This is the nearly abandoned mining town of Thurmond, West Virginia, in the New River Gorge National River national park. In its heyday, it was a busy place along the C&O (now CSX) Railroad tracks. The frame building is the old station, now used as a museum and visitors' center by the National Park Service. Amtrak's "Cardinal" train stops here three times per week in each direction. There is a small waiting area on the first floor. The bridge over the New River can be seen in the background.

To reach Thurmond, leave US Route 19 at Glen Jean, WV, north of Beckley and follow dead-end Route 25 down to the river.

Here are two views of another of Virginia's "Waysides," which once served motorists the way "rest areas" do now on the interstates. However, every one of the Waysides was unique. This one has recently been partially restored. It is on US Route 11 south of Pulaski, where the road goes over Draper Mountain.

Look at that stonework in the right photo. It looks like it could be some of the Civilian Conservation Corps' work. The wayside is on both sides of the road; the left photo is looking toward the portion across the highway. Some of the facilities are still grown over with weeds, but Virginia has done a nice job of restoring this place.

Posted by Tom Hoffman at

This is a memorial plaque to Joyce Kilmer, famous for the poem "Trees." The name is a pseudonym, and in fact Joyce Kilmer was a man. He died in action during World War I in France.

The plaque is in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, seventeen miles west of Robbinsville, North Carolina. Though popular, the site is well off the beaten track. You leave Robbinsville on US 129, follow the signs and turn left on a Forest Service road to the parking lot.

The plaque is in the center of a figure-8 trail. The hike around both loops is about two miles, and it's an easy hike on gentle grades. The back side of the loop passes some enormous trees in one of the last virgin forests in the East.

The memorial forest is part of the Nantahala National Forest. From the parking lot, other trails lead into a challenging wilderness.

If you're a "roadgeek," then you already know what cutouts are. In fact, you may know where these are. A close look at these old signs will show that they are different from those erected today. They're smaller for one thing. And the metal is actually cut out (hence the name) to the shape of the US, state or Interstate highway shield. Also note the black borders around the edges. Highway departments found that it was cheaper to make the signs the way you see them today. The new ones almost look like decals affixed to the metal. These signs are in Christiansburg, Virginia. I suspect that when they need to be replaced, it will be with the newer style signs.

The Roaring Run natural area is in the Jefferson National Forest northwest of Roanoke in Botetourt County, Virginia. Look at the stonework on the wall (left) and the gate (right). This appears to be the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps from the 1930s. Many examples of their fine work can still be seen all over the country.

The area also has the ruins of an iron furnace. A scenic loop trail leads up Roaring Run to a waterfall, about two miles round trip. The site is on a secondary Virginia highway and can be hard to locate without adequate directions or a good map.