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June 29—Point Pleasant, WV


Leaving Ripley, WV was a lot easier than getting there.  While getting there in yesterday’s heat involved lots of climbing, this morning’s departure took advantage of the cool morning temperatures and reversing the climb as we dropped to the river.  We had alternative routes to choose from; a shorter route away from the river or a longer route along the river.  We took the longer one and were mostly on deserted country roads.  Being away from the highway noise, we enjoyed the silence of nature.  We listened to the birds, frogs, toads, and crickets make music and heard a deer leap through the underbrush as it ran from us.  We didn’t miss those highway humming tires, or the noisy and smelly exhausts.  Most small towns that we traveled thru didn’t have any diners or cafés.  However, they all seemed to have funeral parlors.  You can draw your own conclusion as to what that means but we wondered if the local folks just starved to death.  We only noticed one historical marker and learned that Samuel Clements lived there; not that “there” was anything but an empty field and a marker (see photos).


Our destination was the Lowe Hotel in Point Pleasant.  The hotel was built in 1901 and the current owners purchased it in 1990 and restored it to its former glory.  Except for the window air conditioners and bathrooms, it is period correct. It is a family run business and they reside on the first floor.  The only drawback for us is the lack of an elevator to take us to our 3rd floor room.  Breathless after the climb to our room, we were treated to a great view of the Ohio River.  Not wanting to miss the town’s high points we took a walk and discovered a Moth Man statute in the park and a Moth Man museum.  The hotel proprietor told us that Moth Man (see photos) was spotted many times around town and predicted the collapse of the bridge over the Ohio River.  After the bridge collapsed in 1967, Moth Man disappeared.  The town does remember Moth Man with an annual Moth Man festival that brings in 15,000 visitors (and needed $).  He also noted that a movie was made of Moth Man and we said that we would search for it on Netflix upon our return home.


Pictures

Map


Comments

  1. HPJune 29, 2019 at 11:09 PM

    I wish you a tasty breakfast and then a pleasant and safe Sunday ride.

    ReplyDelete

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