3rd Annual Mothman Festival

September, 2004

When Kelly, Bridget and I started our journey across the mountains of West Virginia, we first traveled through torrential downpours, 4 tornadoes and bad fog. We were dumb enough to drive through the storms spawned by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan. What can we say, we are dedicated paranormal investigators. The following morning Kelly, Bridget, Aunt Patsy and I started off from Parkersburg, WV to Point Pleasant, WV. On the way we were detoured because the river was up over the road. We used our expert navigating skills to find a windy back road through the hills. The theme "Dueling Banjos" was playing on the stereo as we passed an old rusty hearse followed by several large vultures sitting in a tree (no joke). Riding close to the Ohio River we saw areas where the water was getting closer to the roadway.

The festival was interesting. Not as many vendors as anticipated, however, most people were probably smart enough to stay away from the extreme weather. One of our favorite stops on our trip was the River Museum which featured a display of a river boat complete with working bells and a display on the Silver Bridge and the tragedy that befell it.

Our return trip to Parkersburg was as interesting as our trip to Point Pleasant. The Ohio River had indeed flooded the road and we were detoured. Of course, we ended up lost and sought directions from a Medical Center staff. We explained we couldn't cross the river at Chester because it was over the road. Luckily for us there was a patient there who was from Chester and assured us we could pass. Interestingly enough, on the road we had used as a detour earlier in the day there was a flash flood only minutes after we had left the area and the road was impassable.

It was an interesting adventure and one I look forward to taking again this year!