Dad's route took him straight through West Virginia. One day I was home and we received a phone call from Dad. He was at a hospital in West Virginia. Dad had stopped at a toll booth and they called an ambulance for him. His co-driver continued on the route. life was going to be hard for him as he was driving alone. Dad had kidney stones. He's suffered with them since around 1974. I remember him having a kidney stone attack at Avent Circle. He thought my cooking had given him food poisoning at first.
Day 1 - Drive up
Mom gets the information of which hospital and where - Charleston, West Virginia. We make arrangements for my sister Paula to stay overnight elsewhere, and we take off. At that point in her life, Mom didn't have the skill set of driving outside of North Carolina, especially interstate driving. So - I was her driver.
We left Rocky Mount NC and drove I 85 and I 40 to Winston Salem, where we turned right and went up Interstate 52 and then on to Interstate 77. This took us into Charleston WV.
On Highway 52, you start to go up in elevation as you're going into the Virginia/Tennessee/West Virginia Mountains. There is this place called Fancy Gap that is scary as there are sheer cliffs on the side of the road. You drive for 10 miles or so before reach the top. There are sand piles on the side of the road where a car with failed brakes can slide into, to keep from running off the mountain. Big trucks behind you are scary especially going downhill. Uphill, they rarely catch up to you.
I was driving in Virginia when I saw this huge ominous image in front of me. The lit up tunnel looking very small, and the HUGE DARK MASSIVE MOUNTAIN. I wasn't expecting a tunnel, which is good; because I ended up going through 2 tunnels. It was dark but even with the highway lights, I could tell there was this HUGE dark mass in front of me. Looked like we would go splat into it at any time. Mom was staying awake to help me drive and I appreciated it.
Big Walker Tunnel
The Big Walker Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia that carries Interstate 77 through/under Big Walker Mountain. It is located a few miles south of the town of Bland and a segment of the Appalachian Trail, and about 20 miles (32 km) south of its longer cousin, the East River Mountain Tunnel.
Big Walker Tunnel History
The 4,229-foot (1,288 m) tunnel was first opened in 1972 after five years of construction labor. It carried a price tag of $50 million, which at the time was the most expensive single project undertaken on Virginia's interstate system.[1] The opening of the tunnel reduced the travel time from Wytheville to Bland County by 30 minutes.[2]
Preliminary engineering studies for the project were made by Brokenborough & Watkins, consulting engineers of Richmond, Virginia, and the final design of the roadway and tunnel was by Singstad & Kehart, consulting engineers of New York City.
The tunnel approaches and surrounding area can be viewed from the Big Walker Lookout, a 100-foot observation tower built on a nearby peak.
East River Mountain Tunnel
East River Mountain Tunnel History
Groundbreaking began on the tunnel on August 12, 1969, and after five years of labor it was opened to the public at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 20, 1974. At a cost of $40 million, it was (at the time) the most expensive construction project undertaken by the West Virginia Division of Highways. Because the northern end of the tunnel is in West Virginia and the southern end is in Virginia, Virginia shared the cost of the project. The state line falls almost exactly across the midpoint of the tunnel, with 51% of the tunnel residing in West Virginia and the remaining 49% on the Virginia side.
Prior to the opening of the East River Mountain Tunnel, travelers wishing to cross the state line had to navigate the narrow, twisting, guardrail-less route of US 52 up and over the mountain (now designated as VA 598/WV 598). When fog or snow was present, the journey became arduous, and the road was occasionally closed completely (particularly in the winter months) due to treacherous conditions.
The tunnel is located about 20 miles (32 km) north of its shorter cousin, the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel. The East River Mountain Tunnel is also one of only two land vehicular tunnels in the United States that cross a state line, the other being the Cumberland Gap Tunnel. The tunnel can be seen in the distance from the Big Walker Lookout, a 100-foot observation tower built on a peak near Big Walker Mountain Tunnel.
After we made it through the tunnel, we continued on to Charleston WV. Dad was at CMAC Hospital on 501 Morris Street. When we got there it was after visiting hours/late. We went into the hospital to find him and they had him in a ward with 5 other men. So, Mom and I walk into this ward looking for Dad with all these sleeping men in a fairly dark room. I nearly woke up the wrong man. Mom found Dad - he was in the last bed to the left. We woke Dad up and found out he had arrived by ambulance. He was in the Emergency Room for a while (while we were driving up) and then they discharged him and he went across the street and got a room at the Motel 6. Later, he started hurting again. He went back to the hospital and they admitted him. So, there he was, in the ward. He would be getting a room the next day. They would not release him to go home. They stated that if he were to have another attack (as the stone had not passed thru yet), he could have a violent reaction and we could wreck the car.
Dad told us to go to his motel room as it was paid for and stay there the night. We were hungry so we found a restaurant that was still open and it was my first time eating a Greek salad. It was good. We couldn't drive back home. Mom and I went to the room. 2 Beds, a bathroom and Mom nor I had packed one item of clothing. I took my clothes off and washed underthings, put on a pair of Dad's clean underwear and slept like that. Mom did the same thing I think.
Day 2 and the attempt to go home
The next morning, we got up and put on the clothes from the day before and went to see Dad.
He was moved to a private room. Mom and I went to K Mart and bought some clean clothes. Nothing special, just something clean. We spent the day with Dad. He had no change and the stone didn't pass. So, as it started to get dark, we were heading back to Rocky Mount. Mom had to work the next day and she had 20 some years of perfect attendance. We started back home. I was looking for the Hwy 77 south exit and I could see the interstate above us but it was foggy and I just couldn't find it.
Moments later, Mom and I are driving and couldn't find any way to turn around. Moments later we found out why we couldn't find the exit. The road we were on was heading up and around a mountain. It was a 2 lane road with sheer cliffs to one side. As I was driving looking for somewhere to turn around, it seemed the lights were getting dimmer on my Delta 88. Mom was opening her window to help me see where we were going. I was white knuckle driving, it was foggy, dark and visibility was about 1 foot in front of the car hood. I was so scared we were going off the side of this mountain. Of course, I'm driving incredibly slow and worried someone would come. If we lost lights, or couldn't see and others couldn't see, we could be dead in moments.
I finally found somewhere to turn around. Even then, the 180 degree turn I made frightened the hell out of me. What if the back of the car went off the mountain. Mom again had her head out the window trying to see. I was still white knuckle driving but I know I was driving the 15 minutes (extremely slow driving) back to civilization. Just getting turned around without going off the mountain, I was about 25% better.
We made it back to town yet the lights were getting weaker and weaker. I pulled into the first gas station/garage I saw. The mechanic checked my car out and came back with this determination - the freaking ALTERNATOR was going out. He said I had about 15 minutes of power before we would have been completed in the dark, no lights, no engine....stranded on a mountain. Oh My GOSH!!!!! They fixed the car, I whipped out that credit card and put the charge on it. We went back to Dad's motel room and I pulled the fifth of Jack Daniels I had out of the trunk and bought a Coke and I had a drink before I went to sleep. My nerves were shot, absolutely shot. At least we had something to wear to sleep in.
Day 3 2nd attempt to go home...Success
We got up the next morning and spent some time with Dad. Still no passing of the kidney stone. Dad told us he wanted to us to go back home as there was nothing we could do up there and he would be ok. Once he passed the stone we could come back. We left before lunch. It's about a 5 hour drive. I drove all the way back and was absolutely exhausted.
Home for 2 hours and back to again....
We were home about 2 hours when Dad called and let us know he had passed the kidney stone. Dad was headed to the hotel. We headed back up to get Dad. It was late when we got there. We got Dad into the car. We headed back. Mom was sleeping as she had to work the next day, and she'd forgotten her glasses (restricted driver). Dad's glasses were in the tractor trailer truck with his things. He is also a restricted driver. So - After driving all the way up, fighting the holes big enough to swallow a car on I77, I was driving all the way back in the middle of the night.
Round trip back home. OMG so tired.
Dad stayed awake because he knew I was exhausted. Two trips in little over 3 days to and from Charleston WV. I was driving in Raleigh (before outer belt line) and Dad had to keep telling me to slow down. I was trying to drive interstate speeds. I was basically driving in a coma. We made it out of Raleigh, 45 minutes to go till home. I had issues keeping the speed down, but Dad again helped me. We made it home and I think I slept for 10 or 12 hours. But - Dad was safe and sound at home. that's what mattered.
Dad went back up to West Virginia when he went back to work. He brought me a tee shirt that says "I survived the West Virginia Turnpike". Love that man! :)
..... I'm still in absolutely no hurry to go back to West Virginia
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