After our stowaway night at the National Park, we did actually sleep in our tent at a reserved campsite. This being our first day really out and about we took it easy with just a couple mile hike. We passed a billboard for Gem Mining on the drive in and knew we had to see what was up with that. It was absolutely a treasure hunt and we spent the next three days giddy over those rocks. Honestly, I’m still so excited about those crystals. Also, Onyx Cave really has got great people because we weren’t going into Mammoth Cave and good ol’ Nick who worked there roped us into a tour of the cave right beneath them. It was definitely a highlight and then we raced back to camp before the sunset so that we could build a fire to cook dinner.
After our debacle with the first campsite, we knew there was no way we were going to be camping in the backwoods of West Virginia. So we got to a service area and booked an Airbnb for the night so we could relax after a hardy evening of Mothman hunting.
If you know Siobhan and me, you know we are partial to a night of Buzzfeed Unsolved and have binged the series one too many times. So, keep in mind our Mothman adventure was inspired by the one and only Shane and Ryan duo. We headed to Point Pleasant with the echo of Shane’s voice screaming “MOOOOTHHHMAAAN” in our heads.
For those of you who don’t know the legend, let me enlighten you. Mothman is a creature first seen in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in November of 1966. They (Mothman is a genderless inter-dimensional being, people) were seen by some local teenagers who recalled a giant manlike creature with wings and vivid glowing red eyes following their car, even as they reached speeds close to 100MPH. They went to the sheriff’s office and when no one believed them, they even went back and found the creature AGAIN. Since then, there have been a handful of sightings and numerous tales told of the Mothman.
We got there and immediately headed for the statue for a photoshoot. We were too late for the museum, but I think that’s alright because I had an informative tour of our own in store.
After dinner, we headed to a series of spooky locations where the Mothman had been seen. We didn’t leave the car because we were, one, very scared and, two, we were pretty sure we were on private land and didn’t want to cause too much of a stir. And as I headed up some backcountry road on the way to the location of the first sighting, Siobhan said she was tired. “Tired!? Girl, we are only in West Virginia once (if we’re lucky),” I said.
TURNS OUT surprise surprise, ol girl was just sacred shitless. Let’s be honest, even though I was behind the wheel, I don’t know how far up the road to the last site I would have gotten before turning around. Still, though, it was a good adventure, full of laughs and spooks galore.
Brittany Kate 