New River Gorge National Parkand Preserve is located north of
Fayetteville, West Virginia.
It is the 63rd National Park, sothe newest national Park.
In November of 1978, it wasclassified as a national river,
(01:00):
but then in 2020, Congressre-designated it as a national
park.
The park is more than 70,000acres, and in 2024 they had
1,811,937 visitors.
Some interesting notes on thepark.
The New River is one of theoldest rivers on the continent.
(01:23):
There are over 100 miles ofhiking and biking trails in the
park.
It is home to New River GorgeBridge, which is, the longest
steel span Arch Bridge in theWestern Hemisphere.
And is the.
Third highest bridge in theUnited States.
There are 65 species of mammals,including chipmunks, squirrels,
(01:44):
coyotes, red and gray, foxes,groundhog, and more.
There are 10 species of bats, 40species of reptiles.
50 species of amphibians.
This is a great park and one ofthe things.
I think about this park.
So Eve there's sometimes I go toa park and I know everything
that I'm gonna see this is likethe Onion Park to me.
(02:06):
I went there for something and Ijust kept peeling away and
finding more and more.
And even as I was preparing forthis episode, there's more now
that I wanna see.
It's huge.
Eve (02:17):
Yeah, it's interesting because people think of the
Smokies and they think of parkslike that, that are so
biologically diverse,botanically diverse, and it is
part of the reason I think thatthere are so many layers here to
this.
Park, it's still fairly new, andso science is new here to a
certain degree, and so there's alot of research yet to be done
on the numbers of species andthose sorts of things.
(02:39):
So when you say like 65 speciesof mammals, that's what we know
about.
There may be more.
We are still a fairly unstudiedresource here, so we are
learning new things about thisplace every day.
It's a place that if you are anaturalist, whatever discipline
that might be, you can reallyfind a place here.
You can find a niche here.
There's something to be studied
Missy (02:58):
Absolutely.
And we mentioned that, 47 yearsago it was a National River and
it is new.
It's only five years ago that itwas made a national park.
Why is it important that NewRiver Gorge be part of the
National Park Service?
Eve (03:11):
It is a resource that is.
Unsurpassed in the variety ofthings that we have.
I've worked in a lot ofdifferent national parks and
I've visited a lot of parks aswell.
You can't help but comparethings and, it's apples and
oranges.
You can't compare the Evergladesto Mount Rainier or Cape Cod,
there's just so many differentwonderful places that we have.
(03:31):
I have a friend who works downthe Smokies, and she said this
to me one time, she said, youguys have it all.
She said, you really have itall.
And I said, yeah, that's kind oftrue in some ways.
I mean, we have spectacularscenery.
We have the geologic story, wehave the natural history, we
have, the plants.
But we also have tremendousrecreational opportunities here.
(03:53):
When you talk healthy parks,healthy people, this is a place
you can get healthy.
You can get hurt, but you canalso stay, get healthy too.
'cause there's so many differentthings you can do here.
So if you like to rock climb, ifyou like to mountain bike, if
you like to river raft, hike,zip line, whatever it is that
you enjoy doing, whatever yourthing is, you can pretty much
find it here.
I always like to say, if you getbored here, the problem isn't
(04:14):
with the place
Missy (04:15):
No.
Well, and, you brought up likethe physical, activities, but
there's also mental,'causethere's so many historical spots
within the.
Eve (04:22):
Yeah.
And I didn't even touch uponthat.
So, since West Virginia, at onetime being part of the
Commonwealth of Virginia aswell.
The history here being part ofthe Eastern United States, goes
back to George Washington in hisyoung days.
George Washington is a surveyor.
A young man came through thisarea, long before there were
aspirations of, of probablypolitics or the presidency.
So yeah, it's, the history hereis very, very deep.
(04:45):
It goes back to, prehistoric aswell.
And it's interesting history.
It's neat stuff, and it'svaried.
There's a couple of stories herethat I always like to, that
makes us nationally significant.
And one is that of Henry Fordwho leased the mines here at New
River from, 1920 to 1929.
The mines at Berg in order tofuel his, automobile industry in
(05:07):
Dearborn, Michigan.
So Henry Ford was here.
We've got infrastructure herestill related to the Ford era,
that was state of the art forthat time period.
He was here.
And then we also have Carter gWoodson, who was the father of
Black History Month, and he wasa coal miner here.
He was working the same coalmines that Henry Ford leased so
we have those two really coolstories that are just little
(05:27):
nuggets out there that a lot ofpeople don't know about.
Mother Jones had a tremendousimpact here on workers' rights.
So there's that story here aswell.
So we've got a really diversestory.
It's not just coal mining andrailroading and timbering.
There's all these little nichestories like that as well that
makes this a fascinating place.
You can't get bored here in thatregard.
Missy (05:45):
And one of the things that's unique about this park is
it's park and preserve.
Eve (05:50):
Correct.
Missy (05:50):
Why that designation?
What does that preserve mean?
Eve (05:53):
So there were movements throughout the years to
transition this from a nationalriver to a national park.
The most recent one occurringin, you know, 20 16, 20 17.
And they were first looking atNational Park, but then they
realized that if they made itjust a national park, that
would, discount.
Hunting, which was a traditionaluse of the area.
(06:14):
So in order to allow hunting tomaintain that as a traditional
use here, they decided to optfor the National Park and
Preserve designation.
And we are one of, I think.
Two National Park and preservesin the lower 48.
The other one being Great SandDunes in, Colorado.
There are a number up in Alaska,but, and then there are national
(06:37):
preserves here in the lower 48,but I think we're one of just
two of the national parks andpreserves, unless that's
changed, things change all thetime.
But as far as I know that,that's still the case.
So about 90% of the park isconsidered national preserve
where you can hunt in, duringhunting season.
And then the other 10% isNational Park.
So that hunting is not allowedin,
Missy (06:56):
And I know we're going a little more in depth in it, but
we often talk about there'sparks that are for natural
conservation and there's parksfor historic conservation.
And you are both at New RiverGorge.
Can you tell us a little bitmore,'cause you've already
started on what is the historicconservation and then what are
some of the naturalconservations that are
happening?
Eve (07:16):
Yeah.
So, when the park wasestablished.
Is the enabling legislation thatestablished the park and, what
the primary emphasis were to,preserve the spectacular
scenery.
They recognized the botanicaldiversity considered to be the
most botanically diverse riversystem.
In the lower Appalachianmountains, central to Southern
Appalachian mountains.
(07:37):
So, preserving all those naturalfeatures was very important.
The geologic, I.
Features that are here quiteunique.
And then, but they alsorecognized that there were the
cultural features as well.
So preserving that culturalhistory was very important.
And the three main industriesthat they did focus on that they
were looking at the most werecoal mining.
Timbering and railroading.
So those are the three majorstories that they're told here.
(08:00):
Preserving both of thoseelements and one really does not
supersede the other.
We've got, emphasis here on ournatural resources, but also, on
our cultural resources as well.
There were around a hundredsmall towns.
Running up and down the 53 milesthat make up New River Gorge
back during the heydays of thecoal mining industry.
So those remnants of those townsare still out there.
(08:21):
And that's part of what wemonitor, with our archeology,
with our cultural resourcepreservation.
So that's just, that's a hugepiece of what we do.
Missy (08:29):
When I start my research for any conversation, I go to
the National Parks Service,website first.
And one of the elements that istalked a lot about on your
section of the website is thechanging forest and how that
impacts the park.
How is our changing forestsystem impacting the park and
(08:51):
the resources?
Eve (08:53):
This, in most cases, this is a recovering forest because,
when they came in, when theybuilt the railroad and, finished
it in 1873 and all these littletowns started popping up, of
course they needed timber andthings like that, the natural
resources to sustain thosetowns.
So, the forests were basicallyjust denuded.
In many, many areas.
And so pretty much everythingyou see here in the park right
(09:14):
now is, second growth.
There are some old growthforests, some little pockets
that they couldn't get to, butfor the most part, these are
second growth forests.
It's tremendous how well thisarea has bounced back.
If you look out, stand atGrandview at the main overlook
and lookout, in front of you,you would never think that that
area had been logged.
Missy (09:32):
Never.
Eve (09:33):
But it had been, most of it's been logged.
'Cause if you look at historicphotographs, there's, I'm not
gonna say it's, total, no trees,but it's, there's just not as
much out there.
It's amazing the resilience ofthis land, how well it's come
back.
And I think that does speak tothe conservation and the,
preservation, attitudes of thepeople that live here as well.
Missy (09:53):
Is any of it about the climate of that area?
And I ask,'cause I live inVirginia and so New River Gorge
driving by you is kind of mygateway to the west.
I always have to go through youand every time I'm headed that
way.
It's either socked in by fog or,it's socked in by rain or it's
this beautiful blue sky sunnyday.
(10:13):
So it's really diverse climatesup there
Eve (10:16):
Oh yeah.
It's incredible.
I mean, we do get a lot ofmoisture and a lot of rain here.
In fact, I think Beckley is inthe, the town of Beckley itself,
which is pretty much in thecenter of the park, it's
considered one of the top 10rainiest cities in the United
States, so it's, you feel likeyou're in the Pacific Northwest
at times here.
Which is good.
That's why we have all this lushvegetation.
But yeah, new rivers actuallytoo.
(10:38):
It's also considered to be acarbon sink.
This whole area is considered tobe a carbon sink.
And so, with changing climatesand changing things, this is an
area that actually absorbscarbon because of all the, the
forests that are here.
It's a good thing.
That's why we need trees.
That's why we need this need tosustain this.
If you look at a map of theEastern United States at night
(10:58):
and you see all the lights thatare along the eastern seaboard
and the eastern coast thatextend throughout the east,
you're gonna see this big blobof black.
And that's West Virginia, that'sthis whole area through here.
It's not that we don't havelights here and in the night
sky, but it is fairly,relatively speaking, undeveloped
Missy (11:16):
it's beautiful.
Eve (11:16):
Mm-hmm.
Missy (11:17):
one of the things that I've never talked about on the
Parks podcast, and you're not,the only park impacted, but you
are one of the few I've seenthat talk about it is invasive
species.
You have a whole section on thewebsite and I'd love to talk a
little bit about.
What are invasive species, whatit's doing to the park and to
forests specifically towardsyou, but I think it, it's what
(11:40):
you talk about will bereplicated throughout the
country and how can we controlit.
Eve (11:45):
Yeah.
And that's a, boy, that's a goodquestion.
It's a constant battle,especially when it comes to,
well, you know, you go down tothe Everglades.
I mean, you look at the pythonsand things that are down there.
It's just, once an animal'sintroduced, it does not have an
natural predator.
It's very, very difficult.
And that's why it's so importantfor people, for us as
individuals to take, personalresponsibility.
(12:08):
To try to not do those sorts ofthings.
Now, here at New River inparticular, throughout the
Appalachians, of course you'vegot plant species that are
non-native.
That, and the problem is theytake over.
They just, they, they just takeover and they can engulf.
Like Kudzu is a good example.
But we have different specieshere at New River that are
specific to New River.
We've got roughly, 1500.
(12:28):
Species of plants that arenative, we've got about 200
non-native species.
And it is those non-nativespecies, some of which are more.
Obnoxious than others that canchoke out some of our native
species.
And they engulf things like ourcultural resources.
You will see, old fences, stonefences and things that are just
(12:48):
covered over in kudzu and someother things like that.
We do our best to try tomaintain those.
We've done a variety of things.
We've even brought goats in someareas to try to, eat things
which work pretty well.
Interestingly enough, we do use,some of the biological things
that you can use to keep thingsat bay.
Are we ever gonna eradicatethings?
(13:10):
We're probably just gonnamaintain things, and then
there's the whole philosophicaldiscussion about what's native
versus introduced.
But again, there are somespecies that we just prefer that
they weren't here.
Missy (13:22):
How do we as part goers control it?
Are there practices that we cando to help prevent bringing more
or stop what's there?
Eve (13:31):
That's an excellent question.
And I think there's small thingswe can do.
One of the things we'veencouraged or is our people to,
to purchase firewood locally.
So that way you're not bringingit in from other places and
you've got little bugs andthings.
You don't know what you'rebringing in when you're bringing
firewood, if you're coming infrom outta state or something.
And that's how, because that'show things get introduced.
So, even some, we even suggest.
(13:52):
Clothing and things like that.
You don't know what kind ofseeds are on your clothing,
those types of things.
So had a native species spread,in a variety of or non-native
species spread, invasive speciesin a variety of waves, a variety
of ways.
And some here at New River inparticular, you'll see along the
railroad lines because therailroad used to use them for,
providing insulation or thingsaround or shipping in packages
(14:15):
and things.
So, seeds and things like thatwould blow off of some of the
railroads that were, the trainspassing through.
And that's how we get non-nativespecies, along the railroad
tracks.
So those are just things thatare really difficult to manage.
Missy (14:28):
Yeah.
And we, I wanna get intoplanning a trip to the park
because there's so much to seeand in this conversation, we'll
get into a little bit more ofthe history too.
But this was a park the firsttime I came.
It was an intimidating park tome.
And I think because it's longand I, I wasn't sure like.
Where do I start?
So what do you recommend, likemaybe the first couple steps
(14:50):
that people do in order to plana trip to New River Gorge?
Eve (14:53):
I think recognizing that it is not your traditional park,
that like you go into theSmokies or Rocky Mountain or
Yellowstone.
We are long and skinny along ariver corridor.
There's many entrances andexits.
It's good to know where thoseplaces are.
We are, we have, I always liketo think of them as not scenic
drives, but scenic destinations.
(15:14):
So there's nothing, there's noroad that goes right along the
river.
There's no road that goes allthe way through the park.
There's no trail that goes allthe way through the park.
So you're in and out.
So you have to look from, wehave our branding, which is the
Arrowhead, and you have to lookfor that.
That brown and white sign withthe arrowhead on it, knowing
where things are.
Best thing to do is go to thevisitor center first and get
information.
(15:34):
So we've got two main visitorcenters, canyon Ram, which is
where the A new Gorge Bridge is.
The famous new Gorge Bridge thatis actually our busiest.
Place in the park.
We have, we just did a trafficpattern study and there are more
people that go there thananywhere else, which makes, so
that's a great place to start.
Sandstone Vista Center downsouth, that's is not quite as
busy.
That's a great place forinformation as well, and it
(15:56):
covers that southern end of thepark.
The park actually covers fourdifferent counties.
It goes into four differentcounties.
But the, the four national parkareas that are here that we
always suggest people visitinclude the lower gorge, which
that's the Canyon Rim area.
Thurmond, which is, was the, thecenter of the, this whole area
near the coal mining heydays.
(16:17):
It's an old railroading town.
It's a historic district, soThurmond's really neat to visit.
Actually.
There's a depot there, it's aflag stop for Amtrak.
You can take Amtrak and get offthe park, have a ride set up.
You need to do that.
There's no transportation rightthere, but people do that.
They get on and off the train inThurmond fairly regularly,
Missy (16:33):
I do wanna take a minute to talk about Thurmond because
this is one of the, I think Iwas a little surprised that it
was there,'cause I was thinkingNew River Gorge was more of the
like natural resources.
And I am learning how much Ilove the historical part of
these parks, I think that.
I sort of romanticize thurmond's'cause when I read about it, it
talks about like, it was a bitof a vacation destination for
(16:55):
people at one time, once therailroad came there.
But I think it was also used toget resources to and from the
region.
Eve (17:02):
Thurman was, I think 1910, there was more freight revenue,
on that depot than anywhere elsein the entire Chesapeake and
Ohio rail line.
So, I mean, it's hard to imagine'cause you look at it now, it's
like.
Really, but, you know, the railline was the main artery that
was the interstate highway ofthat time period.
So in fact, there was a traintrack in Thurman before there
was a highway in Thurman.
(17:23):
There was a train bridge inThurmond before there was a
highway bridge in Thurmancrossing the New River.
So, you're referring to it as atourist destination.
And that was truly the casebecause Thurman was also across
the river from Thurman, was the.
Famous Dunlin area.
And so the Dunlin Hotel was kindof like what we call the
Greenbriar up today.
You hear about the GreenbriarResort and some of these, one of
(17:43):
these large, which is a largeresort.
That was the Dun Glenn Hotel.
The interesting story is, thewhole Dun Glen area was owned
and operated by a man namedWilliam Kel.
And then of course, across theriver at Thurmond, you had
captain, Thurmond and CaptainThurmond was a tto.
William Mikel alcohol was servedon that side of the river.
(18:04):
So a lot of the reputation thatThurman has actually comes from
that side of the river, theopposite side.
But it was an interesting place.
I mean, it was aself-sustaining.
It was a place where the coalbarons got off and they entered
the New River coal fields.
There were so many things thatcame through that little town of
Thurman, it was its own thrivinglittle community.
They had fresh fish from, theChesapeake on a daily basis.
(18:28):
They had, newspapers fromChicago.
It really was a happening,booming little place.
It was kind of the entry place,to the rest of the gorge as
well.
Missy (18:37):
And I feel like that was an era where people really did
seek to get out into nature forhealing, for recovery, for rest,
Eve (18:46):
Well and money during that time period.
To make money.
To make money.
Yeah.
That was one of the big things.
It was a thriving economic,business here.
They say that New River actuallyfueled the industrial revolution
with the coal that was here.
It was a very pure coal,smokeless.
So, you know, it fueled Navyships because there was no smoke
(19:08):
produced.
But it was said to be one of theareas that fueled the industrial
revolution.
A lot of the coal here was sopure that they actually
transformed it into another typeof fuel called Coke.
Which was more refined, and sothey had to actually cook and
bake the coal to turn it intothis more refined, Coke.
And so that really helped fuelsome of the steel mills and
(19:28):
things like that in Pennsylvaniaand other places.
So yeah, it was the center of alot of activity for a variety of
different things.
Missy (19:36):
And you mentioned Berg.
Can you tell us about that?
Eve (19:39):
So Berg was the third place that coal was ever shipped out
of the gorge.
It's a really good example too,of the town of Berg.
The infrastructure was in placewhenever the, railroad was
completed in 1873.
One of the reasons that therailroad actually came in here.
Well, to connect the East andthe West and, and the gorge was
actually the last place that theCNO was built.
(20:01):
They had built it on either sideof it, but the last track laid
to my knowledge, was around theHawks Nest area.
In fact, that's where theydumped the, cup of water from
the Chesapeake into the river.
So kind of connecting,'cause itconnected to Chesapeake, with
the Ohio River Valley.
But, but Berg was so, theinfrastructure of Berg was in
place whenever the railroad camethrough and, it was, just had an
(20:26):
interesting history.
And it was built by a man namedNut all, and he had, he was
traveling through this area tosomewhere else.
I don't remember where it was,but he stopped somewhere, I
think it was in a little pub.
And he noticed that the, theyhad a fire built and he noticed
that the fire was not producingsmoke.
And he was like, Hmm, that'sinteresting.
(20:46):
Well, it was the smokeless coal.
So he decided to stop hereinstead of going on to where he
had planned to go.
And this is where he, made hishome and created the town of
Berg.
And the family, the not allfamily still lives in the area.
Nettle Berg became a coal minein the 1870s, and it persisted
on up until it wasn't the lastcoal mine to close Kenmore was
(21:08):
the last coal mine.
But it persisted on through, upuntil the, mid to late 1950s.
I don't recall the exact date.
It was created the coal mine.
Then, Henry Ford came in in 1920and leased the mines.
Built a whole different sort ofinfrastructure that was state of
the art.
In fact, if you look at.
Pictures of Berg during the1920s, you'll see what looks
(21:29):
like a big water slide thatcomes down from the bench level,
which is where the coal cameout, and then took the coal down
to the river level where thetrains came through.
So, very, very innovated system.
That was built there.
There, and so he, but in 1929,he decided to give up his lease
because he could not control theschedule of the railroad.
(21:53):
So that kind of upset hisbusiness model.
He couldn't afford to buy therailroad, so he actually gave up
the mines.
Thriving mine and these littlemining communities too were
just, there were different ones.
Some of them were not so good tothe workers, not so helpful.
'cause we all heard the story.
You are owned by the companystore.
Others were better to work atthan other, than, Berg was
(22:13):
considered to be one of thebetter minds to work at.
They had their own school, lateron they had plumbing, things
like that.
So they had some of the modernconveniences and things.
They did have their companystored, they had the Coke ovens,
so it was a pretty classiclittle mining town.
Missy (22:28):
Interesting.
And there's a lot of other greatspots within the park..
I encourage people to go to thewebsite to hear all the other
stories and all the otherdifferent things that we can
see.
But I do wanna move into thingsthat you can do'cause it's.
Endless at this park.
And I think it goes from a quickstop as you're, driving through
and you stop at the visitorcenter.
You walk and see the bridge to aweek long vacation or more
(22:51):
because it is so diverse.
Can you tell us a little bitabout the things that people can
do when they come to visit NewNew River Gorge?
Eve (22:58):
Yeah, sure.
So, it really depends on whatyou like to do, and at what
level you like to do it.
We have whitewater rafting.
That's class four and five.
They say it's class four.
As long as you stay in the boat.
If you fall out of the boat, itcan quickly become class five.
A lot of undercut rocks here.
The lower gorge does havewhitewater rafting that people
(23:19):
typically go along with one ofthe outfitters, unless they've
got their own kayak or somethinglike that.
So you do wanna go with anoutfitter unless you're
experienced.
And we have a list of those inthe park.
But then there's, quieter wateron the upper news, for tubing
and duckies and things likethat.
If you're somebody that justwants to get out and enjoy being
on the water, we have what wecall the wild, and we have what
we call the mild.
(23:40):
We are considered to be one ofthe premier.
Rock climbing destinations inthe Eastern United States.
Rock climbing tends to be at themore advanced level here, but
there is, beginner level aswell.
Something too that you can gowith one of the local
outfitters.
And we always encourage peoplealso to look at our CBBs local,
convention visitor bureaus.
The Chamber of Commerce is checkwith them as well because
(24:00):
they've got a lot of informationthat they can provide.
There's mountain, there's rockclimbing.
We are one of the few nationalparks that allow biking on
trails.
And not all the trails, but alot of the trails.
It's a rail trail here.
So we have, the rail trail thatyou can bike on and there's
places to rent mountain bikes,or you can bring your own own
bikes as well.
We actually have 13 miles ofsingle track mountain bike
(24:21):
trails, specifically formountain bikes and that a lot of
most parks don't have that.
And then fishing, you can fishhere.
And you have to have a fishinglicense through the state of
West Virginia.
You can hunt here.
You have to have a huntinglicense in the state of West
Virginia in certain places.
Good to know, for those, it'sgood to know where you can and
can't go and when you should andshouldn't go.
So, and swimming, you can do,but it's, there's a lot of
(24:47):
undercurrents in the new river.
If you've got a family, ifyou're looking for something a
little bit more family friendly.
We suggest going to LakeSummersville, a place which is
just north of us, which actuallyfeeds into the Golley River
National Recreation area.
And if you're looking forextreme white water rafting,
Golley River National Recreationarea, we also administer that.
(25:08):
And that's one of the top 10white water rivers in the world.
Missy (25:11):
Well, and I think because of where you're located and how
it's not, you're traditional.
You go in the grand arch of thepark and you have the road
through it.
I do think you're so wellintegrated with the towns and
communities and resourcesaround.
You mentioned look at what'sgoing on in the towns around,
but there's state parks andthere's, national recreation
areas.
There's a lot to do that isadjacent to the park as well.
Eve (25:35):
Very much so.
Yeah, we, a lot of these stateparks could very much be part of
the national park.
In fact, Grandview was a statepark and that became part of the
National Park in 1991.
We've got quite a few of thesestate parks that are around
that, that, in terms of camping,our campgrounds at New River are
primitive, no water, noelectricity, but some of these
state parks actually havehookups and things like that.
So if you're looking for that,private campgrounds that have
(25:56):
that as well.
There's glamping, there is,there's just all levels of,
abilities to be outside orinside.
In an outdoor setting here.
And there's a lot of, one of thetowns we have these gateway
communities like Fayettevilleand Hinton, Beckley, then the
town of Thurman, little town ofThurman Prince, places like that
are, Oak Hill.
(26:17):
They do festivals all the timeand they have these neat little
festivals and they've got theirown little restaurants,
eclectical restaurants and microbreweries and things like that.
So that if you're into that sortof thing, you can get the
natural recreational, thehistorical, but you can also get
that cultural piece as wellwithin some of the local
communities.
Missy (26:37):
Obviously I want people to be in the parks and enjoying
the outdoors, but thesecommunities, it's great
artisans, great food, and youdid touch a little bit on, on
where to stay and I think, thatthe parks campgrounds could be
limiting depending on yourtolerance for primitive.
But to your point, there's a lotaround it.
And you can stay in a hotel, youcould, where you would have all
(26:58):
the luxuries you needed or you acampground or whatnot.
Eve (27:01):
Yeah, that's true.
I mean, and Beckley tends to bethe place that has the most of,
of your chain.
I.
Places.
So, and it is centrally located,so it is a good spot, but
there's a lot of Airbnbs and alot of vrbo.
And there are some of these,chain.
Hotels and motels too, and someof the other gateway
communities.
But, one of the other things toothat is interesting about this
area is just that, we are, fiveand a half hours from dc We're
(27:24):
four hours from Pittsburgh,we're three hours from
Lexington.
Six to eight hours from New YorkCity, depending on when you
leave, the time of the day, youget trying to get out of there.
It's not that far from all theseplaces.
We've got an airport inCharleston International Airport
in Charleston now that you canfly into and rent a car in a 55
minutes, you can be in the park.
And then we've got airports.
Beckley actually has, RaleighCounty actually has its own, its
(27:46):
own smaller airport that isbeing served by flights coming
in from, I think, Charlotte.
So, not every day of the week,but Lewisburg has its own little
airport to now Huntington's.
So there's a lot of differentways to get it.
Or you can take the train, youcan take the train from DC get
off the train in Thurman and youjust need to have some
transportation set up ahead oftime.
(28:06):
Some of the local outfitterswill do that as well.
And there's car rental places inBuckley, so it's a fairly easy
place to get to.
The only thing I always tellpeople and caution people is
again, it's not like going to atraditional national park where
you just go like you alluded togo in the entrance.
So it's good to look at ourwebsite and good to plan ahead.
'cause if you're, like most ofus, time is the most precious
(28:28):
thing you have, so you wannamake the best use of it while
you're here.
Missy (28:31):
This park is busy.
It can be hard to getreservations and things.
So this is a park that you needto plan in advance because of,
how busy outfitters and placesthey fill up, especially
summertime.
It's a little cooler there thaneverywhere else.
And I think it's just a really,appealing place to be.
Eve (28:48):
Yeah.
One of the advantages of thisplace is we don't have a
reservation system yet, like youdo at Archer's and some of the
other National Park sites.
But one of the disadvantages ofthat is, you do have to plan
ahead and Memorial Day weekend,for instance, at one of some of
our busier trail heads, therewas no parking.
And, it's an issue.
But do you want, I always say,do you wanna build a parking lot
(29:08):
that you're gonna have 4,000people out on a trail?
Is that an experience you wannahave?
No, of course it's not.
If you plan on coming duringthose busier time periods, plan
on waiting in line, I wish.
We had the luxury of just beingtotally spontaneous in our
lives.
'Cause we all love that.
But, especially those who arenon planners and
procrastinators.
But it's just unfortunate wedon't sometimes.
Missy (29:30):
And one of the pieces of advice I was given and I share
with others is that's where it'sbeneficial when you have a state
park and a national park side byside because sometimes the state
park has some options for you,for things and then you can
just, pop into the national parkand you guys are well set up for
that.
Eve (29:47):
Yes.
And not only that, but we've gottheir bike trails.
Some of the local communitieshave their own bike trails and
things like that as well.
It makes it wonderful because,e-bikes is a good example.
We've got one very, very smalltrail in the park that e-bikes
is allowed on.
There are places outside thepark that you've got an e-bike
you can take it on.
Missy (30:03):
And an e-bike would be appealing with all your hills.
The one thing that I, we havenot touched on is the bridge.
I think it's probably the iconicpicture from the park, but this
scene is unbelievable, for thebridge and you all celebrate the
bridge with bridge day.
Eve (30:21):
Yeah, and we always kinda laugh because the bridge is not
actually in the park.
It just connects us on bothsides.
It's, owned by the state of WestVirginia Department by the
Department of Highways.
Bridge Day itself is actually acommunity run event.
So where we figure into it isthey land on us because.
People, jokingly, the joke ispeople jump off this perfectly
(30:42):
good bridge, it's one day ayear, the third Saturday in
October.
And it's a huge event.
It's the one of the largest, Iguess it probably is the largest
event, and it's one of the top10 high adventure events in the
world.
So, and it's the only na, we'rethe only national park that base
jumping is allowed in.
So yeah, but it happens aSaturday in October and we'll
(31:03):
have upwards of 80 to, I thinkthey've had over, well over a
hundred thousand people hereduring the day.
And so what they do is theyactually close.
That section, the bridge downfrom seven o'clock in the
morning until about five o'clockin the evening.
Bridge day starts at nine andlast till three, and there are
vendors set up on either side ofthe bridge, and then jumpers
(31:24):
come from all over the world.
You'll hear French, you'll hearGerman, you'll hear.
All sorts of language is beingspoken here and they jump off
the bridge and then, land, on,at a targeted, if they're lucky,
a targeted site down belowthat's on dry land.
Some of them we're down there inthe boats ready to scoop'em out
the river and things like that.
And then there's tandem jumpsthat people do so you can
(31:46):
actually purchase a jump.
And also people are zip liningoff of, underneath or repelling.
So just a lot of stuff going onand that short time period.
So it's pretty exciting.
It should probably be oneverybody's bucket list at least
one time to attend.
Missy (32:01):
I don't know.
I get nervous just.
Eve (32:04):
It's one of those things, they make it look so easy.
It looks so uneasy when they'redoing it.
Missy (32:08):
Have you ever done it?
Eve (32:10):
no, but I would.
The tickets are expensive topurchase a tandem jump, but
there is a lottery.
But a friend of mine, sherecently won the lottery and so
she was like, does this mean Iactually have to do it now?
So, she did it.
It was great.
Missy (32:23):
I think Bridge Day sounds fascinating, but just to be
there to see, the view isamazing looking at it, but I
think just seeing nature and thearchitecture and industry of the
bridge, combined.
It's just, I don't know, there'sjust something really special
about that
Eve (32:37):
It's a beautiful example of human engineering.
It really is.
The other thing I do wannamention though, as far as the
bridge goes is, there is apedestrian walkway underneath
the bridge that there is aprivate company called Bridge
Walk that they do provide, givethe opportunity for you to be
able to walk.
Underneath the bridge as well.
So it's a two hour tour.
(32:58):
They do it throughout the year.
So that's something else thatyou can do when you come here,
Missy (33:02):
I have two big questions that people ask is,
accessibility and.
Eve (33:08):
So we are considered to be, let's go to pets first.
Pet friendly park, dogs onleash, six feet or less, but
they are allowed on trails.
And so that's, that issomething, we actually have a
Bark Ranger program here,
Missy (33:23):
bark Ranger.
Eve (33:24):
Oh, good, good.
That's good to know.
So yeah, we'll love to get a,thing when they come here too.
So yeah, we're pet friendly.
In fact, we're actually startinga program with one of the local
humane societies or animalshelters, that for, foster a dog
a day in the park, high control,'cause it helps them.
It's something we can provide.
So that's something new.
We're just trying to get off theground.
(33:44):
And then the other thing, I'msorry, you asked about.
Accessibility.
This obviously is not an easypark to access some places, but
there are trails and places wehave that are considered to be
accessible.
Sandstone Falls is the largestwaterfall in the entire New
River.
So we have a boardwalk thattakes you out.
It's wheelchair accessible, butbeyond that, there's a rail.
(34:05):
I always like to tell peoplethere's levels of accessibility
and levels of needs, it's nicefor some people, all they need
is a place to put their hand tosupport themselves when they're
walking.
And so that's a rail toboardwalk that they can walk on.
So there's that.
There's also the boardwalk atCanyon Rim, that the upward
viewing platform.
Is, doesn't quite meet thestandards because of the slope.
(34:28):
It's just a little bit toosloped, but it's, there's.
Lots of people out there withwheelchairs because it's, and
that provides a nice view of thebridge.
And then in the wintertime youget a good view of the bridge.
Of course, the visitor centersare all considered to be
accessible as well.
So, the main overlook at GrandView, which is the highest
point, top to bottom in theriver's, 1400 feet from the, rim
(34:50):
down to look at the river.
That one is an old CCC Flagstonepath that.
That you can get to a certainpoint, but it's, and then you
can go out on a viewingplatform.
It does it again, that's gonnadepend on your level of
abilities and your wheelchair,what your all that is as well.
But that's something that we areworking on, we're trying to
(35:12):
continue to make better as timegoes on.
Missy (35:14):
I think that's interesting when you get to a
new park and you know that it isjust evolving.
Five years, five years old, soit is evolving and it will be
interesting to see all thedifferent improvements that are
made in
Eve (35:25):
And one more caveat, so if you get on our website, there
are other places that areaccessible in the park as well.
So, so get on our website justto check out where all those
places are.
Missy (35:34):
I also do wanna bring up, the website does an amazing job
'cause there's places in thepark that it would be hard for
my van to go.
And the website does an amazingjob of.
Really laying that out andputting little warnings and
heads up to people.
So even accessibility when itcomes to the kind of vehicles
you have.
there are areas where if youhave a big vehicle, it's just
not a good idea for you to goto.
Eve (35:55):
exactly.
Missy (35:56):
before we get into our speed round, I do wanna show a
little love because you guyshave a friends group that, is
really important to the workthat's done in the park.
And maybe you could just tell usa little bit about the Friends
of the New River Gorge.
Eve (36:07):
I would love to, and thank you for bringing that up.
People ask us all the time, howdo we help the park?
And I always say, join ourfriends group.
Because they are a primaryphilanthropic partner and they
do a lot of wonderful things forus.
But they're young, they're new,they're getting started.
They just hired their firstfull-time executive director,
who's gonna be trying to helpthem, work with fundraising and
(36:27):
those sorts of things.
They do things for us that wecan't do, and they do a lot of
wonderful things for us.
They actually have their ownwebsite that you can, it's
Friends of New River GorgeNational Park and Preserve.
So if you put that in yourbrowser, it'll take to their
website.
You can join there.
There's other things you can dothere as well.
It talks about some of thethings, they've done.
Our friends group is a wonderfulway to help the park if you want
(36:49):
to do that.
Missy (36:50):
We'll link to them from the episode page.
So if you go to the Parkspodcast, you can find that link
Eve (36:54):
Perfect.
Missy (36:56):
So we end every episode with a speed round of questions.
Just answer whatever comes tomind.
What is your earliest parkmemory
Eve (37:05):
I grew up right outside of a national, the very first
National River ever establishedin the National Park System,
which is a Buffalo NationalRiver established, March 1st,
1972, 100 years to the dateafter the very first national
park, Yellowstone National Park.
So my first memory is probablybeing a little kid down there
just learning how to swim in theriver.
Missy (37:24):
And what made you love the parks?
Eve (37:27):
Well, again, probably, having the, the un tremendous
opportunity to grow up rightnext to one, as well.
But, beyond that, when I startedworking for the Park Service, I
like most people, I'm like,yeah, it's a fun place to go
play, hang out, you're ateenager, learn how to drive,
things like that.
The mission of the National ParkService, I love our mission.
(37:49):
It's nice to work in a job thatyou feel like you're making a
difference and not everybody is,afforded that opportunity.
And I feel very blessed to havethat.
Missy (37:58):
What is your favorite thing about New River Gorge
National Park and Preserve?
Eve (38:02):
Again, the diversity.
I love plants.
I love just walking around thetrees and looking at different
species and things there's somuch about this place I haven't
learned yet, so, it's a lifelonglearning opportunity here.
Missy (38:14):
And what is your favorite thing to do at New River Gorge
National Park and Preserve?
Eve (38:18):
Probably just Forest Bay walk in the woods.
I love, I loved to mountain bikeand I love to trail run and
those sorts of things, althoughthe older I get, the less the
trail running is becoming.
But, I just love being in thewoods.
So it's a good feeling.
Missy (38:32):
What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your bucket
list and why?
Eve (38:38):
Oh my, I've not been to Denali and I wanna get up to
some of the Alaskan parks.
So that's definitely one that'son my bucket list.
Missy (38:45):
What are three must haves you pack for a park visit?
Eve (38:49):
A map, a water bottle.
And I never go anywhere withoutduct tape.
You never know when you're gonnaneed it.
So
Missy (38:58):
What is your favorite campfire activity?
Eve (39:02):
probably making some wars.
Hands down,
Missy (39:05):
And are you a tent, camper, or cabin person?
Eve (39:08):
I'm a tent camper.
I love being at, I'm a tent andso especially when if you can
pull the top off and look atnight at stars at night.
So depending on how bad themosquitoes are,
Missy (39:18):
and do you hike with or without trekking poles?
Eve (39:22):
Right now I do it without, but there's plenty of times I'm
wishing I had one, especiallyhere at New River'cause some of
our trails are pretty rocky and,the elevation change out.
It's not a bad thing to have atrekking pole.
Missy (39:34):
What is your favorite trail snack?
Eve (39:37):
Oh my, I don't know.
That's a hard one.
I hate to say granola, that'sjust so obvious.
But, I just, I'm a protein.
I like my protein, so I tend tolean towards those protein
snacks,
Missy (39:50):
What is your favorite animal sighting?
Eve (39:53):
Probably the coolest thing I've ever seen was when I worked
at Cape Cod, in the wintertime,the seals would come down from
the north and you'd see'em rightoff shore.
And of course now they're downthere more often.
But I mean, just, I was outthere one day and the seals were
out there.
And then there were organicbirds died bombing the water,
and it was all going on at thesame time.
And it was this free wildlifeshow right off shore.
(40:15):
And I thought, boy, am I theluckiest person in the world or
what?
Missy (40:19):
That's special.
What is your favorite sound inthe park?
Eve (40:24):
I love hearing the sounds of wounds, but you don't hear
them much.
I just, maybe that high pitch.
You know, Raptor Eagle sound, Iprobably is one I really enjoy
hearing.
Missy (40:35):
And what is the greatest gift that the parks give to us?
Eve (40:38):
I think just, the derivation of the word
recreation is recreation andthey offer us the opportunity to
recreate ourselves, bond withother people, and especially in
this day and time.
I think that harmony is veryimportant and I think National
Parks offer that opportunity forus right now,
Missy (41:00):
I agree with you.
Thank you so much for being partof the Parks podcast and sharing
this incredible park and itspreservation and history and all
of its goodness.
Eve (41:10):
Well, you're most welcome.
It's a nice place to talk about.
You could, it comes from theheart,
Missy (41:14):
Thanks for joining us for today's episode.
Until next time, we'll see youin the parks.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please be sure to like and share
on your favorite podcastplatform.
Music for the parks podcast isperformed and produced by Porter
Hardy.
For more information, pleasefollow us on Instagram at the
(41:34):
parks podcast.
Or visit ourwebsite@theparkspodcast.com.
We are headed to the country's youngest national park
where natural environment,industrial innovation, and the
rights of workers all takecenter stage and one weekend a
year.
So does jumping off a bridge.
Join me as we explore New RiverGorge National Park.
I'm your host, Missy Rentz, andthis is the Parks podcast.
(00:26):
We are so happy to welcome EveWest, who is the chief of
Interpretation and education atNew River Gorge National Park
and Preserve Eve.
Welcome to the Parks podcast.
Eve (00:37):
Well, thank you.
I'm very happy to be here.
Missy (00:39):
So we start every episode with some stats.
Let me go through this for thispark.
New River Gorge National Parkand Preserve is located north of
Fayetteville, West Virginia.
It is the 63rd National Park, sothe newest national Park.
In November of 1978, it wasclassified as a national river,
(01:00):
but then in 2020, Congressre-designated it as a national
park.
The park is more than 70,000acres, and in 2024 they had
1,811,937 visitors.
Some interesting notes on thepark.
The New River is one of theoldest rivers on the continent.
(01:23):
There are over 100 miles ofhiking and biking trails in the
park.
It is home to New River GorgeBridge, which is, the longest
steel span Arch Bridge in theWestern Hemisphere.
And is the.
Third highest bridge in theUnited States.
There are 65 species of mammals,including chipmunks, squirrels,
(01:44):
coyotes, red and gray, foxes,groundhog, and more.
There are 10 species of bats, 40species of reptiles.
50 species of amphibians.
This is a great park and one ofthe things.
I think about this park.
So Eve there's sometimes I go toa park and I know everything
that I'm gonna see this is likethe Onion Park to me.
(02:06):
I went there for something and Ijust kept peeling away and
finding more and more.
And even as I was preparing forthis episode, there's more now
that I wanna see.
It's huge.
Eve (02:17):
Yeah, it's interesting because people think of the
Smokies and they think of parkslike that, that are so
biologically diverse,botanically diverse, and it is
part of the reason I think thatthere are so many layers here to
this.
Park, it's still fairly new, andso science is new here to a
certain degree, and so there's alot of research yet to be done
on the numbers of species andthose sorts of things.
(02:39):
So when you say like 65 speciesof mammals, that's what we know
about.
There may be more.
We are still a fairly unstudiedresource here, so we are
learning new things about thisplace every day.
It's a place that if you are anaturalist, whatever discipline
that might be, you can reallyfind a place here.
You can find a niche here.
There's something to be studied
Missy (02:58):
Absolutely.
And we mentioned that, 47 yearsago it was a National River and
it is new.
It's only five years ago that itwas made a national park.
Why is it important that NewRiver Gorge be part of the
National Park Service?
Eve (03:11):
It is a resource that is.
Unsurpassed in the variety ofthings that we have.
I've worked in a lot ofdifferent national parks and
I've visited a lot of parks aswell.
You can't help but comparethings and, it's apples and
oranges.
You can't compare the Evergladesto Mount Rainier or Cape Cod,
there's just so many differentwonderful places that we have.
(03:31):
I have a friend who works downthe Smokies, and she said this
to me one time, she said, youguys have it all.
She said, you really have itall.
And I said, yeah, that's kind oftrue in some ways.
I mean, we have spectacularscenery.
We have the geologic story, wehave the natural history, we
have, the plants.
But we also have tremendousrecreational opportunities here.
(03:53):
When you talk healthy parks,healthy people, this is a place
you can get healthy.
You can get hurt, but you canalso stay, get healthy too.
'cause there's so many differentthings you can do here.
So if you like to rock climb, ifyou like to mountain bike, if
you like to river raft, hike,zip line, whatever it is that
you enjoy doing, whatever yourthing is, you can pretty much
find it here.
I always like to say, if you getbored here, the problem isn't
(04:14):
with the place
Missy (04:15):
No.
Well, and, you brought up likethe physical, activities, but
there's also mental,'causethere's so many historical spots
within the.
Eve (04:22):
Yeah.
And I didn't even touch uponthat.
So, since West Virginia, at onetime being part of the
Commonwealth of Virginia aswell.
The history here being part ofthe Eastern United States, goes
back to George Washington in hisyoung days.
George Washington is a surveyor.
A young man came through thisarea, long before there were
aspirations of, of probablypolitics or the presidency.
So yeah, it's, the history hereis very, very deep.
(04:45):
It goes back to, prehistoric aswell.
And it's interesting history.
It's neat stuff, and it'svaried.
There's a couple of stories herethat I always like to, that
makes us nationally significant.
And one is that of Henry Fordwho leased the mines here at New
River from, 1920 to 1929.
The mines at Berg in order tofuel his, automobile industry in
(05:07):
Dearborn, Michigan.
So Henry Ford was here.
We've got infrastructure herestill related to the Ford era,
that was state of the art forthat time period.
He was here.
And then we also have Carter gWoodson, who was the father of
Black History Month, and he wasa coal miner here.
He was working the same coalmines that Henry Ford leased so
we have those two really coolstories that are just little
(05:27):
nuggets out there that a lot ofpeople don't know about.
Mother Jones had a tremendousimpact here on workers' rights.
So there's that story here aswell.
So we've got a really diversestory.
It's not just coal mining andrailroading and timbering.
There's all these little nichestories like that as well that
makes this a fascinating place.
You can't get bored here in thatregard.
Missy (05:45):
And one of the things that's unique about this park is
it's park and preserve.
Eve (05:50):
Correct.
Missy (05:50):
Why that designation?
What does that preserve mean?
Eve (05:53):
So there were movements throughout the years to
transition this from a nationalriver to a national park.
The most recent one occurringin, you know, 20 16, 20 17.
And they were first looking atNational Park, but then they
realized that if they made itjust a national park, that
would, discount.
Hunting, which was a traditionaluse of the area.
(06:14):
So in order to allow hunting tomaintain that as a traditional
use here, they decided to optfor the National Park and
Preserve designation.
And we are one of, I think.
Two National Park and preservesin the lower 48.
The other one being Great SandDunes in, Colorado.
There are a number up in Alaska,but, and then there are national
(06:37):
preserves here in the lower 48,but I think we're one of just
two of the national parks andpreserves, unless that's
changed, things change all thetime.
But as far as I know that,that's still the case.
So about 90% of the park isconsidered national preserve
where you can hunt in, duringhunting season.
And then the other 10% isNational Park.
So that hunting is not allowedin,
Missy (06:56):
And I know we're going a little more in depth in it, but
we often talk about there'sparks that are for natural
conservation and there's parksfor historic conservation.
And you are both at New RiverGorge.
Can you tell us a little bitmore,'cause you've already
started on what is the historicconservation and then what are
some of the naturalconservations that are
happening?
Eve (07:16):
Yeah.
So, when the park wasestablished.
Is the enabling legislation thatestablished the park and, what
the primary emphasis were to,preserve the spectacular
scenery.
They recognized the botanicaldiversity considered to be the
most botanically diverse riversystem.
In the lower Appalachianmountains, central to Southern
Appalachian mountains.
(07:37):
So, preserving all those naturalfeatures was very important.
The geologic, I.
Features that are here quiteunique.
And then, but they alsorecognized that there were the
cultural features as well.
So preserving that culturalhistory was very important.
And the three main industriesthat they did focus on that they
were looking at the most werecoal mining.
Timbering and railroading.
So those are the three majorstories that they're told here.
(08:00):
Preserving both of thoseelements and one really does not
supersede the other.
We've got, emphasis here on ournatural resources, but also, on
our cultural resources as well.
There were around a hundredsmall towns.
Running up and down the 53 milesthat make up New River Gorge
back during the heydays of thecoal mining industry.
So those remnants of those townsare still out there.
(08:21):
And that's part of what wemonitor, with our archeology,
with our cultural resourcepreservation.
So that's just, that's a hugepiece of what we do.
Missy (08:29):
When I start my research for any conversation, I go to
the National Parks Service,website first.
And one of the elements that istalked a lot about on your
section of the website is thechanging forest and how that
impacts the park.
How is our changing forestsystem impacting the park and
(08:51):
the resources?
Eve (08:53):
This, in most cases, this is a recovering forest because,
when they came in, when theybuilt the railroad and, finished
it in 1873 and all these littletowns started popping up, of
course they needed timber andthings like that, the natural
resources to sustain thosetowns.
So, the forests were basicallyjust denuded.
In many, many areas.
And so pretty much everythingyou see here in the park right
(09:14):
now is, second growth.
There are some old growthforests, some little pockets
that they couldn't get to, butfor the most part, these are
second growth forests.
It's tremendous how well thisarea has bounced back.
If you look out, stand atGrandview at the main overlook
and lookout, in front of you,you would never think that that
area had been logged.
Missy (09:32):
Never.
Eve (09:33):
But it had been, most of it's been logged.
'Cause if you look at historicphotographs, there's, I'm not
gonna say it's, total, no trees,but it's, there's just not as
much out there.
It's amazing the resilience ofthis land, how well it's come
back.
And I think that does speak tothe conservation and the,
preservation, attitudes of thepeople that live here as well.
Missy (09:53):
Is any of it about the climate of that area?
And I ask,'cause I live inVirginia and so New River Gorge
driving by you is kind of mygateway to the west.
I always have to go through youand every time I'm headed that
way.
It's either socked in by fog or,it's socked in by rain or it's
this beautiful blue sky sunnyday.
(10:13):
So it's really diverse climatesup there
Eve (10:16):
Oh yeah.
It's incredible.
I mean, we do get a lot ofmoisture and a lot of rain here.
In fact, I think Beckley is inthe, the town of Beckley itself,
which is pretty much in thecenter of the park, it's
considered one of the top 10rainiest cities in the United
States, so it's, you feel likeyou're in the Pacific Northwest
at times here.
Which is good.
That's why we have all this lushvegetation.
But yeah, new rivers actuallytoo.
(10:38):
It's also considered to be acarbon sink.
This whole area is considered tobe a carbon sink.
And so, with changing climatesand changing things, this is an
area that actually absorbscarbon because of all the, the
forests that are here.
It's a good thing.
That's why we need trees.
That's why we need this need tosustain this.
If you look at a map of theEastern United States at night
(10:58):
and you see all the lights thatare along the eastern seaboard
and the eastern coast thatextend throughout the east,
you're gonna see this big blobof black.
And that's West Virginia, that'sthis whole area through here.
It's not that we don't havelights here and in the night
sky, but it is fairly,relatively speaking, undeveloped
Missy (11:16):
it's beautiful.
Eve (11:16):
Mm-hmm.
Missy (11:17):
one of the things that I've never talked about on the
Parks podcast, and you're not,the only park impacted, but you
are one of the few I've seenthat talk about it is invasive
species.
You have a whole section on thewebsite and I'd love to talk a
little bit about.
What are invasive species, whatit's doing to the park and to
forests specifically towardsyou, but I think it, it's what
(11:40):
you talk about will bereplicated throughout the
country and how can we controlit.
Eve (11:45):
Yeah.
And that's a, boy, that's a goodquestion.
It's a constant battle,especially when it comes to,
well, you know, you go down tothe Everglades.
I mean, you look at the pythonsand things that are down there.
It's just, once an animal'sintroduced, it does not have an
natural predator.
It's very, very difficult.
And that's why it's so importantfor people, for us as
individuals to take, personalresponsibility.
(12:08):
To try to not do those sorts ofthings.
Now, here at New River inparticular, throughout the
Appalachians, of course you'vegot plant species that are
non-native.
That, and the problem is theytake over.
They just, they, they just takeover and they can engulf.
Like Kudzu is a good example.
But we have different specieshere at New River that are
specific to New River.
We've got roughly, 1500.
(12:28):
Species of plants that arenative, we've got about 200
non-native species.
And it is those non-nativespecies, some of which are more.
Obnoxious than others that canchoke out some of our native
species.
And they engulf things like ourcultural resources.
You will see, old fences, stonefences and things that are just
(12:48):
covered over in kudzu and someother things like that.
We do our best to try tomaintain those.
We've done a variety of things.
We've even brought goats in someareas to try to, eat things
which work pretty well.
Interestingly enough, we do use,some of the biological things
that you can use to keep thingsat bay.
Are we ever gonna eradicatethings?
(13:10):
We're probably just gonnamaintain things, and then
there's the whole philosophicaldiscussion about what's native
versus introduced.
But again, there are somespecies that we just prefer that
they weren't here.
Missy (13:22):
How do we as part goers control it?
Are there practices that we cando to help prevent bringing more
or stop what's there?
Eve (13:31):
That's an excellent question.
And I think there's small thingswe can do.
One of the things we'veencouraged or is our people to,
to purchase firewood locally.
So that way you're not bringingit in from other places and
you've got little bugs andthings.
You don't know what you'rebringing in when you're bringing
firewood, if you're coming infrom outta state or something.
And that's how, because that'show things get introduced.
So, even some, we even suggest.
(13:52):
Clothing and things like that.
You don't know what kind ofseeds are on your clothing,
those types of things.
So had a native species spread,in a variety of or non-native
species spread, invasive speciesin a variety of waves, a variety
of ways.
And some here at New River inparticular, you'll see along the
railroad lines because therailroad used to use them for,
providing insulation or thingsaround or shipping in packages
(14:15):
and things.
So, seeds and things like thatwould blow off of some of the
railroads that were, the trainspassing through.
And that's how we get non-nativespecies, along the railroad
tracks.
So those are just things thatare really difficult to manage.
Missy (14:28):
Yeah.
And we, I wanna get intoplanning a trip to the park
because there's so much to seeand in this conversation, we'll
get into a little bit more ofthe history too.
But this was a park the firsttime I came.
It was an intimidating park tome.
And I think because it's longand I, I wasn't sure like.
Where do I start?
So what do you recommend, likemaybe the first couple steps
(14:50):
that people do in order to plana trip to New River Gorge?
Eve (14:53):
I think recognizing that it is not your traditional park,
that like you go into theSmokies or Rocky Mountain or
Yellowstone.
We are long and skinny along ariver corridor.
There's many entrances andexits.
It's good to know where thoseplaces are.
We are, we have, I always liketo think of them as not scenic
drives, but scenic destinations.
(15:14):
So there's nothing, there's noroad that goes right along the
river.
There's no road that goes allthe way through the park.
There's no trail that goes allthe way through the park.
So you're in and out.
So you have to look from, wehave our branding, which is the
Arrowhead, and you have to lookfor that.
That brown and white sign withthe arrowhead on it, knowing
where things are.
Best thing to do is go to thevisitor center first and get
information.
(15:34):
So we've got two main visitorcenters, canyon Ram, which is
where the A new Gorge Bridge is.
The famous new Gorge Bridge thatis actually our busiest.
Place in the park.
We have, we just did a trafficpattern study and there are more
people that go there thananywhere else, which makes, so
that's a great place to start.
Sandstone Vista Center downsouth, that's is not quite as
busy.
That's a great place forinformation as well, and it
(15:56):
covers that southern end of thepark.
The park actually covers fourdifferent counties.
It goes into four differentcounties.
But the, the four national parkareas that are here that we
always suggest people visitinclude the lower gorge, which
that's the Canyon Rim area.
Thurmond, which is, was the, thecenter of the, this whole area
near the coal mining heydays.
(16:17):
It's an old railroading town.
It's a historic district, soThurmond's really neat to visit.
Actually.
There's a depot there, it's aflag stop for Amtrak.
You can take Amtrak and get offthe park, have a ride set up.
You need to do that.
There's no transportation rightthere, but people do that.
They get on and off the train inThurmond fairly regularly,
Missy (16:33):
I do wanna take a minute to talk about Thurmond because
this is one of the, I think Iwas a little surprised that it
was there,'cause I was thinkingNew River Gorge was more of the
like natural resources.
And I am learning how much Ilove the historical part of
these parks, I think that.
I sort of romanticize thurmond's'cause when I read about it, it
talks about like, it was a bitof a vacation destination for
(16:55):
people at one time, once therailroad came there.
But I think it was also used toget resources to and from the
region.
Eve (17:02):
Thurman was, I think 1910, there was more freight revenue,
on that depot than anywhere elsein the entire Chesapeake and
Ohio rail line.
So, I mean, it's hard to imagine'cause you look at it now, it's
like.
Really, but, you know, the railline was the main artery that
was the interstate highway ofthat time period.
So in fact, there was a traintrack in Thurman before there
was a highway in Thurman.
(17:23):
There was a train bridge inThurmond before there was a
highway bridge in Thurmancrossing the New River.
So, you're referring to it as atourist destination.
And that was truly the casebecause Thurman was also across
the river from Thurman, was the.
Famous Dunlin area.
And so the Dunlin Hotel was kindof like what we call the
Greenbriar up today.
You hear about the GreenbriarResort and some of these, one of
(17:43):
these large, which is a largeresort.
That was the Dun Glenn Hotel.
The interesting story is, thewhole Dun Glen area was owned
and operated by a man namedWilliam Kel.
And then of course, across theriver at Thurmond, you had
captain, Thurmond and CaptainThurmond was a tto.
William Mikel alcohol was servedon that side of the river.
(18:04):
So a lot of the reputation thatThurman has actually comes from
that side of the river, theopposite side.
But it was an interesting place.
I mean, it was aself-sustaining.
It was a place where the coalbarons got off and they entered
the New River coal fields.
There were so many things thatcame through that little town of
Thurman, it was its own thrivinglittle community.
They had fresh fish from, theChesapeake on a daily basis.
(18:28):
They had, newspapers fromChicago.
It really was a happening,booming little place.
It was kind of the entry place,to the rest of the gorge as
well.
Missy (18:37):
And I feel like that was an era where people really did
seek to get out into nature forhealing, for recovery, for rest,
Eve (18:46):
Well and money during that time period.
To make money.
To make money.
Yeah.
That was one of the big things.
It was a thriving economic,business here.
They say that New River actuallyfueled the industrial revolution
with the coal that was here.
It was a very pure coal,smokeless.
So, you know, it fueled Navyships because there was no smoke
(19:08):
produced.
But it was said to be one of theareas that fueled the industrial
revolution.
A lot of the coal here was sopure that they actually
transformed it into another typeof fuel called Coke.
Which was more refined, and sothey had to actually cook and
bake the coal to turn it intothis more refined, Coke.
And so that really helped fuelsome of the steel mills and
(19:28):
things like that in Pennsylvaniaand other places.
So yeah, it was the center of alot of activity for a variety of
different things.
Missy (19:36):
And you mentioned Berg.
Can you tell us about that?
Eve (19:39):
So Berg was the third place that coal was ever shipped out
of the gorge.
It's a really good example too,of the town of Berg.
The infrastructure was in placewhenever the, railroad was
completed in 1873.
One of the reasons that therailroad actually came in here.
Well, to connect the East andthe West and, and the gorge was
actually the last place that theCNO was built.
(20:01):
They had built it on either sideof it, but the last track laid
to my knowledge, was around theHawks Nest area.
In fact, that's where theydumped the, cup of water from
the Chesapeake into the river.
So kind of connecting,'cause itconnected to Chesapeake, with
the Ohio River Valley.
But, but Berg was so, theinfrastructure of Berg was in
place whenever the railroad camethrough and, it was, just had an
(20:26):
interesting history.
And it was built by a man namedNut all, and he had, he was
traveling through this area tosomewhere else.
I don't remember where it was,but he stopped somewhere, I
think it was in a little pub.
And he noticed that the, theyhad a fire built and he noticed
that the fire was not producingsmoke.
And he was like, Hmm, that'sinteresting.
(20:46):
Well, it was the smokeless coal.
So he decided to stop hereinstead of going on to where he
had planned to go.
And this is where he, made hishome and created the town of
Berg.
And the family, the not allfamily still lives in the area.
Nettle Berg became a coal minein the 1870s, and it persisted
on up until it wasn't the lastcoal mine to close Kenmore was
(21:08):
the last coal mine.
But it persisted on through, upuntil the, mid to late 1950s.
I don't recall the exact date.
It was created the coal mine.
Then, Henry Ford came in in 1920and leased the mines.
Built a whole different sort ofinfrastructure that was state of
the art.
In fact, if you look at.
Pictures of Berg during the1920s, you'll see what looks
(21:29):
like a big water slide thatcomes down from the bench level,
which is where the coal cameout, and then took the coal down
to the river level where thetrains came through.
So, very, very innovated system.
That was built there.
There, and so he, but in 1929,he decided to give up his lease
because he could not control theschedule of the railroad.
(21:53):
So that kind of upset hisbusiness model.
He couldn't afford to buy therailroad, so he actually gave up
the mines.
Thriving mine and these littlemining communities too were
just, there were different ones.
Some of them were not so good tothe workers, not so helpful.
'cause we all heard the story.
You are owned by the companystore.
Others were better to work atthan other, than, Berg was
(22:13):
considered to be one of thebetter minds to work at.
They had their own school, lateron they had plumbing, things
like that.
So they had some of the modernconveniences and things.
They did have their companystored, they had the Coke ovens,
so it was a pretty classiclittle mining town.
Missy (22:28):
Interesting.
And there's a lot of other greatspots within the park..
I encourage people to go to thewebsite to hear all the other
stories and all the otherdifferent things that we can
see.
But I do wanna move into thingsthat you can do'cause it's.
Endless at this park.
And I think it goes from a quickstop as you're, driving through
and you stop at the visitorcenter.
You walk and see the bridge to aweek long vacation or more
(22:51):
because it is so diverse.
Can you tell us a little bitabout the things that people can
do when they come to visit NewNew River Gorge?
Eve (22:58):
Yeah, sure.
So, it really depends on whatyou like to do, and at what
level you like to do it.
We have whitewater rafting.
That's class four and five.
They say it's class four.
As long as you stay in the boat.
If you fall out of the boat, itcan quickly become class five.
A lot of undercut rocks here.
The lower gorge does havewhitewater rafting that people
(23:19):
typically go along with one ofthe outfitters, unless they've
got their own kayak or somethinglike that.
So you do wanna go with anoutfitter unless you're
experienced.
And we have a list of those inthe park.
But then there's, quieter wateron the upper news, for tubing
and duckies and things likethat.
If you're somebody that justwants to get out and enjoy being
on the water, we have what wecall the wild, and we have what
we call the mild.
(23:40):
We are considered to be one ofthe premier.
Rock climbing destinations inthe Eastern United States.
Rock climbing tends to be at themore advanced level here, but
there is, beginner level aswell.
Something too that you can gowith one of the local
outfitters.
And we always encourage peoplealso to look at our CBBs local,
convention visitor bureaus.
The Chamber of Commerce is checkwith them as well because
(24:00):
they've got a lot of informationthat they can provide.
There's mountain, there's rockclimbing.
We are one of the few nationalparks that allow biking on
trails.
And not all the trails, but alot of the trails.
It's a rail trail here.
So we have, the rail trail thatyou can bike on and there's
places to rent mountain bikes,or you can bring your own own
bikes as well.
We actually have 13 miles ofsingle track mountain bike
(24:21):
trails, specifically formountain bikes and that a lot of
most parks don't have that.
And then fishing, you can fishhere.
And you have to have a fishinglicense through the state of
West Virginia.
You can hunt here.
You have to have a huntinglicense in the state of West
Virginia in certain places.
Good to know, for those, it'sgood to know where you can and
can't go and when you should andshouldn't go.
So, and swimming, you can do,but it's, there's a lot of
(24:47):
undercurrents in the new river.
If you've got a family, ifyou're looking for something a
little bit more family friendly.
We suggest going to LakeSummersville, a place which is
just north of us, which actuallyfeeds into the Golley River
National Recreation area.
And if you're looking forextreme white water rafting,
Golley River National Recreationarea, we also administer that.
(25:08):
And that's one of the top 10white water rivers in the world.
Missy (25:11):
Well, and I think because of where you're located and how
it's not, you're traditional.
You go in the grand arch of thepark and you have the road
through it.
I do think you're so wellintegrated with the towns and
communities and resourcesaround.
You mentioned look at what'sgoing on in the towns around,
but there's state parks andthere's, national recreation
areas.
There's a lot to do that isadjacent to the park as well.
Eve (25:35):
Very much so.
Yeah, we, a lot of these stateparks could very much be part of
the national park.
In fact, Grandview was a statepark and that became part of the
National Park in 1991.
We've got quite a few of thesestate parks that are around
that, that, in terms of camping,our campgrounds at New River are
primitive, no water, noelectricity, but some of these
state parks actually havehookups and things like that.
So if you're looking for that,private campgrounds that have
(25:56):
that as well.
There's glamping, there is,there's just all levels of,
abilities to be outside orinside.
In an outdoor setting here.
And there's a lot of, one of thetowns we have these gateway
communities like Fayettevilleand Hinton, Beckley, then the
town of Thurman, little town ofThurman Prince, places like that
are, Oak Hill.
(26:17):
They do festivals all the timeand they have these neat little
festivals and they've got theirown little restaurants,
eclectical restaurants and microbreweries and things like that.
So that if you're into that sortof thing, you can get the
natural recreational, thehistorical, but you can also get
that cultural piece as wellwithin some of the local
communities.
Missy (26:37):
Obviously I want people to be in the parks and enjoying
the outdoors, but thesecommunities, it's great
artisans, great food, and youdid touch a little bit on, on
where to stay and I think, thatthe parks campgrounds could be
limiting depending on yourtolerance for primitive.
But to your point, there's a lotaround it.
And you can stay in a hotel, youcould, where you would have all
(26:58):
the luxuries you needed or you acampground or whatnot.
Eve (27:01):
Yeah, that's true.
I mean, and Beckley tends to bethe place that has the most of,
of your chain.
I.
Places.
So, and it is centrally located,so it is a good spot, but
there's a lot of Airbnbs and alot of vrbo.
And there are some of these,chain.
Hotels and motels too, and someof the other gateway
communities.
But, one of the other things toothat is interesting about this
area is just that, we are, fiveand a half hours from dc We're
(27:24):
four hours from Pittsburgh,we're three hours from
Lexington.
Six to eight hours from New YorkCity, depending on when you
leave, the time of the day, youget trying to get out of there.
It's not that far from all theseplaces.
We've got an airport inCharleston International Airport
in Charleston now that you canfly into and rent a car in a 55
minutes, you can be in the park.
And then we've got airports.
Beckley actually has, RaleighCounty actually has its own, its
(27:46):
own smaller airport that isbeing served by flights coming
in from, I think, Charlotte.
So, not every day of the week,but Lewisburg has its own little
airport to now Huntington's.
So there's a lot of differentways to get it.
Or you can take the train, youcan take the train from DC get
off the train in Thurman and youjust need to have some
transportation set up ahead oftime.
(28:06):
Some of the local outfitterswill do that as well.
And there's car rental places inBuckley, so it's a fairly easy
place to get to.
The only thing I always tellpeople and caution people is
again, it's not like going to atraditional national park where
you just go like you alluded togo in the entrance.
So it's good to look at ourwebsite and good to plan ahead.
'cause if you're, like most ofus, time is the most precious
(28:28):
thing you have, so you wannamake the best use of it while
you're here.
Missy (28:31):
This park is busy.
It can be hard to getreservations and things.
So this is a park that you needto plan in advance because of,
how busy outfitters and placesthey fill up, especially
summertime.
It's a little cooler there thaneverywhere else.
And I think it's just a really,appealing place to be.
Eve (28:48):
Yeah.
One of the advantages of thisplace is we don't have a
reservation system yet, like youdo at Archer's and some of the
other National Park sites.
But one of the disadvantages ofthat is, you do have to plan
ahead and Memorial Day weekend,for instance, at one of some of
our busier trail heads, therewas no parking.
And, it's an issue.
But do you want, I always say,do you wanna build a parking lot
(29:08):
that you're gonna have 4,000people out on a trail?
Is that an experience you wannahave?
No, of course it's not.
If you plan on coming duringthose busier time periods, plan
on waiting in line, I wish.
We had the luxury of just beingtotally spontaneous in our
lives.
'Cause we all love that.
But, especially those who arenon planners and
procrastinators.
But it's just unfortunate wedon't sometimes.
Missy (29:30):
And one of the pieces of advice I was given and I share
with others is that's where it'sbeneficial when you have a state
park and a national park side byside because sometimes the state
park has some options for you,for things and then you can
just, pop into the national parkand you guys are well set up for
that.
Eve (29:47):
Yes.
And not only that, but we've gottheir bike trails.
Some of the local communitieshave their own bike trails and
things like that as well.
It makes it wonderful because,e-bikes is a good example.
We've got one very, very smalltrail in the park that e-bikes
is allowed on.
There are places outside thepark that you've got an e-bike
you can take it on.
Missy (30:03):
And an e-bike would be appealing with all your hills.
The one thing that I, we havenot touched on is the bridge.
I think it's probably the iconicpicture from the park, but this
scene is unbelievable, for thebridge and you all celebrate the
bridge with bridge day.
Eve (30:21):
Yeah, and we always kinda laugh because the bridge is not
actually in the park.
It just connects us on bothsides.
It's, owned by the state of WestVirginia Department by the
Department of Highways.
Bridge Day itself is actually acommunity run event.
So where we figure into it isthey land on us because.
People, jokingly, the joke ispeople jump off this perfectly
(30:42):
good bridge, it's one day ayear, the third Saturday in
October.
And it's a huge event.
It's the one of the largest, Iguess it probably is the largest
event, and it's one of the top10 high adventure events in the
world.
So, and it's the only na, we'rethe only national park that base
jumping is allowed in.
So yeah, but it happens aSaturday in October and we'll
(31:03):
have upwards of 80 to, I thinkthey've had over, well over a
hundred thousand people hereduring the day.
And so what they do is theyactually close.
That section, the bridge downfrom seven o'clock in the
morning until about five o'clockin the evening.
Bridge day starts at nine andlast till three, and there are
vendors set up on either side ofthe bridge, and then jumpers
(31:24):
come from all over the world.
You'll hear French, you'll hearGerman, you'll hear.
All sorts of language is beingspoken here and they jump off
the bridge and then, land, on,at a targeted, if they're lucky,
a targeted site down belowthat's on dry land.
Some of them we're down there inthe boats ready to scoop'em out
the river and things like that.
And then there's tandem jumpsthat people do so you can
(31:46):
actually purchase a jump.
And also people are zip liningoff of, underneath or repelling.
So just a lot of stuff going onand that short time period.
So it's pretty exciting.
It should probably be oneverybody's bucket list at least
one time to attend.
Missy (32:01):
I don't know.
I get nervous just.
Eve (32:04):
It's one of those things, they make it look so easy.
It looks so uneasy when they'redoing it.
Missy (32:08):
Have you ever done it?
Eve (32:10):
no, but I would.
The tickets are expensive topurchase a tandem jump, but
there is a lottery.
But a friend of mine, sherecently won the lottery and so
she was like, does this mean Iactually have to do it now?
So, she did it.
It was great.
Missy (32:23):
I think Bridge Day sounds fascinating, but just to be
there to see, the view isamazing looking at it, but I
think just seeing nature and thearchitecture and industry of the
bridge, combined.
It's just, I don't know, there'sjust something really special
about that
Eve (32:37):
It's a beautiful example of human engineering.
It really is.
The other thing I do wannamention though, as far as the
bridge goes is, there is apedestrian walkway underneath
the bridge that there is aprivate company called Bridge
Walk that they do provide, givethe opportunity for you to be
able to walk.
Underneath the bridge as well.
So it's a two hour tour.
(32:58):
They do it throughout the year.
So that's something else thatyou can do when you come here,
Missy (33:02):
I have two big questions that people ask is,
accessibility and.
Eve (33:08):
So we are considered to be, let's go to pets first.
Pet friendly park, dogs onleash, six feet or less, but
they are allowed on trails.
And so that's, that issomething, we actually have a
Bark Ranger program here,
Missy (33:23):
bark Ranger.
Eve (33:24):
Oh, good, good.
That's good to know.
So yeah, we'll love to get a,thing when they come here too.
So yeah, we're pet friendly.
In fact, we're actually startinga program with one of the local
humane societies or animalshelters, that for, foster a dog
a day in the park, high control,'cause it helps them.
It's something we can provide.
So that's something new.
We're just trying to get off theground.
(33:44):
And then the other thing, I'msorry, you asked about.
Accessibility.
This obviously is not an easypark to access some places, but
there are trails and places wehave that are considered to be
accessible.
Sandstone Falls is the largestwaterfall in the entire New
River.
So we have a boardwalk thattakes you out.
It's wheelchair accessible, butbeyond that, there's a rail.
(34:05):
I always like to tell peoplethere's levels of accessibility
and levels of needs, it's nicefor some people, all they need
is a place to put their hand tosupport themselves when they're
walking.
And so that's a rail toboardwalk that they can walk on.
So there's that.
There's also the boardwalk atCanyon Rim, that the upward
viewing platform.
Is, doesn't quite meet thestandards because of the slope.
(34:28):
It's just a little bit toosloped, but it's, there's.
Lots of people out there withwheelchairs because it's, and
that provides a nice view of thebridge.
And then in the wintertime youget a good view of the bridge.
Of course, the visitor centersare all considered to be
accessible as well.
So, the main overlook at GrandView, which is the highest
point, top to bottom in theriver's, 1400 feet from the, rim
(34:50):
down to look at the river.
That one is an old CCC Flagstonepath that.
That you can get to a certainpoint, but it's, and then you
can go out on a viewingplatform.
It does it again, that's gonnadepend on your level of
abilities and your wheelchair,what your all that is as well.
But that's something that we areworking on, we're trying to
(35:12):
continue to make better as timegoes on.
Missy (35:14):
I think that's interesting when you get to a
new park and you know that it isjust evolving.
Five years, five years old, soit is evolving and it will be
interesting to see all thedifferent improvements that are
made in
Eve (35:25):
And one more caveat, so if you get on our website, there
are other places that areaccessible in the park as well.
So, so get on our website justto check out where all those
places are.
Missy (35:34):
I also do wanna bring up, the website does an amazing job
'cause there's places in thepark that it would be hard for
my van to go.
And the website does an amazingjob of.
Really laying that out andputting little warnings and
heads up to people.
So even accessibility when itcomes to the kind of vehicles
you have.
there are areas where if youhave a big vehicle, it's just
not a good idea for you to goto.
Eve (35:55):
exactly.
Missy (35:56):
before we get into our speed round, I do wanna show a
little love because you guyshave a friends group that, is
really important to the workthat's done in the park.
And maybe you could just tell usa little bit about the Friends
of the New River Gorge.
Eve (36:07):
I would love to, and thank you for bringing that up.
People ask us all the time, howdo we help the park?
And I always say, join ourfriends group.
Because they are a primaryphilanthropic partner and they
do a lot of wonderful things forus.
But they're young, they're new,they're getting started.
They just hired their firstfull-time executive director,
who's gonna be trying to helpthem, work with fundraising and
(36:27):
those sorts of things.
They do things for us that wecan't do, and they do a lot of
wonderful things for us.
They actually have their ownwebsite that you can, it's
Friends of New River GorgeNational Park and Preserve.
So if you put that in yourbrowser, it'll take to their
website.
You can join there.
There's other things you can dothere as well.
It talks about some of thethings, they've done.
Our friends group is a wonderfulway to help the park if you want
(36:49):
to do that.
Missy (36:50):
We'll link to them from the episode page.
So if you go to the Parkspodcast, you can find that link
Eve (36:54):
Perfect.
Missy (36:56):
So we end every episode with a speed round of questions.
Just answer whatever comes tomind.
What is your earliest parkmemory
Eve (37:05):
I grew up right outside of a national, the very first
National River ever establishedin the National Park System,
which is a Buffalo NationalRiver established, March 1st,
1972, 100 years to the dateafter the very first national
park, Yellowstone National Park.
So my first memory is probablybeing a little kid down there
just learning how to swim in theriver.
Missy (37:24):
And what made you love the parks?
Eve (37:27):
Well, again, probably, having the, the un tremendous
opportunity to grow up rightnext to one, as well.
But, beyond that, when I startedworking for the Park Service, I
like most people, I'm like,yeah, it's a fun place to go
play, hang out, you're ateenager, learn how to drive,
things like that.
The mission of the National ParkService, I love our mission.
(37:49):
It's nice to work in a job thatyou feel like you're making a
difference and not everybody is,afforded that opportunity.
And I feel very blessed to havethat.
Missy (37:58):
What is your favorite thing about New River Gorge
National Park and Preserve?
Eve (38:02):
Again, the diversity.
I love plants.
I love just walking around thetrees and looking at different
species and things there's somuch about this place I haven't
learned yet, so, it's a lifelonglearning opportunity here.
Missy (38:14):
And what is your favorite thing to do at New River Gorge
National Park and Preserve?
Eve (38:18):
Probably just Forest Bay walk in the woods.
I love, I loved to mountain bikeand I love to trail run and
those sorts of things, althoughthe older I get, the less the
trail running is becoming.
But, I just love being in thewoods.
So it's a good feeling.
Missy (38:32):
What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your bucket
list and why?
Eve (38:38):
Oh my, I've not been to Denali and I wanna get up to
some of the Alaskan parks.
So that's definitely one that'son my bucket list.
Missy (38:45):
What are three must haves you pack for a park visit?
Eve (38:49):
A map, a water bottle.
And I never go anywhere withoutduct tape.
You never know when you're gonnaneed it.
So
Missy (38:58):
What is your favorite campfire activity?
Eve (39:02):
probably making some wars.
Hands down,
Missy (39:05):
And are you a tent, camper, or cabin person?
Eve (39:08):
I'm a tent camper.
I love being at, I'm a tent andso especially when if you can
pull the top off and look atnight at stars at night.
So depending on how bad themosquitoes are,
Missy (39:18):
and do you hike with or without trekking poles?
Eve (39:22):
Right now I do it without, but there's plenty of times I'm
wishing I had one, especiallyhere at New River'cause some of
our trails are pretty rocky and,the elevation change out.
It's not a bad thing to have atrekking pole.
Missy (39:34):
What is your favorite trail snack?
Eve (39:37):
Oh my, I don't know.
That's a hard one.
I hate to say granola, that'sjust so obvious.
But, I just, I'm a protein.
I like my protein, so I tend tolean towards those protein
snacks,
Missy (39:50):
What is your favorite animal sighting?
Eve (39:53):
Probably the coolest thing I've ever seen was when I worked
at Cape Cod, in the wintertime,the seals would come down from
the north and you'd see'em rightoff shore.
And of course now they're downthere more often.
But I mean, just, I was outthere one day and the seals were
out there.
And then there were organicbirds died bombing the water,
and it was all going on at thesame time.
And it was this free wildlifeshow right off shore.
(40:15):
And I thought, boy, am I theluckiest person in the world or
what?
Missy (40:19):
That's special.
What is your favorite sound inthe park?
Eve (40:24):
I love hearing the sounds of wounds, but you don't hear
them much.
I just, maybe that high pitch.
You know, Raptor Eagle sound, Iprobably is one I really enjoy
hearing.
Missy (40:35):
And what is the greatest gift that the parks give to us?
Eve (40:38):
I think just, the derivation of the word
recreation is recreation andthey offer us the opportunity to
recreate ourselves, bond withother people, and especially in
this day and time.
I think that harmony is veryimportant and I think National
Parks offer that opportunity forus right now,
Missy (41:00):
I agree with you.
Thank you so much for being partof the Parks podcast and sharing
this incredible park and itspreservation and history and all
of its goodness.
Eve (41:10):
Well, you're most welcome.
It's a nice place to talk about.
You could, it comes from theheart,
Missy (41:14):
Thanks for joining us for today's episode.
Until next time, we'll see youin the parks.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please be sure to like and share
on your favorite podcastplatform.
Music for the parks podcast isperformed and produced by Porter
Hardy.
For more information, pleasefollow us on Instagram at the
(41:34):
parks podcast.
Or visit ourwebsite@theparkspodcast.com.
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