Everything Old Is New

Linda Burton posting from Charleston, West Virginia – “Our blueberry buttermilk pie is the absolute best,” Jeff said, giving me a nudge towards dessert; I had already polished off my grilled asparagus-bleu cheese sandwich. I settled on a piece “to go,” stating I had a busy afternoon ahead; that’s when the conversation segued into things to do in Charleston, and then, somehow, the New River Gorge. Today Jeff was my server in East End’s Bluegrass Kitchen; on other days, in season, he is a whitewater raft guide with New & Gauley River Adventures. I asked for a card, and I asked Jeff to tell me more about the Gorge. “The New River is misnamed,” Jeff said. “It’s actually the oldest river in the world, or at least the second oldest.” “Just how do you know that?” I asked, with a hint of disbelief in my voice. “Geologists,” he answered. “That’s what they say. It has to do with continental drift and lift and the way the earth has evolved.” Well I can look that up, I thought, and went on to inquire more about the New River, and the Gorge. “It has the longest bridge in the world,” Jeff said. Oldest? Longest? I thanked Jeff for the info, and headed out for my afternoon rounds. Tonight, as I ate my blueberry buttermilk pie (absolute best) I spent some time with the World Almanac and confirmed Jeff’s other statements. Fact: the New River Gorge Bridge is the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the western hemisphere. It is 3,030 feet long, 876 feet high, took three years to build, and cost nearly $37 million. And one day a year, people are allowed to jump off it. » read more