The Barn Loft

04/27/2024

Spring.

09/03/2023

The Barn Loft, circa 2010.

08/28/2023

In case you thought of moving here…

Chasing thrills on West Virginia white water could be your weekly weekend adventure when you join Ascend New River Gorge.

The area is in no short supply of outdoor recreation and rapids to fill your time with. In addition, you have the chance to get $12,000 and meet an amazing community of adventurers also looking for an adrenaline rush.

Apply now at Ascendwv.com

10/01/2022

Eerie, yet beautiful.

09/27/2022

Angus was a little leery of climbing the ladder to the loft, but once he got the hang of it, he handled his fun stay with his mom like a champ!

08/05/2022

If you see a service dog without its handler, follow it!

HERO AMONGST US

If a service dog approaches you without it's handler, follow the dog, you might save a life!

Meet Recon: He may be a service animal, but his incredible story makes him both a HERO and a friend!

"Recon" is not just any English Labrador Retriever, he is also a highly trained service dog. His handler, Bobby, was visiting New River Gorge National Park and Preserve precisely one year ago when Recon was faced with a possible life or death situation and chose the path less traveled and bravely went for help when his handler was injured out in the back country.

Events like this do not happen everyday in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. According to Bobby, on August 12, 2021, he went out on the Upper Glade Creek Trail in search of some waterfalls when a landslide took place. He was disoriented and injured and did not know what to do. He ordered Recon to go find help.

The story takes an almost magical turn because a visitor to the park happened to be on this exact same trail and Recon was able to get the visitor to follow him to help his handler Bobby. According to Bobby, Recon brought a visitor named Laura from Pennsylvania to him. Laura told Bobby that she had recently seen an advertisement that said something about if a service dog approaches you without a handler it is most probably asking you for help. In such cases you should follow the dog, you might save someone’s life. Laura did just that.

Bobby lost contact with Laura, but he hopes that by sharing this story, she knows how thankful he and his family are for her following Recon back to help Bobby.

Recon's story has been shared in other avenues, but today was the first time Bobby shared this scary event with the team at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Recon was with Bobby today and meeting the hero of the day was quite an amazing and uplifting moment. Recon's story was entered into 2022 Service Dog Awards and he was a semi-finalist this year.

If the good Samaritan from Pennsylvania is reading this post, your impulse to follow Recon, the English Labrador Retriever, was truly a miracle.

All of us at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve agree that Recon's actions were truly heroic.

Image Credit: NPS/Malone
Image Description: Service dog wearing a vest that identifies him as a service animal is laying on the ground in front of a picnic table. The handler for the service animal is sitting on a bench for the picnic table.

07/09/2022

🍷❤️ Managing a vacation rental can be a pretty thankless job, but it’s guests like Meghan that make it worth it. ❤️🍷

06/29/2022

Heads up! Street closing announcement below.

Court St will be closed from Wiseman to Maple Ave and E Maple Ave will be closed from Court to Church St from Friday, July 1st at 8 am until Saturday, July 2nd at 11 pm.

06/07/2022

Fun!

Can you find Oakie? New River George lost his buddy Oakie, the black bear. Follow the clues in the Scavenger Hunt booklet to track Oakie and his friends

05/28/2022

Sit for a spell. Relax.