By Greg Stone, Charleston Gazette-Mail
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — John and Linda Stimpson of Norfolk, Virginia, arrived Tuesday at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, completing a trip from Asheville, North Carolina.
They took a few moments to relax at the Canyon Rim Visitors’ Center. The gorge in all its splendor spread before them, but John Stimpson had suspended judgment. “Well, we just got here,” he said.
The Stimpsons have visited 58 of 63 national parks. Some are lousy, he proclaimed, reserving particular ire for Indiana Dunes National Park. The dunes are nothing spectacular, he stressed, and got no more impressive when the place transitioned from a state to national park.
“This one has to be better than that,” he said.
By all accounts, New River visitors – spending the first summer in the park since its national park designation in December 2020 — have been easier to please than Stimpson was in Indiana. The summer is in the books and all is well. People had a good time. Word of mouth spread. New River will remain a national park. And that is key…