One week ago this past Saturday, we got up really early AGAIN! We had been watching the weather and there looked to be good clouds for sunrise but not be completely fogged in, so we decided to head toward West Virginia for sunrise. This was not totally random to go to West Virginia for sunrise as Brent had some photographer friends he was going to meet up with to shoot pictures later that day. We originally planned to go to Sandstone Falls for sunrise, but I fell asleep on the way, and when I woke up we were at Grandview instead. Grandview is an overlook outside Beckley, WV where you can see a horseshoe like bend in the New River below. The girls were asleep when we first arrived but quickly woke up as the sky began to lighten. It was just a short walk to the overlook from the van so the girls and I headed down the path to see Brent and the sunrise.
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| A close up of the bend, if you look closely you can pick out the train |
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| Our family at Grandview |
We had all had a snack while at Grandview but it was definitely time for more breakfast. Beckley was where we headed. Thanks to one of our families from church for the gift card. We all enjoyed our Cracker Barrel breakfast. While we were in Beckley, I realized how close we were to the New River Gorge Bridge and that Bridge Day was that very day.
For those of you not familiar with Bridge Day, here is a little background. Across the New River Gorge, is the largest arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Normally, pedestrians are never allowed on this bridge but one day a year in October, the bridge is closed to vehicles and open to pedestrians. This year it was the very day we were only about 30 minutes away. While I don't know that it would be something our family would do every year, I wanted us to have to experience of going at least once (with another 100,000 people or so). That was the estimate of how many people would be going and I believe it! It was easily one of the largest crowds I have ever been in!
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| All enjoying breakfast at Cracker Barrel |
To get to Bridge Day, you can drive to within about a mile of the bridge and hope you can find a parking spot somewhere along the road or you can ride a shuttle in. We got to the first shuttle and decided to ride in from there. Actually at that point traffic was not very bad and it was pretty easy getting to the bridge.
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| On the shuttle |
I didn't realize that the shuttle didn't go all the way to the bridge. We actually had about a mile to walk from where the shuttle dropped us off to where the bridge actually begins. All along the way to the bridge was like a street fair with booths with foods, items for sale and give-aways.
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| The Sweet Frogs from Sweet Frog... |
Rachel wanted her sister to get her face painted. Rebekah's face painting actually went pretty well and both girls ended up with cute little fish on their faces.
There was a free face painting booth as you came in and after the face painting, the student shared the Gospel with each child. What an encouragement to see these students willing to give their Saturday and share their faith. It was also a blessing to see Rachel listen as the Gospel was shared. We pray that she will chose to place her faith in Jesus at an early age as God continues to work in her heart as she grows older and becomes more able to understand all Jesus has done for her. We pray the same for Rebekah and thank God for each seed that is planted in their lives.
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| Getting ready to walk onto the bridge |
One thing I didn't mention above about Bridge Day... this is also the one day a year that BASE jumpers are allowed to jump off (yes, with a parachute) the bridge. While I can not imagine doing this personally, it was interesting to watch. Some of them were very accurate in their landing too. There was an X painted on the ground and I saw several jumpers land almost on the X. Others, on the other hand, landed in the river and were gotten out by boat.
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| The platform the BASE jumpers leap from |
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| This little box was suspended over the Gorge with photographers taking pictures as people jumped |
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| Rachel and Brent looking over the bridge |
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| The view at the bottom of the bridge |
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| That little speck right below the picture takers.. that is a person jumping!! |
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| Rebekah on the bridge |
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| Rachel walking on the bridge |
Thanks to Brent for setting aside his plans for photography for a few
hours so that we could go to Bridge Day while we were that close. We finally caught the shuttle and made it back to the van. Brent then decided he wanted to get a few pictures of Mill Creek near Hawksnest State Park while we were pretty good. This creek is where his swirl shot that went viral and got 65,000 + views last year came from. He got some great shots this year too-his flickr page (www. flickr.com/photos/brentmcguirt) has the pictures from this year as well.
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| Brent headed down Mill Creek |
By this time, the girls were certainly ready for their afternoon nap so we stayed in the van while he got some shots all the creek.
I told Brent if I had to rest in the van while the girls napped it was a beautiful day to enjoy God's creation while I waited. This was my view out the windshield that I got to enjoy! We then headed back toward the bottom of the Gorge to meet Brent's friends for sunset. By this point the bridge was open to traffic again and we were able to drive across from the opposite side the same bridge that we had walked across earlier that day!
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| Clouds heading toward the bridge |
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| Driving onto the bridge |
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| On the bridge |
Our last destination for the day was Sandstone Falls for sunset. This is a river wide falls along the New River where you can get really close to the river and get some beautiful shots. We did get a chance to meet up with Brent's photography friends for a few minutes after sunset for a short visit
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| Rachel and Rebekah at Sandstone Falls |
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| Brent getting his sunset shot |
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| Rebekah' s first time in the big girl back pack |
Our girls had a great day!
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| Our Family on the Bridge, October 19, 2012 |
We have officially experienced Bridge Day now and had fun doing so! Thankful for these fun family days!
" Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness."
Psalm 150: 1-2
