Laurel Fork
Glady – Bemis WV
Exploring the
Backroads of West Virginia
August 2008
I got off work before noon today
(Saturday), and decided to head to the mountains for some fresh air and
relaxation. I've always looked down CR 10 at Wymer (about 12 miles east of
Elkins) as I went by on Rt 33/55, and wondered "What's down that
road?" Well, today, I'm going to find out.
Turning off Rt 33/55 at Wymer,
heading south on CR 10
. 
Nice scenery from the same location.
CR 10 heading south. Nice!
Starting to get more interesting.
About 5 miles south or Rt 33/55,
near Beaverdam Ridge.
CR 10 - Beaverdam Run bridge.
CR 10 - about 8 or 10 miles south of
Rt 33/55. Entrance to Laurel Fork Wilderness Area.
I wanted to see where the big campout
is at LF Campground, which is near here.
With a short detour down FR423, I
was at LF Campground. Very nice. I hope I can get off work to join the
festivities next month.
I've had to watch from a distance
the past couple of years since I was living in Illinois.
Coming back up the hill from LF
Campground on FR423.
Watch that dropoff to the right - no
guardrails. 
Once I was back on CR 10, I headed
north just a half mile or so, then turned west on FR422.
Junction of FR422 (straight ahead)
and FR183 (to the left). I continued straight on FR 422.
Approaching Glady, I passed this gas
transmission/pumping station.
CR22 near Glady. Pavement for a
short while.
CR 22 near Glady. Nice and peaceful
back here.
Paved, but getting twisty in places.
Like I said, twisty. Some really
tight, blind corners.
CR 22 - Bemis. Half the town was out
swimming and fishing at the bridge. It looked like a nice community to live in.
This guy was really enjoying the
cool river on his raft. (look closely)
Downtown Bemis!
After Bemis, CR 22 west was paved
for a short while, then turned to nice gravel/hard pack dirt. Then, it turned
to larger, loose gravel and really tight turns. Being a dirt noob, my pucker
factor was quite high. Slow and steady, folks. I'll catch up to you later.
After a while, CR 22 west turned
nasty, with large, loose gravel, steep grades, and tight corners. You
pros are probably laughing, but I still need to get a few more gravel miles
under my belt before I'm comfortable on roads like this.
I guess now I'm a little better at
it than I was yesterday.
After CR 22 turns into CR 30 east of
Beverly, the road improves a lot. These horses were quite interested in the
Strom.
"Horsepower meets Horsepower".
Well, that's all the pictures for today. Right after this, I was back on Rt 250
north into Elkins, then home to Clarksburg. I was glad to finally have the time
to go explore those roads that I have passed by hundreds of times before. Hope
you enjoyed the photos.