July 2, 2007	July 3, 2007	July 4, 2007	July 5, 2007
Road Trip, Charleston WV	Geocaching, Off-road to Thurmond, More Geocaching	New River Gorge, Long Point Trail, Fayetteville Fourth of July Fireworks	Babcock, Offroad, Beckley, Trip Home)

Thursday July 5, 2007

We got up finished packing and cleaning.  I loaded the rest of our stuff into the Jeep, and we went over to the park headquarters to check out.  Then I set a course for Beckley.  On the way out of the park we decided to drive the other roads to see what the other sections of the park were like.  It was uniformly beautiful.

One of the cabin loop roads passes an overlook.

We came upon a group out horseback riding.  I managed to catch the "tail-gunner".

Further down another outlook.

My wife, the boys Mother...

Twin pines...

Finally we said "Good-Bye" to Babcock but we'll be back...

The first turn on our route to Beckley pointed us down Old Sewell Road.  The entrance to the road gave the impression of a hard-packed gravel road.  I routinely drive these roads so was happy for the less-traveled option.  Soon the road got a little rough with some washed out sections, but still nothing too rough for me or the Commander.  Still further, it started to get a little more challenging.  I would say it reached the point where high-clearance and soon 4-Wheel Drive would be in order.

And it deteriorated from there.  We came to a short section that had some shallow ruts with water and mud.  Still it was not bad enough to be concerned.  Remember, the Commander we purchased has the full off-road package with all available skid plates, low-range transfer case, electronically activated front and rear limited slip differentials, and an experience driver at the wheel.  (You know - "Professional Driver on Closed Course - Do Not Attempt").

I went through the first set of such ruts and the front wheels caught the left ruts and the rear wheels caught the right ruts.  We crabbed through and lost no traction.  There wasn't any point where I was concerned that we'd get through, however graceless our aspect might have been.  It did concern some passengers that the drop off the right of the trail was a little steep but we never were in danger of going that way.

Next we came to a slightly rougher section but beyond it was good solid road with no ruts.  I went ahead but the ruts were deeper and more criss-crossed than the last ruts.  There was little grace, it was a longer stretch, and a fair amount of discomfort crept into the passenger cabin.  But I must quickly add that again, though the skid plates were christened, we never lost traction, never lost control, and broke nothing.

It did become clear that this was as far as we would go.  Ahead, the road was gated.  A bypass existed so I got out and took a look around the corner.  The biggest mud-bog I have ever seen waited for us and it looked too long and too gnarly to even consider - alone as we were without recovery gear or even off-road tires.  The mud again had defeated me, though at least this time, I had the good sense not to tempt fate further.

So I returned to the steely silence of the Jeep and made a 180 to begin our trip back to pavement.  That also meant renegotiating the two stretches of mud again.  That promised to be interesting though I had little doubt we'd get through.  I was more concerned about my popularity with the rest of my family.

We went back through the two muddy rut sections much the same way as before, with minimal drama and no carnage.  I drove the rest of the way out to the road.  I stopped at pavement to inspect the vehicle.  Everything was in one piece, no dents, no missing mud flaps, no broken parts.  A fair bit of mud on the passenger side though...

I am sure there are many that already know this.  But for those left that do not, let me be the first to tell them that the Jeep Commander Overland is a very competent off-road vehicle. I would love to see what it can do with a little more clearance, some offroad tires, and....

Coming back to reality, I redirected our route to Beckley over pavement.  We did take the back way as consolation to the aborted "short cut" that the off-road route promised.

We stopped at Chilis for lunch, then sought and found the Exhibition Mine Museum, Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia.  The mine exhibit was closed for major renovation, so we went to the Youth Museum.  We got a guided tour of the recreated Mountain Homestead.

Next we visited the interactive exhibits in the main building.

With this we got back on the road.  We made a stop at a Frozen Custard shop on the way to the highway.

The drive home was uneventful.  We drove straight through with only a quick break just south of Clarksburg, WV.

It was a very full four days.  We learned a lot about the state we call home.  We didn't see a fraction of what this area has to offer, but certainly filled the time very well.  I recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in the history of West Virginia and who loves the outdoors.  The price is right and there is nothing to disappoint!

Activities

July 2, 2007	July 3, 2007	July 4, 2007	July 5, 2007 (top of this page)
Road Trip, Charleston WV	Geocaching, Off-road to Thurmond, More Geocaching	New River Gorge, Long Point Trail, Fayetteville Fourth of July Fireworks	Babcock, Offroad, Beckley, Trip Home)

Babcock State Park GPS Data

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