We went on an outdoor adventure trip of a lifetime with ⁠River Expeditions⁠, the #1 lodging and adventure property & rafting outfitter in the New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia.

In this episode we’re recounting every moment of the best three days kayaking and white water rafting on the New River, zip lining in the West Virginia forest, and living in luxury in the massive cabins at River Expeditions.

About New River Gorge National Park

It is Americas newest NP and got the designation in December of 2020. Before that, it was a national river and recreation area. The park is rich in cultural and natural history and offers an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities. 

New River Gorge has some of the country’s best whitewater rafting, and is also one of the most popular rock climbing areas on the East Coast. The New River itself originates in North Carolina, flowing north through Virginia into the West Virginia mountains to the Kanawha River which continues to the Ohio River.

This park is in the heart of Appalachia and has a rich history of Coal mining In the area to this day. While you are on the river you will see the train hauling out piled of coal on the historic railroad in the area.

River Expeditions Adventures

River Expeditions is a second generation family-owned rafting outfitter and lodging company. The property sits on a huge 80-acre forested resort and comes fully equipped with volleyball courts, corn hole, disc gulf, a hiking trail, zipline, outdoor pool & hot tub, restaurant, camp store, outfitter store, saloon with fusball, and pool tables.

The lodging options include options for every type of traveler. They have tent camping, bungalows, safari tents, RV hook up spaces, rustic cabins, and luxury cabins. Highly recommend the luxury cabins!

They offer white water experiences for all ages and adventure levels! They have express and full day trips that come with lunch, they have calm float experiences suitable for kids as young as six years old, intermediate rafting (we did this one) with rapids up to class 5, advanced rafting with rapids up to class 10, and multi-day rafting trips where you camp on the river banks, we’re dying to go back to do this! Rafting trips also come with two drinks coupons for beer or soda in the Red Dog Saloon, and really puts the cherry on top of an already amazing experience. Do not sleep on the pub grub in the red dog saloon! It’s all amazing and not greasy. We especially loved the mac and cheese bites and the funnel cake fries!

The Exact Trip We Took with River Expeditions:

• 3 nights in a luxury cabin
• 1 zipline tour
• 1 Upper New River Full Day Float – option to ride in the raft or in the inflatable duckies, we recommend the duckies!
• 1 Lower New River Full Day Rafting

Tips for a Rafting Adventure in New River Gorge

• Rafting season is from May-October
• Bring and wear sunscreen and bug spray
• Wear a long sleeve shirt and pants to avoid sunburn 
• Wear water shoes or sandals during the rafting
• Research and confirm weather before your trip so you can pack accordingly
• West Virginia roads are narrow and windy in lots of places, especially as you are driving through the gorge
• Have cash to tip the guides

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New River Gorge – Episode Transcript

0:35

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast.

Today we’re taking you with us on our epic adventures to New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, specifically talking about our exceptional stay with River Expeditions.

0:58

Oh my gosh, we had so much fun rafting and hiking in New River Gorge National Park and we are so excited to tell you all about it.

I feel like this is the like epitome of a summer vacation.

It really kicks off your summer.

It is, and we’ve told a lot of people we’re coming to West Virginia.

1:15

You guys have been here before so you knew what it was like, but I’m just blown away.

West Virginia is so underrated.

It’s gorgeous.

And this has been a trip for like an adventure lovers dream.

We’re actually still here in West Virginia.

We wanted to get this episode out really quick because now is the season for rafting in West Virginia.

1:35

And so if you’re listening to this, by the end of this, you’re going to be super inspired to take this trip and we urge you to do it ASAP.

So let’s talk a little bit about New River Gorge National Park.

So it is actually America’s newest National Park, becoming America’s 63rd in December of 2020.

1:53

And this park is filled with a rich amount of history from the culture, the mining history, from the coal mines out here in West Virginia.

But there’s so much recreation to do, so many rivers.

The main one, of course, in the name of the National Park, New River, you could do a lot of whitewater rafting, kayaking, float trips.

2:14

Also, this place is really famous too for the East Coast for rock climbing.

So lots of rock climbing out here if that’s your thing.

Lots of beautiful hiking.

And one thing we were all talking about when we entered into West Virginia was just so how mountainous and green it is.

2:32

It’s everywhere.

Everywhere is green.

So you just get that beautiful lush environment to go with it.

And the ambiance, it’s amazing.

And I don’t know about you guys, but when I was telling people they’re like, where’s your next trip?

I’m like, oh, I’m going to West Virginia.

And they’re like, why?

And they look at you confused, like, why would you be going there?

2:49

And I’m like, oh, we’re going on a whitewater rafting trip.

They’re like, you have to go all the way out there to do it.

But they don’t realize how beautiful and like you said, underrated West Virginia is.

Kim.

And I’ve hardly ever heard anyone talk about West Virginia, but I’m on a mission to change that because it’s beautiful.

3:06

It’s a little bit difficult to get to, which I think maybe steer some people away if you don’t live in this area, but we’re going to walk you through how we did it so you can do it too, because you’ve got to experience this amazing place and the people here are so nice and friendly too.

Yeah.

So let’s just go ahead and dive into the tips that we have for our squatties.

3:23

So the first tip is just going to be talking about rafting season.

We mentioned all the things there is to do here, rock climbing, hiking.

Yes, you’re going to want to do that if those are your things, but you can’t come out here and not do whitewater rafting.

I feel like that’s really a must if you have that adventure seeking personality in you.

3:42

Rafting season is May through October.

Would also recommend you bring and wear sunscreen and.

Yes.

And not just bring it, bring and wear because we made an absolute mistake.

I don’t know how we did it.

We brought it and then we go on our first little trip and we are burnt to a crisp.

4:00

It will get you.

If you’re out there all day on the water, wear the sunscreen.

Yeah, the sun was out, but it wasn’t exceptionally high.

It was like mid 70s and we all got really burnt, except for Robin.

Who who came with us and she wore a long sleeve top and did not get burnt.

4:17

And that’s a good tip too.

Long sleeves and pants, even if it’s warm.

I would recommend doing it in hindsight.

We did two days of rafting.

The first day I wanted to look cute and wear a swimsuit and all that got really burnt.

The second day I wore pants and long sleeves and kind of protected myself.

4:34

So just go ahead and do that as well.

Because this is a very wooded area, bring bug spray as well because you don’t wanna get bit by mosquitoes or other bugs.

And on the theme of what Kim was mentioning earlier, really of what to wear, also think about that with your footwear, water shoes, sandals or even some old tennis shoes or sneakers for the raft.

4:55

And you’re going to want shoes that you are very comfortable having them get wet because they will get wet.

And before you come, make sure you do some research, confirm the weather before you trip so you can pack accordingly.

I would definitely pack both shorts and tank tops as well as like leggings and a lot of sleeve shirts.

5:12

And then if the weather is cold because they do raft even when it’s raining, they do have what suits usually available to rent as well.

Another really important tip to know is about the roads out here in West Virginia.

Now you have your main highways, interstates, et cetera, but some of these roads are a little bit narrow, little bit windy, more particularly when you’re on the gorge, right?

5:36

It’s in the name, New River Gorge National Park.

This river carves a gorge that’s over 1000 feet deep, right?

So if you are going from the top of the gorge to the bottom, those are some narrow, windy roads.

So just be careful when you do a little bit of the driving to keep that safety in mind.

5:53

Lastly, bring cash because when you’re going on these adventures, there are safety guides and main guides and so if you want to tip them, cash is always helpful for that.

We originally decided to go on this trip there.

There’s a little bit of a story behind it, but our main draw really was whitewater rafting in the New River Gorge and it did not disappoint.

6:12

I know you all have done it before, but how did this one compare to your first time around?

OK.

So the first time around we had a great time.

We’re like, how can we even top this?

We had such a great time, but this time I think we went earlier in the season so there was less people on our trip and so we got to do some extra things, like there were multiple opportunities to swim in the river.

6:33

We got to go surfing, which I didn’t even know what that was.

With our rafting boat.

We got to surf at least five times.

It was so much fun.

Yeah, I really enjoyed it a lot this time.

I think, you know, the first time you do it, there’s a little bit of excitement, but also apprehension just because you’ve never done it before.

6:51

You’re like, oh, how dangerous is this?

But I just want to really stress how safe it is.

Of course, anything outdoors is always the risk for potential danger.

It’s just everywhere and with anything, right?

But these guides everywhere you go here are all certified trained.

7:11

They know exactly what rapid is coming up, what class before we go down each rapid, they’ll tell you, OK, if somebody happens to fall out, this is what side you should swim to or don’t swim.

Stay in the middle where we’re going to be tackling the rapid this way so they know every inch in turn of the river.

7:31

And I think since we knew that going in this second time, that apprehension is not there.

And it was just more straight excitement, honestly, like river rafting, now that this is the second time, is probably one of my more favorite extreme outdoor activities to do.

7:46

Dare I say I might start liking it, or I do like it a little bit more than hiking.

I’m sorry to.

Tell you that for, well, hiking has its perks, but anything in the water is just so fun and it is exciting, but it’s not Rapids, Rapids, Rapids the whole time.

8:01

That’s where I was a little mistaken.

There’s crazy rapid parts or more chill rapid parts, but then it smoothes out and you get to just kind of relax and take in that amazing scenery, these huge mountains with green trees all around you, and you get that leisure time built in too.

8:18

Yeah.

And, and I guess that’s one thing that when we were describing the trip to you, we should have been a little bit better of explaining that is that, yeah, there’s only small sections of Rapids now.

There’s multiple small sections of Rapids.

But the majority of the time you really are at leisure in the calm of the river.

8:36

You’re not even really having to paddle yourself.

You’re just flowing easily with the current, looking up at those 1000 foot green walls because you’re down in the river below and 1000 feet up is the top of the Canyon, right?

So it’s just an exceptional experience all around being out on the river.

8:53

And I can’t stress it enough.

If you come into New River Gorge, if you’re a hiker, hike, if you’re a rock climber, go ahead and do some of the rock climbing that’s famous out here.

But I would stress anybody listening, be a little adventurous, get on the rafts, do some rafting.

9:09

And even if you have young ones and kids, you know, we’re going to get into this.

But they have certain areas of the river that aren’t as rapidly or even at all that’s fit for children aged 6 and up that you could just do floats and just float down, which is also a really fun, great experience.

9:25

So we talked a little bit about the gorge and the river, but there is a huge bridge that spans the New River Gorge and it is the longest steel span bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

It’s huge.

And let me tell you, when you’re rafting down the river and you get to end on the lower New River looking up to the bridge, it is amazing.

9:45

And we’re going to get into that a little bit more.

But Jamal, there’s a little bit of history behind why they made the bridge.

Tell our squatties about that.

Well, yeah, of course.

If you remember in the tips, I mentioned some of these windy roads that you have out here in Virginia, more particularly going down the gorge.

10:02

Well, the bridge spans the top of the gorge.

It’s over 1000 feet tall.

The river down below the bridge was built out of necessity because before that you had to take those windy roads all the way from the top to the bottom.

Have a little baby bridge that spans river and then climb all the way back up.

10:20

So a 45 minute drive to get from one side of the river to the other Easily became 45 seconds once this bridge was completed.

I believe in the late 70s.

We chose to stay at River Expeditions because our friend Heather actually is the longtime owner of River Expeditions.

10:38

It’s a family owned business has been around for a very long time.

She invited us out to experience the magic of the New River Gorge and really the magic of River Expedition as well.

They have tons of different accommodation options, but Heather hooked us up with A5 bedroom luxury cabin.

10:56

And let me tell you, this cabin just put the cherry on top of the trip.

Everything is wood, so you really get that cabin vibe.

It’s got all these quaint little bedrooms.

There’s a hot tub.

There was a fire pit like it was amazing.

11:11

They have tons of other stuff though.

Like I said, they have leisure cabins, deluxe cabins, bungalows, cozy cabins, rustic options 10 so I think they even have RV right?

They have RV parking options as well.

So a lot of different options and you can come as a single person, a couple family, even groups come here and experience this area.

11:32

They have 80 acres on property.

But we’re just talking about the accommodations right now, which are great because there’s something for everybody, whether again, you want that RV, actual camping experience with the tent, a little bit more rustic bungalow style, working your way up all the way to the luxury cabinet, right?

11:48

But there’s so much more to do on property.

There’s zip lining, volleyball, horseshoes, Frisbee golf is even an activity that you can go ahead and do.

And we’ll talk about this a little bit later, but what I really love is that there is a bar and saloon on property too.

12:06

That’s what you really love.

I love that aspect of it, but that’s we’re gonna get into this later about the rafting because that’s kind of part of the rafting experience.

Once you’re done, you go to the bar, you go to the saloon, you get food, you see your photos and videos that they’ve taken of you throughout the day while you’ve been rafting is just part of the culture and the experience.

12:25

So I really like that aspect.

It’s a one stop shop in terms of like everything around in terms of what your vacation style is and what you want to do.

And your vacation sell, right?

But Squatty’s, I’m really going to urge you to get the luxury cabin because I am obsessed with it.

The couches, how comfortable where the couch is.

12:42

Couches were exceptionally.

Comfortable.

I took a delicious nap yesterday on that couch.

Well, not only that and the ones in our cabin are nice and leather, so they were very cool to my skin on my extreme burn that I have right now.

So that came and made it a little bit more comfortable, but in generalities, super comfortable.

12:59

Kitchen table, full kitchen.

We make breakfast every morning.

They’re rocking chairs on the porch.

Like it’s amazing.

I don’t wanna leave.

And then when you come inside and you’re cold from rafting earlier in the day, there’s a fireplace you could turn on.

We turn on the fireplace like on blast, and we were just sitting in front of it and just enjoying the warmth coming off of it, even though we still are a little vert.

13:19

But it is a great cabin.

We’re actually recording from inside the cabin right now.

On this trip, in addition to the cabin, we did a couple of excursions around.

We only stayed a Friday through Monday, so we fit as much in as we could.

We did zip lighting, we did the float and we did the rafting upper river and lower river.

13:40

You hit the nail on the head with that, Kim, but let’s kind of take our squatties and everybody through exactly how we got here and talked about our experiences.

So Kim mentioned earlier how you think this is an underrated place and people are like, oh, West Virginia, like why?

13:57

But I do think a lot of it is really, it’s hard to get here too.

And maybe that’s why people haven’t really explored it so much or know so much of its charm that it has.

So there are several major airports in the vicinity that you can fly into.

But what I mean in the vicinity, we’re talking 3 1/2 to 4 hour potential drive.

14:17

So I think that’s part of the hindrance.

You can fly into Charleston Airport, which is the capital of West Virginia.

It’s not too far from here, only 45 minutes.

Flights are a little bit more expensive to get into there, of course, because it’s closer.

We flew into Columbus, OH, but what are some of the other close airports that you could fly into?

14:37

Brittany We also looked into flying into Pittsburgh or Charlotte, Louisville or Cincinnati.

All of those are options.

We flew into Columbus on a Thursday, spent the night in Columbus, woke up Friday to start driving here to New River Gorge and River Expeditions.

14:56

From Columbus, it takes about 3 1/2 hours if you don’t stop.

We did a really quick stop in Hocking Hill State Park.

Which is in Ohio still.

And if you’re going to take this trip like the way we are, where you fly into Columbus and then you rent a car and drive here, absolutely make this stop in Hocking Hills.

15:15

I wouldn’t tell you to do it optionally.

I would say absolutely hit it up because it was also very surprisingly beautiful.

It was really beautiful and I enjoyed this a lot.

I was, I don’t want to say I was disappointed because a lot of times along the way I like to make miscellaneous stops, break up the drive.

15:31

But Brittany and I have been to Ohio before.

We went to the one National Park that the state of Ohio has, which was Cuyahoga National Park.

And sorry, any Ohio, Ohioans or if I’m saying that incorrect?

I know I am.

But I was not impressed with it.

15:49

And I’m just like, if this is the National Park, why are you trying to stop at a State Park, Brittany?

Like, it’s not going to be as great.

But let me tell you something. 10 times better than the National Park.

You know, we’re National Park lovers.

I’m not going to discourage anyone from going to Cuyahoga, but way better blew me out of the water.

16:04

I really loved Hocking Hills.

And while you’re in Ohio, there’s a song you have to put on the radio.

This is the while you’re driving through.

Song is optional by the.

Way no no no, you have to put on.

Hawthorne Heights, Ohio is for lovers on blast.

But just beware because it might get stuck in your head and you’ll have to play it on repeat throughout the whole weekend.

16:24

So we’re not going to go super far into it.

I’m just going to tell you real quick where we stopped in Hocking Hills, we stopped at Honkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve, we did the Lower Falls to Old Man’s Cave, and then we lastly stopped at Cedar Falls.

I think it was an easy quick stop.

16:40

Worth it because it’s so beautiful as waterfalls and caves and vegetation and nature sound.

Bath and break up your drive.

It’s it’s definitely worth it.

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16:59

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17:25

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So then as you’re driving, you’re going to obviously cross into West Virginia.

17:40

As you’re driving into West Virginia, you have to put on the John Denver Song Country Rd.

This one’s not optional.

The other song was often.

This one’s not awful.

You definitely have to put on Country Roads by John Denver when you enter into West Virginia.

Really sets the tone for the trip.

It does.

17:56

I’ve been playing it quite often since I’ve been here and every time it doesn’t get old, I still love.

It and then we arrive to River Expeditions.

Kim had mentioned this earlier.

It’s the second generation mom and pop rafting and lodging company that they bought in the 90s.

It’s a huge 80 acre property.

18:14

We went over what kind of accommodations they have and on top of everything we had mentioned they even if you don’t have a private cabin, they do have a pool and hot tub for everyone.

Favorite restaurant, camp store, an outfitter store.

18:29

Jamal mentioned the saloon already.

It’s two stories.

On the second story they have a foosball table and then two pool tables and they have just so much to offer.

Like you could literally spend a week here and not get bored.

And I just want to say too, if you don’t go the route that we’re stressing, which is the luxury cabin route, when you’re staying here and you want to be a little bit more rustic later out in nature, do some camping or in the bungalows, there’s really clean bathrooms, shower rooms, all of the above.

18:59

So everything you need is here on property.

And I just want to say too, we mentioned how this is second generation family owned, mom pop style.

Whereas when we’ve been here before, we had a great experience.

Let’s not kid ourselves, but a lot of places here that do the river rafting are corporate owned.

19:18

And when you’re there, you really can feel that it’s just corporate owned.

Not to say that the experience is bad, but here you have that more personalized touch that you’re not just a number or a sale, you are a guest and a part of their property.

And I really appreciated that feeling that we had while we were up here at River Expedition.

19:36

You kind of feel like you’re part of their family because the guides that you are on your trips with are also at the saloon after or they’re your guides to the next zip line adventure or the bartender that you see in the saloon you see every day and he knows what trips you went on.

19:53

So he’s asking how was it?

And I don’t want to leave this place.

Like feel like I’m part of apparently.

Now so as after we checked in we got settled in our cabin and then we went immediately to the saloon, we actually met Heather there and let me tell you the saloon food amazing.

20:09

We ordered everything fried Pickles, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks.

Kim’s favorite?

The Mac and cheese bite.

They were so good.

The funnel cake.

Fries, yes, I’m going to end on that because funnel cake fries were a game changer.

20:24

They were so delicious.

So we spent a few hours in the saloon and then we went back to our cabin and we soaked in our private hot tub until like, I think almost midnight.

With a bottle of wine.

We stopped at the grocery store beforehand because of course there’s a kitchen in the cabin, so we want to make breakfast every morning and just have a few things on hand.

20:44

So we’re like, we have the hot tub, let’s get some wine.

That was a really fun experience, just all of us in the hot tub with some wine just to join life.

And it’s right on the back porch and you have the forest right behind you.

It’s beautiful.

Yeah, in fact, Robin was soaking out in the hot tub at one point and she said she was closing her eyes.

21:02

And when she opened her eyes, there was a deer just grazing in the grass right by the hot tub.

Mother Nature at its finest.

So that was our Friday.

Let’s get into the excitement of rafting.

So the very next day, Saturday, is when we started our first river adventure that we were taking.

21:24

We were on the upper New River, which of course the New River is the name of the river.

New River.

When we say upper, of course it’s a little bit higher upstream, but this is the area that’s more calm, less Rapids.

If there’s Rapids, they’re only really like a class one, which is the lowest, which really means for the most part they are absolutely safe.

21:45

This is where we were saying the age requirement is 6 and up and you see a lot of families out here with younger kids and you are just loading out on the river enjoying life.

You have the option of staying in the bigger boat with your guide or getting into what they call duckies, which are two person or one person little kayaks that you are going to be paddling yourself the entire day.

22:11

But really fun experience doing that and just floating and enjoying the views as you go by.

And we chose to do this the first day because when we first spoke this, Kim was a little nervous about the rafting, so we wanted to ease her in to the river and the rafts.

22:27

And so this was a perfect float trip for that exactly.

You definitely are still going down Rapids and in the Ducky, which we all chose to go with instead of the Wrath.

It’s very much adventurous.

It’s not what it sounds like with a float.

22:42

When I think of float, I think of tubing down a slow river.

This wasn’t that.

You’re not in a tube like Jamal said, and there are some faster spots in there.

There are some really exciting adventures.

You also can get out and swim a bunch.

Were there any rocks to jump off?

22:58

Not on this one, right?

No, not any rocks jump off on this one, but you could definitely get out several times.

They said if you want to swim, jump out of your kayak and do that.

They show you the techniques on how to get back in.

Maybe you can maybe need some help getting pulled out.

They go over all of the safety demonstrations on how to like tighten your life jacket.

23:16

They come around, make sure that you’re tight enough, super safe to do this.

There was someone what, as young as like six or seven on this trip even, and there was like a young kid who was also paddling his own kayak as well down about.

Halfway through, he went into the raft and gave up.

Right.

23:33

Yeah, it’s a long day.

We started, we checked in around 9:00 AM and we were on the water by what, 10/10/30?

We didn’t end until 3:30.

It was a full.

Day me and Robin.

In the beginning we got pegged as the problem ducky by Nathaniel, one of our guides, who was really great by the way, and we were doing actually very good in the beginning.

23:56

We were leading the pack, we were In Sync, we had it down, we were cruising and then after lunch we kind of took a nosedive.

Well, I think that’s why I call him Divorce Guy, especially if you’re in with an actual couple ’cause then if you are on rhythm with your paddling, then it can cause some issues of which direction are you going.

24:16

But that’s also half the fun if you have a good temperament about it.

But yeah, you guys were starting the day strong, and then after lunch you just got really lethargic after the food that they fed us, and you’re just like.

Oh well, my arms were sore.

It’s actually a lot of work.

Do you think float leisure?

No, no, no.

24:31

You’re going to be working those arms.

Yeah, well, they call it float again, because the Rapids that are there are very minimal.

But in the smaller duckies that you’re in, they feel more adventurous but absolutely safe.

Again, as young as six.

But you’re saying tire long day, and I’m not going to sit here and say that it’s not.

24:50

But that’s the beautiful thing too about river expeditions and the trips that they offer.

They have an express trip.

If you want to do this, it’ll drop you in a little bit different spot, you know, floating as long lunch isn’t included.

So those are their express trips.

25:05

So if you want to take a shorter trip in the morning, do a little bit of hiking in the afternoon or vice versa, you have that option for the expressed.

We had the longer one.

So when you take the longer ones, lunch is included on that.

They find a spot on the side of the river where there’s a lot of space.

25:24

They have ice chests in the guide boats, and then you have a buffet lunch of make your own sandwich.

Really bomb.

Black bean like succotash salad.

Oh my God.

Oh my gosh, everyone was raving about that macaroni salad.

Even a little dessert with pudding and some chopped up chocolate chip cookies on top.

25:43

It was absolutely.

Delicious eating your sandwich, sitting on a log, looking out at this beautiful New River gorge.

And the price that you pay includes everything, like for this trip it included the lunch and then it includes all of your gear to the paddle, the life jacket, the helmet.

26:01

And then to get there, of course you have to take a bus.

So you learn a lot about the rafting trip on the bus on your way down.

It was so much fun.

Highly recommend this.

And if you are hesitant about rafting, ease your way into it with this by the way we did.

26:17

Interview Heather from River Expeditions back in July of 2023.

So if you want a real deep dive on all of the different tours, who they’re good for, what they’re like, or even more info on the River Expeditions property, that episode is a really good one to go back to.

26:34

And Heather herself explains everything from, you know, the owner’s perspective, so it’s a real good one.

So after your rafting trip, when you pick up your keys, they give you tokens to use in the saloon and it’s good for two free beers or sodas.

26:50

So of course, you have to go redeem your tokens, get your beer, get your soda, and everyone from your rafting trip usually goes there too.

That’s where they’re going to view the rafting video, and a lot of people from your trip go there.

A lot of the guides go there, so it’s really fun.

27:07

Yeah, and here on property at River Expeditions, their saloon bar is the Red Dog Saloon.

But that’s to the point.

I was saying earlier, this aspect is the most fun, free drinks aside, which I think is really awesome that you get the tokens to go and enjoy and they encourage you to go and have that camaraderie afterwards.

27:26

But again, free drinks aside, I just like the aspect of, hey, let’s go meet up with everybody who was just on our rafting trip or float trip.

Let’s talk with our guides, let’s see the photos, laugh, reminisce.

You know, they kept some really good candid shots in there sometimes that are for a good laugh.

27:44

And if you are rafting, have some extreme moments that’s captured on video and you actually just get to see it from a different perspective than actually when you lived it on the river.

And this is my favorite part of really being out here in the rafting culture is just drinks and food afterwards.

28:02

They also take pictures in addition to the videos for some tours, there’s pictures and you can go into the Outfitters Store and check those out.

Or there’s a website, we’ll link it in the show notes where you can view and buy your pictures from your phone if you miss them at the Outfitters Store.

One other thing at the Outfitter store that I took advantage of was the waterproof phone cases that hang up from a necklace around your neck.

28:24

I did purchase one of those and I’m really glad that I did.

A lot of the guides had said probably shouldn’t bring your phone on this trip.

You know, it could get lost and of course that’s possible.

But that waterproof phone case and the necklace really held on well and I was able to put the phone in my life jacket with video on and get video footage of the experiences.

28:44

And that, like POV shot, those are prize memories I’m going to hold on to for a long time.

Another thing that we didn’t mention was after lunch we did a little ducky wars.

At least Jamal and I did, which means they flipped over a ducky boat and then two people get on top and then it’s a non contact sport where you kind of stomp around and whoever stays on top the longest wins.

29:07

I beat Jamal for the record.

Well, we only played once.

If it was two out of three, I think Jamal would have won on that.

I I think so.

I think so.

You were stomping around like crazy.

So was I, so you can.

I have seen your thoughts.

I mean, I have seen your thoughts.

I think that’s probably why I lost.

But nevertheless, it’s actually really fun to do the Ducky wars.

29:26

I would never even think of such a thing, but her guides were showing.

Us.

I know I loved Carla.

She was one of the main guides who was in the raft and she was trying to get everyone involved.

But you are you going to do Ducky Wars?

Come on.

And yeah, she was really funny.

So after we did our float trip, we did do some ziplining on property as well.

29:48

We signed up for the 530 ziplining and before you can actually go ziplining, you have to do a little training.

So they help you put on your harnesses and they put everything on correctly, tighten you up, and then you go to like a training platform where they show you how to stop yourselves.

And if you mess up, they make you do it again until you have it right.

30:06

They’re all about.

Because the training portion is like what, 20 feet off I.

Was going to.

Say I’m not third.

Well, I mean, it’s about 30, a 30 foot line, maybe no more than 15 feet off the ground.

Yeah, and that’s where you have to do the short training portion and, and almost everyone did something that messed up.

30:23

And how you’re supposed to stop is just put your hand flat on it.

And everyone kept gripping it.

And then we were like the peanut gallery, like, don’t grip it.

That’s supposed to grip it.

Britney, don’t grip it.

Yeah.

And, and they tell you and you think like, oh, it’s so easy.

30:39

Just cross your legs, just like put your hand on it.

But when you’re in the moment and you have that like, adrenaline rushing through you, you forget everything they say.

But they do a really good job of like reteaching you, making sure you have it.

Once I first went up there, I was getting ready to go and I’m like, I started panicking and I forgot.

30:56

I thought you had to like hold yourself up by your arms and your upper body Shank.

Then I was like, I can’t do this.

I can’t hold myself up.

And our guide was like, you sit down.

Just let yourself hang.

But yeah, I know the teaching course that they give you on how to ride the zip line, what you need to do makes you feel really comfortable.

31:18

Unless you’ve done it before or consistently, of course, everyone’s going to have that little bit of a mess up.

But until you’re ready to go, they don’t really put you on the course.

So put your mind at ease.

Really safe, really fun.

This was a nice little fun course too, that has four platforms that range anywhere from 150 to 350 feet in length.

31:40

So a quick course, but also not because it takes a bit of time to go from one platform to the next, restrap yourselves back in, wait for everybody in your group to go.

So even when you’re not ziplining and on the platform, you’re just hanging up anywhere 75 to 150 feet above the trees, just looking down and join the experience.

32:00

I liked that they, I don’t know that if they do this all ziplining because this was my first time, but when you get off the zip line, they take your hook and they hook you into the platform like the extra safety.

I just love it.

And I well, I know, well, safety is important.

So we should stress in on the safety, but that’s a standard.

32:19

And when you’re off the zip line, you’re always like hooked into your platform at at that point in time.

But that’s somebody who’s never done it.

Kim, great point to bring up that you feel safe after the fact.

I was really scared.

The first one I was super scared.

I definitely was in my head like, should I just turn back now?

32:36

I can go down this rope ladder and and I’m out of here and I’m safe.

And that’s another thing to mention too, is like to get to the first one you have to climb a rope ladder and then to get to the second one, you need to go across the wooden bridge.

Oh yeah, that’s right.

Well, those were the only ones.

And that that little rope ladder is about 15 feet, so nothing too crazy.

32:54

That wooden bridge, you’re strapped in crossing it.

But it’s just the concept of that.

But everywhere else on the other platforms it was just hook in to hook in.

No more crossings to do anything.

I think by the second or third one my fear and anxiety had subsided and I was having.

33:10

Second or third, Well at least you got to enjoy the 4th if that’s the case then.

And the 4th is the best one.

It’s the longest one gets the most speed.

That one was really fun and just a great all around experience.

And I again, I love the fact you don’t even have to leave property, it’s just.

33:26

Right.

Yeah.

Not only that, but they know you’re on the trip.

Like earlier in the day, Carlo was like, yeah, I’ll be on your ziplining.

Nathaniel’s like, yeah, you guys are ziplining later, right?

Like they’re watching out for us and they know our schedule.

And it’s fun because when you’re on the water with them, you get one perspective of them and then you feel like you get to know them all day.

33:44

And then you come and do another fun activity and it’s just, you’re all laughs really.

It’s like so much fun.

BNB was our guide on the ziplining and then he was our safety guide the next day on the whitewater rafting day.

And if there are any young single females, all of the guys are pretty cute, you know, And they’re all fit.

34:07

They love water.

They love to have a good time.

So if you’re single, this is a good place for you.

West Virginia needs some more Single Ladies out here.

So after the zip line, we went to the visitor center.

We went to go see the sunset, but there was no sunset to be seen.

34:22

Still really pretty, gorgeous colors, and we got to see our first views of the New River Gorge Bridge and behind the visitor center they have a boardwalk platform with a whole bunch of stairs and different viewing areas so you can actually see the river, the forest, and then the bridge of course.

34:40

After that, we had to make an emergency stop at the store to get some aloe Vera because we were all dying.

Jabal, let me ask you a question.

What bottle number are you on with aloe Vera bottles bought on vacation?

I’ll probably 10, probably 10.

I don’t know why I I do this, but whenever I have an aloe Vera that I pick up on a trip, for whatever reason, I don’t bring it with me on the next trip to actually have just in case I get burnt.

35:07

What I think it is, I think I say to myself, I’ll be better next time and put on the sunscreen.

And then like an idiot, I I’ll put on the sunscreen.

So I do that as an encouragement.

But that encouragement obviously doesn’t work.

That I put aloe Vera in his like a little vanity bag at one point and I was like, you should keep this in here, you always need this.

35:28

And like a dummy, he removed.

It, well, I think I removed it because we’re going somewhere where there was no sun and it was like winter and it was just and it was just taking up space.

Yeah, yeah, I know that’s going to be the same.

I’m I’ve learned from this one because this is now the second time that I’ve gotten really bad burns out in the sun.

35:46

The other time was in the Philippines.

I’m feeling it right now on my shoulders in a lot of new places, so that Aloe Vera and Raymond.

What’s next bottle did we get Kim?

Super size and we we’ve gone through it.

We’ve got there like half of that already.

And again, I want to reiterate, this is our fault.

So that’s why we say bring sunscreen and use.

36:03

It they told us.

Use it, they told us.

We didn’t listen.

The guides come to find out, do have sunscreen.

It’s not really for the group, but if you’re in a sticky situation you you didn’t put any on you forgot whatever they do have it.

So go ahead and ask they they probably will have it on your trip.

36:18

And you can buy it in the outfit or store as well.

All of this trip we’re warming up for Sunday for the big Intermediate Adventure class Whitewater Rafting expedition.

We say intermediate, but you are coming across Rapids.

36:34

Class one through 55 are the highest.

So it’s intermediate, no doubt.

But why they say it’s intermediate even though it is fun and extreme is not.

Everything that you’re going down is gonna be those classified Rapids.

You have a good mix of everything.

36:49

Whereas if it was gonna be more extreme, there is a river here in this area which we’re gonna talk about we didn’t do because they only do it during a certain time of season that’s really more extreme where you’re going to be hitting a lot more class fives on your trip down the river.

I think the Class 5 terminology kind of scared me a little because I’m like class five.

37:07

Oh my God.

But once we were in the Class 5 Rapids, they weren’t that crazy.

They were fun.

Yeah, I mean, they’re a little bit higher, sometimes even class fives, they may not be as big, but the Rapids just last technical or they just last a little bit longer.

37:24

So, you know, take one through 5 with a grain of salt.

That doesn’t mean like, Oh my gosh, it’s extreme.

You know, you’re you’re not going down waterfalls and Rapids here.

You know, you just hitting some big bumps and.

Another thing I had a vision in my head and it turned out to be was how much effort you have to put in.

37:39

Like when you guys brought your video back from when you did it a couple years ago.

It was all the hard parts where you’re paddling and there’s crazy waves and whatnot, but our guide Possum would say forward two and we would push two forward.

Like the most we ever had to paddle was like four times in a row.

37:55

It was not that much paddle.

It was more paddling on the inflatable duckies the day before.

Especially if you’re just in the inflatable duckies by yourself, like one or two person, because you’re the only people doing the work.

But when you’re in a raft, everyone’s doing the work.

And that’s a good point, Kim, because most of the time that when you’re actually whitewater rafting that you are paddling is when you are in the Rapids.

38:16

The majority of the time you’re not in the Rapids, Which?

Occurred.

It’s just when the Rapids came about, I lost all senses, like I was not paddling.

I was thoughtless need to instructions.

Well, it’s a good thing Brittany and I were sitting in front.

You need the let.

Fraud.

38:32

So this day when you check in, they do a continental breakfast, a safety briefing.

It’s a little bit more intense than the one for the flow.

Of course, you still pick up your gear, your paddle, life jacket, your helmet.

You get on the bus, little bus drive tells you kind of what to expect.

38:51

And then you can sit 9 to a raft.

So that’s eight rafters plus the guide.

Since we only have the one raft that day.

There is another raft that codes behind you as a safety raft.

There’s two people on that boat, so you’re going to be safe if you fall out.

39:08

Yeah.

And no one fell out in.

Our a couple Times Now that Brittany and I have gone wildwater rafting and nobody’s falling out.

I mean, we can voluntarily get out and do the Swarmer Rapids or in the compart.

It’s actually just jump and float if we wanted to.

39:25

But I have not been on an adventure where we falling out.

And to the point of where you’re saying they have the safety raft, yes, sometimes they’re behind us, but sometimes our guide would tell them go ahead of us because maybe these Rapids, because they’re a little higher class, maybe you’re more inclined to fall out and they want them in front.

39:42

That way if somebody falls out there, they are ready to catch you versus coming from behind.

So we’ll get always keeping safety in mind.

I was a little bit worried because you sit on the edge of the raft, you’re not inside of the raft.

And I thought like, that’s crazy.

You’re definitely going to fall out.

39:58

But you hook your foot underneath these inflatable parts in front of you and you’re really good in there.

Like you got a gun?

Hold you.

Flex your leg muscles when you’re going through the Rapids and you’re pretty solid.

And when we first got on the raft, he was making us practice like lean forward, lean back.

40:14

When he told us like to lean in, we all leaned in towards the center of the boat.

He had us practice like duffing down, like it down.

So he had us practice all of the moves before we even went through any Rapids.

And they needed all of that instruction at some point during that trip.

40:30

Me and Robin sat in the very back next to the guy that I think if you’re worried, that’s the safest spot to stick because there were multiple times during Rapids or like when we were surfing that he put his arms around both of us.

His name was Possum.

Great guide.

And I just felt so safe.

I’m not going to fly anywhere.

40:46

Jamal and I chose to sit in the front because we have done whitewater rafting before, and the front is like the most thrilling, exhilarating part.

Like splash stone.

Yeah, it’s a splash stone.

All of the waves you’re hitting straight on.

And so you’re going to get the most wet up there.

They’re going to go wet no matter where you go.

41:03

Our guide was even telling US1 time they were taking the bus down, they hadn’t even gotten to the water and it had started to rain.

And that group was like take us back.

We’re not doing this in the rain, which is hilarious because you get so wet no matter what and it.

Did rain on us.

It did a.

Just a little bit, you know, I was actually really nice.

41:20

So day 2 here we were already burned.

So we all wore the long pants, long sleeves, and it was overcast for half the day and it did rain.

But then the sun finally did make its appearance a little bit later on, which was really, really nice.

41:35

But the water again, this time of season where we’re at was quite warm on an overcast day.

It can be a little bit chilly for some points, but you’re not freezing.

And again, I want to reiterate, the wet suits are there as options if the water is cooled enough.

And the guides will tell you like, no, it’s wet suit time.

41:51

You know, if we if you really need.

It and this was June, so if you come anytime June to later in the season July August, I don’t think you’ll need a wet suit.

Yeah.

It’s only if you’re going to be early on, maybe in May that that’s a potential possibility.

And we were talking about the Rapids a little bit.

42:07

So before every set of Rapids you go on, you get a briefing on how we’re going to go down the Rapids, what to do if you fall out, where to swim to, if sometimes it’ll be swim to a side of the riverbank.

Sometimes he’ll say this is a class to try to just get back to the boat.

42:23

So they really guide you right before the rapid that you go through, what to do, how to stay safe.

You were a lot about river terminology.

Like.

And goalie didn’t know what an Eddie.

Was I?

Did Eddie not a goalie?

I didn’t know what an Eddie was and didn’t know what an uppercut rock was.

42:40

You learn all of these things and terminate have the.

Name for every rock, for every rapid.

It’s like they’ve they really have a relationship with this river.

Well, and that’s what I was saying earlier, they really do know every inch and corner of the river, how to navigate the Rapids.

More importantly, if the water’s high, if it’s low, how they’re actually different.

42:59

Like our guide was telling us too, oh, if it was a little bit high or we would be doing this, or you could expect this.

So they know in every water condition how you’re going to go about it, what hazards and fun things there are along the way.

So that way you can enjoy the experience.

43:16

The best?

So during this rafting experience, there were two or three opportunities to get out and swim.

There was some swimmer Rapids he could swim through.

People got out and just swam during some con parts and then there was like one final swimmers Rapids you could do.

Not every trip you can do that.

43:32

It really depends on the water level.

So they’ll let you know if it’s safe, if you can do that.

We also had the opportunity to do a jump rock.

So you had to climb up and jump from a rock and then swim back to the raft.

And then my favorite thing that we got to do, which we didn’t do the first time they went rafting, was surfing.

43:49

I really love the surfing.

This was a unique experience.

I mean, I guess I should have known that this is something that you could do.

Didn’t know something that they do, do you?

Know you know it’s big raft too.

Yeah, so but surfing is, is basically you make your way through the Rapids and then you just decide to let me roll back towards them against the current, you know, and they’ll angle the raft in such a way that it catches one of the waves coming down.

44:16

And then it puts you almost like in a little surf of sorts.

And then you just get splashed up with water.

You’ll do some spins.

We were doing that for quite a bit of time and ironically enough, it was the last time that we would surfing close to when we were being done.

We got ourselves stuck in that surf literally for a good minute out of few.

44:36

Minutes.

I have the video.

Oh my.

God posted on.

Like it just would not shoot us out.

Like we were stuck in the middle of the rapid.

I know that sounds scary, but it was really fun.

We just kept kept getting splashed, kept getting turned.

But that’s where those safety briefings again come in, when they tell you lean in, lean out.

44:52

Told us to go left and they said lean in.

We had so much water come in from the waves it was full to the top.

Apparently this is called a bathtub here wrapped and it was a bathtub.

Right, but then what?

The lean in, lean out, lean to the center is all to keep you afloat and from having it tip.

45:10

Of course there’s always the potential that it can happen and they’re not forcing you to do it if you don’t want to.

They ask for consensus.

Do we want to do this?

Do we not?

So if you happen to be on a tour, you can say no to it.

But I.

Don’t say no.

I just say I highly encourage you to because it’s really fun and something I wish that we did the first time that I am appreciative that we did a lot of.

45:31

And that’s what you get when you go with the mom and pop instead of the corporate.

I know what we didn’t mention when we went on the upper New River.

We didn’t mention that they did a quick little waterfall hike too.

That was something I had never explained before, he went.

Through a tunnel and then all of a sudden this gorgeous waterfall.

45:50

Yeah, the tunnel is supporting the railroad tracks that are moving the coal along through here.

That thing it’s cool to so.

Much too that yeah, with the piles of coal on and.

And when we say this again, this is a National Park.

It’s not like they’re burning the coal here or anything.

The coals just happens to be in the mountain.

This park, like he said, is the newest.

46:07

There’s development around the preserving it, but they’re still moving those trains around and they have train lines on each side of the river.

So sometimes you have that peaceful, serene green and then you’ll see industry moving.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

I think it’s a uniqueness to the area that I really appreciate.

46:27

So we were done by around 2:00.

This can be a little bit longer if you have a larger group with multiple rafts because you have to wait for each raft to go through the raft is.

But since we only have the one this day, we had a really unique experience.

So really love that that gave us an opportunity to get back earlier to the cabin.

46:45

And your video will be ready about an hour later after getting back for you to watch in the saloon.

So you can redeem your your drink tokens, eat some Mac and cheese bites and funnel fries.

But Jamal and I were able to squeeze in a quick little hike while you’re on the river.

47:01

There’s a few things that you’ll see, like they’ll point out buildings and the railroads.

They’ll say that this was like the previous general store that the miners used to go to.

You got to see a silo.

We came across an area where you can see this large Rockwall from the Canyon, and it’s called the Endless Wall.

47:19

So you can either rock climb it or hike it.

So we did a little hike there, but we also forgot to mention that the ending portion of that river flow is right underneath the New River board bridge.

You got a good video of that right Kim, coming on the beneath it.

47:34

It’s a beautiful sight to see because you know you’re going to be getting off the raft near that bridge and you know your trip is coming to an end, but it’s just a gorgeous view and it’s not done yet, but you can take it all in and maybe see the train.

It’s beautiful.

So when we were on the river, they were planning out the Endless wall and Sarah, I had already had that on my list of places I wanted to hike in New River Gorge National Park.

47:57

So Jamal and I did this quick hike.

You can either do it as a loop or you can do it as an out and back and use the turn around point as Diamond Lookout.

So we did it for time’s sake as a out and back.

We went from one side and went all the way to the Diamond Lookout.

48:13

There’s a few other overlooks, small ones that you can look out.

See the river below at Diamond Lookout?

It’s a bit larger, so there’s more space.

You come up down to the river.

You can look over to the left to the Rockwall, or you can go on the right hand side and look and get a little glimpse of the bridge from there as well.

48:29

This was a great hike.

I really liked how it started out in the forest and then you work your way along to the edge to the Canyon to be able to see the river below, more of those rock formations.

Really beautiful.

And I just want to reiterate again, hike aside, you know, we were able, even though we did the full day version of the rafting, we were able to get done a little earlier because we didn’t have many boats at Benny at all, like behind us that you have to wait for like in a group.

48:59

We had a little bit more intimate of a setting, so we didn’t take the express trip, but there’s also the option for the express wrapping trip to again, without lunch more just kind of enjoy it, push through, get done.

So if you again are looking for other activities to do, don’t want to spend all day on the water, you have options galore to be able to fit in those hayeks for rock climbing or just come back to your cabin and relax in the jacuzzi or whatever it is that you want to do.

49:26

On the other end of the spectrum, they also have like overnight trips where you can actually camp and do like a two day trip.

So if you’re really into the water adventure sports, that’s an option I would.

Consider doing that on a future trip.

Really.

I would, yeah.

OK.

Because they bring, I’m pretty sure they bring the tents and the food.

49:43

So it’s like almost like an alpaca.

Expeditions out in Machu Picchu.

Yeah.

And you’re sleeping next to the river during those nights.

How amazing that would be.

Yeah.

So we had definitely worked up an appetite after rafting all day, doing a quick hike, and we had reservations at a restaurant called Pies and Pints.

50:05

Bryson Pines was on our list originally when we did our research of places that we wanted to eat in Fayetteville, which is the closest big city to New River Gorge National Park, where you’re going to find most of the the restaurants, food shops, etcetera.

But even though it was on our list, when we would ask locals and our guides, hey, where would you go to eat?

50:25

What are the best places this came up always, if not the first second option, but always top of the list.

And it did not disappoint.

It was so good.

First we started off with drinks.

Brittany and I really love sours and they had a lot of really good sours on the menu.

50:42

I think we tried.

All of them.

We tried all of them.

There were some others in other parts of the menu, but the three main ones, Terrapin, Watermelon Goes Sere, Nevada, Wild Little Thing and the Free Folk, Soul Sister.

All of them are amazing.

You liked all of them?

Yes.

Yes, I liked all of them.

50:57

I specifically ordered the watermelon one.

That one was my favorite personally, but they were all really good.

And when we’re talking pies, we’re talking pizza pies.

Not that I think it needed that reiteration, but I’m just going to throw it out there.

Pizza pies.

After a day on the water, you want some pizza and beer.

51:14

And it was absolutely exceptional.

What I really like the most about Pies and Pines is the uniqueness of their pizza.

Yes, they have a menu item on there that’s called the classic.

That would just be a classic pizza that you would imagine with your normal toppings.

But everything was unique.

51:32

They had a Thai shrimp basil pizza, they had a chicken Gouda pizza.

We ended up getting a Cuban pork pizza also, which I almost thought was like an El pastor Taco from Mexico.

51:47

Really good with your pineapple on top, your pork, your cilantro, onion, so many different flavors.

And what else did we get?

We got the grape and gorgonzola.

You would think grape and Gorgonzola, that’s a little bit odd, but everything works so well together, unique.

52:03

And that’s one of their award-winning pizzas that they actually have.

I mean, this place is very well recognized.

The grape and Gorgonzola is what it got started with.

So we went to dinner with Heather and her husband Brick and had great conversation, tons of mining history, but also a little bit of history about this spot too.

52:18

And it’s a family owned spot that starred in, has a long standing history here.

The owner, Kim, opened the place back in 2003 with that grape in Gorgonzola.

One of the most unique pizzas I’ve ever had.

It got super popular in the area.

All the guides loved it, all the tourists loved it.

52:34

So it’s not just the locals, but tours and locals alike absolutely loved it.

At a certain point they were approached to franchise and they did so Now they had a few other locations in in an A couple of other States and it’s just as popular there too.

This one is the original, so when you’re out here you’re going to have to come to pies and pints.

52:53

You will not be disappointed.

Beyond the pizza, we got salad wings.

Caesar salad.

Yeah, it was amazing.

We had multiple salad options.

Yeah, everything that we ate was absolutely delicious and we really loved.

It the beer menu was very big, even though we stuck to mostly sours.

53:09

They had a ton of beers on tap and the service was really good.

They were like, we are not picky over here.

You can put whatever you want on it.

You can take whatever you want off of it, which I love because there’s some pizza spots that will charge you if you swap an item or prevent but they won’t even allow it these days were like whatever you want.

53:27

Or do half and half.

Yeah, she gives a great little tip.

She said you can get personal ones or the large ones.

She said if you get large one, it’s bigger than two smalls.

So just get a large one and do a half and half and you’re going to be at different flavors and.

Double cut it so the pizza slices are smaller and you can get a taste of everything.

53:45

That’s my preferred way to eat a little bite of everything.

Same here too, but everything was great.

The chicken wings were amazing and then we ended on a chocolate peanut butter a little cake.

Cake bar that was good.

Oh, it was so good, so rich.

54:01

It was amazing.

If I come back, we’re going to say when I come back here, I would definitely go to pies and pie.

There’s no question about it.

And food aside, atmosphere in pies and pints was exceptional too.

Yeah, the atmosphere was great.

They even have, like, a little outdoor playground for kids.

54:19

It was a cute little place.

Tons of like, parking.

Yeah.

In the back.

That was great.

So that kind of wrapped up our Sunday here in West Virginia.

So right now it’s Monday, and we’re doing this recording.

We woke up a little early this morning because we do have to drive back to Columbus, OH today and we wanted to be able to record this episode beforehand.

54:39

But this morning we got up a little early.

We went to the visitor center.

There argues behind the visitor center as well.

You can go and stop in for souvenirs while you’re there.

And then we had heard about two places.

One was a biscuit place called a Biscuit World.

54:56

They literally have every type of biscuit you can imagine.

They have biscuit sandwiches, they have biscuits and gravy.

They have dessert biscuits.

Really good.

Our guide Possum was talking about it ’cause I, I remember seeing the signs for Biscuit World.

You know, like when you’re on the Interstate of freeways.

I’ll tell you what, Exit has what.

55:12

And I remember seeing Biscuit World and I thought to myself, what an interesting name.

But here in Fayetteville there is a Biscuit World.

And I asked her guide as we passed it, how is it?

And he was like, if you have the opportunity to go in there, get it.

You could get biscuits and gravy.

You can get biscuits, sandwiches.

They’ll put anything on a biscuit.

55:28

Anything on a biscuit and they are all freshly made biscuits.

So even though it is fast food, the biscuits are made fresh daily.

So we picked that up.

We also went to Cathedral Cafe, which is an old cathedral church that they have turned now into a cafe and coffee shop.

55:46

They still have the stained glass windows on the inside.

Really cool vibe in there for a local coffee shop and cafe.

So we picked that up and we’re going to be making our way on to Columbus, OH and thinking about the next time we’re going to be coming back to.

56:02

One other restaurant that we kept hearing about from our guides was El Bandido.

It’s a Mexican local restaurant here in the Fayetteville, WV area.

Apparently they had exceptional margaritas.

And on Taco Tuesdays, there’s a really good deal where you can get a picture of Mark for like 10 bucks, I think.

56:21

What?

Yeah.

So it was.

It was a huge popular place amongst the guides.

We didn’t get to try it out, but definitely eat local while you’re here.

There’s a ton of fast food, but if you could go local instead of supporting a fast food joint that you can get anywhere, do that.

And also the prices have been so reasonable.

56:38

Very reasonable in this economy.

In this economy and then an area that’s surrounded by a National Park, cause a lot of times you think by a National Park, you know, traffic’s coming through here.

But everything has been exceptionally reasonable, which I really do love.

56:55

And appreciate I already said this, but the people around here are so friendly.

Everyone talks to each other, everyone it seems like they know each other whether they do or not.

I don’t know that they act like they do and they act like they know you and it just, it feels very homey here.

I can tell you this, I know that we are going to be coming back to New River Gorch National Park and River Expeditions to do some more tours in the future.

57:20

Oh yes, thank you for bringing that back up.

Goalie Season is rafting that they do in September and October at the end of the rafting season.

It is not actually on the New River in the National Park, but very close to here is the Goalie river and that river starts flowing from a damned lake.

57:39

Will they open up the dam?

So that creates a nice big water flow.

So the Rapids are a lot bigger and you’re going to have a lot more class fives, more extreme rafting experience and that’s how they end U closing off the season is opening the floodgates on that dam, not just particularly for the rafting.

57:57

I mean, there’s obviously environmental reasons on why they’re doing it, but it creates a nice experience and we’ll be coming back for that.

And even not that, just regular rafting in general, this is for sure.

The gully season I’d love to come back for because it attracts rafters from all over the world and not that I’m a big pro rafter at this point but imagine how many more people would be in town and the energy of the city during that season.

58:22

And it’s during fall.

When the fall color changes, everything in the trees and hill are going to be like those beautiful orange Reds, greens that you can see from the water.

The other thing I’d love to see is Bridge Day.

Oh, yeah, And that’s exactly what I was about to say next.

If you’re going to come during goalie season, come in October because that, again, that’s the last month of the rafting.

58:43

And they have bridge Day where they close down the bridge to traffic.

They have shops and stands that they put up on the bridge.

But more importantly, they have BASE jumpers jumping from 1000 plus feet all the way down to the river below, landing on the bank.

58:59

So you.

I was watching videos of it last night on TikTok and it’s a little catapult.

It’s like a a man in a flying squirrel costume in the catapult and then it just bling shots you over the bridge across the river and then a parachute comes out and they land on the bank.

Well, I think you can choose to use the catapult.

59:16

Some people actually just jump.

It really depends on.

So it’s not every jump is with the catapult.

But yes, that’s still something really cool, right?

You’ll be able to see if you come on bridge.

Day, there was a lot of people lined up to do it and the whole bridge looks like it’s full of people, like what an exciting time to be here.

59:32

Yeah, it’s the.

One day of the.

Year that you can walk on the bridge.

Otherwise it’s closed to pedestrian traffic traffic, but year round you can walk underneath the bridge and do a bridge walk above the river.

Yeah, well when we come back we’ll have to do that because it’s something that I know we were interested in doing to just walk below the bridge on the steel grates.

59:53

See the view below.

But just real quick, going back to Bridge Day, Bridge Day, annual one day event.

It’s always held on the 3rd Saturday in every October.

Closing out goalie season.

So we’re we’re thinking about doing that for 2025.

1:00:09

And so squatties, if you’re listening and you wanna come, come join us out here.

You will not regret it.

Final thoughts ladies on New River Gorge National Park and River Expeditions.

I really wanna thank Heather for River Expeditions for bringing us out here in encouraging us to come and experience it because it really feels like an experience of a lifetime.

1:00:28

After we went backpacking in Arizona, I came back from that nature, no phone trip feeling so good, so at peace, so happy, so changed.

I’ve been craving another like nature community experience like that, and that’s exactly what I got here.

1:00:46

I love it.

I’m going to be coming back here and bringing people here for many, many years.

I think it really gives you a chance to disconnect.

What’s really funny is usually when we’re on our trips for constantly posting, I think we went like a day and a half, two days without posting.

And my dad even texted me saying like, are you on this trip?

1:01:03

Like I’m not getting the updates like we normally get when you’re on a trip.

We’re missing them, which was really funny.

But it was because we were just like so immersed in the moment and having such a great time.

Our days were jam packed trying to sit in as much as we could.

Really amazing experience.

1:01:18

We loved our stay here with River Expeditions.

Our luxury cabin is topped in the back part of the property, so you kind of have to drag down this gravel road to get here, which is really fun.

It’s like, by the way, they do have a book three nights, get the fourth night free.

So yeah, I manage.

1:01:35

Of that also on our website they have other deals like sometimes they offer kids RAF free during certain times of the year or month or if you booked your reservation with them and you come back within two years you get 20% off.

It doesn’t matter how big the group is you come back with your whole group will get 20% off.

1:01:55

They have a lot of really good deals, so check out their website because you can see everything that they have to offer.

But I do not want to leave today like I’m going to be looking to see.

Can we move to West Virginia, Jamal?

I’m in love with West Virginia.

You know, I the Virginians, the normal, Virginia’s, not the West Virginia’s.

1:02:13

Not that I should say that.

The normal, but just not West Virginia, right?

Virginia.

They have the tagline Virginia’s for lovers.

I’m gonna come out and say it.

It should be for West Virginia because I’m in love.

Not Ohio.

No, not that I saw in.

No, no, it’s OK.

My mom, naturally, has said she wants to retire in West Virginia.

1:02:30

She said that for years, and I never understood how she picked West Virginia.

But now I do.

I could retire here too.

You get the sense of beauty, you get the sense of home culture, friendliness, community, and amongst all the nature, I mean, what can be better than that?

1:02:48

And that’s what I really feel like you get when you come out here to New River Gorge.

And to your point, Brittany, about checking out River Expeditions website to see all those deals, see the deals, see the lodging, see the rafting tours and trips that they have.

It’s going to be rafting info.com.

1:03:06

Again, that’s rafting info.com.

And we’ll check this all in the show notes as well and on our website so you have easy access.

And thanks, Squatties, for tuning into our episode this week.