We set off this am to ride New River Gorge area. What should have been a nice day of tarmac corner carving, had an impromptu 10% of the mileage on this track.



After miles into the wild, we drop out into this neat old train station. Initially, given the rugged road we presume it to be abandoned. Nope, it's loaded with people waiting


With all the hubbub about the longest span bridge which is over the New River, this bridge is far more architecturally interesting and far fewer lookie-loos


In normal Dana fashion, by late morning we've found our destination flag... just a paltry 45 miles from our start point.



There is no lack of curvaceous roads today. Many little towns which are just a hollow exoskelton of their 50 year ago hey day. Nice tribute to their roots.


Refuge for the weary traveler


Hit a few gully washouts, which we had to wait for one way traffic. Bruce amused himself during the wait

Bruce and I have been by the famed Greenbrier resort nearly a ½ dozen times on RT60. The Greenbrier probably needs no introduction, as its reputation precedes the 10,000 acre facility. As Blaster and I approach the Greenbrier visitor ‘welcoming’ gate, it’s clear that the blue and white BMW roundel is no stranger to this place.

However since today is the Greenbriers' daughter’s wedding, we will be relegated to the North 40 parking lot. Nonetheless, we traipse towards our destination. It’s clear that hotel has that old world money just oozing from everywhere. With the motto “experiences are timeless and memories last forever”, none of the employees dare set a foot wrong, lest they probably be fired before Monday. And in rural West Virginia, gigs like this are probably far and few between. Some of the employees are second and third generation Greenbriers.

The tour itself is about 1.5 hours long, but for those conspiracy theorists among us, will leave you will more unanswered questions than when you started.
http://www.greenbrier.com/Activities/The-Bunker/Bunker-History

It all starts under the banner of secrecy where the US President (Eisenhower) concocts an entire conference (Friendship Conference) with Canada and Mexico at the Greenbrier. The purpose of the conference has little to do with international ties, and more to do with owner of Greenbrier, then owner of RxR (Cox?). Since Eisenhower can't bring the RxR magnate to DC without attracting unwelcome scrutiny from the press, he is able to get Cox's agreement to support the bunker project while on the golf course during the conference.



Eisenhower is able to bury the $11M of initial investment, as the Government is already subsidizing the RxR monthly. Nobody ever takes note of that $11M, or the nearly 30 years of operating costs. Completed in 3 years, the bunker is stocked daily with fresh fruit for 1200 persons, as well as drugs in the pharmacy refreshed, generators cycled, and 75,000 gallons of fresh water purged and refilled during the next 30 years. The closest that the bunker ever got to being activated was during 1962, the Cuban missile crisis which was ironically one year after it was completed.

The bunker is exposed in a 1992 Washington Post article and is supposedly decommissioned 3 years later. The hotel finds itself in bankruptcy by 1999.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/july/25/brier1.htm

The Greenbrier was only suppose to support the House and Senate in the event of a national emergency. The president and the Judicial branch would not be at this location.

The bunker is purportedly the size of 2 football fields. However, we see maybe a bit more than half of it. We are also stripped of all electronics, as it they claim a portion of the facility is a server farm. Indeed we do see some doors marked CSX IP, which only leads to why would a RxR own a server farm in a hotel that was sold off nearly 15 years earlier?

For 30 years, an Arlington VA company Forsythe Associates operated the bunker. While their cover story was they were the TV repair company for the hotel, the cadre of retired former cryptographic experts struggled to repair a single TV in the hotel. Luckily, it was not until 1983 when the 700 hotel guest rooms were furnished with TVs.

All in all, the Greenbrier bunker remains a intriguing mystery and a fun was to spend part of the afternoon.

Life is but a circle. 2010


And now in 2015


And yet the original McCormick gristmill doesn't look a day older :d


Blue ridge was bit foggy on the ridge


Using a basset hound to test the water depth

I do think the basset hound had longer legs

Lunch is served at Blue Bend

What's not to love more than a classic suspension bridge