If you’re not—if this is the first you’ve heard of TimberTrek Aerial Adventure Park—prepare to be blown away. TimberTrek is best described as a system of obstacles, bridges, swings and zip lines between tree platforms at heights as high as 50 feet above the forest floor. It is comprised of 5 courses of varying difficulty levels: 1 yellow course, 2 green, 1 blue and 1 black, each incrementally harder than the last. Children as young as 7 are welcome on the yellow course—and the greens, too, as long as they have an adult with them.
How about a tour? Songer’s Len Hanger leads the way!
With the addition of TimberTrek, Adventures on the Gorge is now the most extensive selection of aerial adventure in the world! We’ll be booking TimberTrek in 3 and 6-hour blocks at $79 for 3 and $109 for 6. Call now to book!
“I’ll never get out of this world alive,” sang the country star known as the “Hillbilly Shakespeare.”
He was known for his honesty, and these lyrics rang true. But he left behind a legacy. Hiram “Hank” Williams, a country music revolutionary, is honored in nearby Oak Hill, West Virginia, with a road that carries his name.
Why Oak Hill, a mere 10 miles down the road from Songer Whitewater? The still mysterious death of the young rising legend unfolded in 1952 at a gas station in the town. While on his way to a show, he was discovered dead at the age of 29 in the back seat of his ’52 Cadillac after an alleged cocktail of drinks and medication. The gas station is gone, but a bar that claims it was Hank’s last stop still stands just down the road in Hilltop.
His heart stopped—just called it quits and stopped beating. That was the conclusion from the official autopsy. But for many, it’s not a satisfying enough answer for the sudden loss of a musical mainstay.
Details of Williams’ death are disputed, but one thing was certain: it did not stop his music’s momentum. His sincere and passionate songs continued to top the charts after he passed, and he set a foundation for country music that still endures. (And gets copied in homage—icons like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan have covered Hank Williams tunes.)
He topped the charts at number one 11 times in his career, establishing himself as the father of contemporary country and setting a new standard for stardom. More than half of his recordings rocketed to the top 10, ensuring him a permanent place in country music history. In fact, in 2010, almost 60 years after his death, his influence earned him a special citation from the Pulitzer Prize board. They recognized him as a “songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life.”
His heartfelt tunes were accompanied, however, by a reputation for rough living. Though he showed early talent, picking up a guitar when he was 10 and teaching himself, he still had to leap the hurdle of stage fright. And his struggled rise to fame was always at odds with his recklessness and drinking, which crumbled his first marriage.
In many ways, these hardships made his music more authentic and relevant. He thrust his deepest feelings out for the world to see and share, and that’s what people loved about him.
His legacy is apparent within the whole of the country music genre, but it is also carried on by his son and grandson, Hank Williams Jr. and Hank Williams III, who have added their own talents and styles to the country scene. Junior incorporates Southern rock and blues, while Hank III dips into punk and metal styles.
While you’re visiting Adventures on the Gorge for a rafting trip or a TreeTops Canopy Tour, you can take the quick spin to Oak Hill to drive the road and see the memorial dedicated to him. Perhaps you might stumble upon his hat, which was reported missing after his death. Residents tell stories of the hat, as well as other former possessions of the superstar, still floating around the town. One former owner of the supposed hat even called it cursed after his hair started falling out.
This video of Hank’s “Lonesome Whistle,” includes more information about Hank’s career. If you haven’t given country’s cornerstone musician a listen yet, take some time to appreciate his music and the way he transformed the genre and popular music in general, and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Remember going to the museum with your family? Boring and awful? Just wanted to get back to the swimming pool at the motel?
Paddling, no matter where, no matter when, is a good thing.
My family (that would be Melanie, Dave and me) went to the WV State Cultural Center on Tuesday for the premier of a new exhibit, ‘”Whitewater Rafting: West Virginia’s Gift to the World”. It was awsome, really rocked my boat-pun intended!
The exhibit is full of historical artifacts. You’ll see the first raft to decend the New River, pictures of two really large inner tubes tied together for the first decent of the Gauley River, and loads of old gear and photos. Its fascinating on it’s own and the addition of the fim makes the history of whitewater rafing on the New River or Gauley River come alive. This is not your boring documentary: It’s full of thrills and spills, great action and poinent moments with raft guides (believe it or not)!
This film was produced by Eric J Palfrey and scripted by Ben Curnett, both longtime river folk. (You may know Ben as our writer extradonair. I think he won an Academy Award or something.)
Check it out at the Cultural Center in Charleston WV. It should be there until the end of April with the film running in a continuous loop so you can veiw it anytime. Their phone number is 304.558.0220, the web site is www.wvculture.org.
Every April we have an evening of getting the guide staff together for updates & visiting. Tails of the winter’s adventures mixed in with river stories from past summers makes the evening hum with excitement. This is an extra special season to begin at Songer Whitewater because as the whitewater world around us merges into large, corporate-like companies, Songer will remain independant & personnalized.
As I hosted the evening, I heard mulitple times how happy certain staff members were to hear we were staying the same Songer. It is a big deal to raft guides to know the other people raft guiding next to you on the river. With our meduim size company, we are able to coach & encourage the new guides as they go into the summer. Each raft guide is expected to work all the river trips/sections offered & to be part of the big picture of taking care of our guests. We are all hosts introducing people to West Virginia!
The evening rolled on through paper work, CPR tests & Len Hanger going through the details of our marketing efforts this summer. Vacation marketing continues to evolve at a fast pace and Len is studying to stay on top of all the diverse avenues. We will even be extending our efforts to guests as they vacation with us this summer to take some time and give us feed back. If you have any river story to share, hint hint, please comment back on this blog!
The raft guide return meeting really lit the spark to the season here at Songer Whitewater & we are ready for the summer time fun we just love!!
Man what a great day on Sunday!! Left Songer Whitewater in Hico and rode old Rt 60 through Fayette and Greenbrier Counties. No better riding anywhere. Awesome curves and over the mountains was a blast on the Harley Softail Deuce. Riding in clear skies and sunny day clears the mind and does the soul good.
Needed a rest stop and the Rainelle Dairy Queen was calling my name. Ice cream dipped in chocolate hit the spot. Watched other bikes travel by the queen. Tons of bikes riding through Southern West Virginia on Sunday. Everyone had the same idea. Get out and ride!
April is now showing it’s ugly side. Rain and snow tonight (Monday and Tuesday) then better weather later in the week. So riding is on the agenda for this weekend. Need a ride to Monroe County to the Indian Creek covered bridge. Truly one of my favorite spots and an awesome ride. Rt 219 (Seneca Trail) travels just east of Peters Mountain and goes into Lewisburg. Good spot to eat is Food and Friends. Then old Rt 60 back to Fayette County and home to Fayetteville.
Most of this area is home for me. Growing up in Southern West Virginia sure was fun. It is great to ride the bike on familiar ground.
If you’re a fan of TreeTops on Facebook or Adventures on the Gorge on Google+, you’re already well aware of what we’ve been building here this winter.
