Missouri to Atlanta and back via Appalachia

[ModernDayWarrior]

For the past several years I've traveled to Atlanta over Memorial Day weekend to attend the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament to volunteer as a game official. NAQT covers a portion of my travel expenses, so I use this as an excuse to take a roadtrip. In 2024 and 2025 I went through West Virginia on my way there (here are a few pictures from the 2024 trip) and sort of fell in love with the place, so I decided to do the swing through Appalachia again this year.

This year I splurged a bit and took a full eight days: leaving on the 18th and coming home on the 26th.

Monday, May 18: Picked up my rental car at the St. Louis airport in the middle of a thunderstorm, which apparently knocked out the power around 15 minutes after I left, so it was a good thing I got there when I did. I had already reserved a hotel room for the night in Wheeling, WV, and my planned route was I-64 to Louisville, then I-71 north to Columbus, and I-70 from there. Slightly out of the way, but much more of this route would be new to me: everything east of Louisville other than the 71/75 concurrency in northern Kentucky would be new mileage, whereas I'd already driven I-70 as far east as Dayton. So 64 to 71 to 70 it was.

The rental agency surprised me by giving me a hybrid, which meant I didn't have to make a single stop for gas until well into Kentucky. I was making such good time (I made it to the Cincinnati suburbs by 3 pm) that I decided I had time to take a much more fun routing the rest of the way: ADHS Corridor D to Parkersburg, then WV 2 to Wheeling.

20260518_173539 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

The first half of OH 32 across southern Ohio is pretty dull, but the scenery picks up somewhere around the US 23 exit south of Waverly. Crossed into West Virginia at around 6:30 pm.

20260518_191932 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260518_192012 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

After a brief dinner stop in Parkersburg, I headed north on WV 2. I saw my first "road not suitable for large trucks" sign in the small town of Friendly, which I considered to be my arrival into true Appalachia.

20260518_201716 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260518_201746 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

It started to get dark on me around New Martinsville, and my main regret on Day 1 is not crossing the Ohio River bridge there, which meant I missed a clinch of Monroe County, Ohio. Oh well. Crossed the Mason-Dixon line just north of town, and from there I went straight to my hotel.

20260518_204931 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

[ModernDayWarrior]

Tuesday, May 19: I slept in a little bit after the full day of driving yesterday and didn't get as early of a start as I would have liked. Started the morning with a quick dart east on I-70 to cross into Pennsylvania, my first time ever crossing into the Keystone State.

20260519_091500 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

Turned around at the first exit and went back into Wheeling. Clinched the WV segment of I-70 and the entirety of I-470. Took a cellphone video of the Wheeling Tunnel:

After my I-470 clinch I went into downtown Wheeling to see the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. I was hoping to be able to walk across it (I knew it was closed to vehicles) but it was completely shut down for repairs. Stopped to snap a few pictures anyway.

20260519_100749 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260519_100909 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260519_100926 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

I then headed north on WV 2 to clinch the remaining counties in the Northern Panhandle. Crossed back into Ohio via both the Wellsburg Bridge and US 22 (if you couldn't tell already, I am a huge bridge and tunnel nerd). Stayed on WV 2 north through Weirton and clinched WV 105.

From there, I hopped back on US 22 east towards Pittsburgh. The Fort Pitt tunnel and bridge entering downtown was spectacular:

I explored downtown Pittsburgh for an hour or so, crossing the Roberto Clemente bridge to see the stadiums where the Pirates and Steelers play.

I then took I-79 south back into West Virginia and explored Morgantown. Stopped for a late lunch at the Pepperoni Roll Bar for the first of what would be several pepperoni rolls I devoured on this trip. Ordered a second one to go, then got back in the car to head east on I-68. This was also my first time ever entering Maryland, my second new state on this trip.

20260519_162911 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

I-68 is another beautiful drive. Stopped in Cumberland to fill up with gas and to fulfill another one of my roadtrip traditions. Several years ago I started buying a scratch-off lottery ticket in every new state I visit to bring home as a souvenir. Did not discover until I got home that my Maryland ticket was actually a $3 winner. Pictured below is my full collection of state lottery tickets.

20260530_182615 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260530_183057 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

Before departing Cumberland I made a quick detour back into WV to clinch Mineral County. There is a cool railroad underpass in Ridgeley painted with the WVU colors and logo, but I didn't manage a good picture of it.

20260519_173916 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

My final stop for this day was at the Sideling Hill road cut. Sadly the walkway that takes you up to the top of the mountain was closed for repairs.

20260519_181133 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260519_181655 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

From there I finished clinching I-68, then took US 522 to Berkeley Springs and WV 9 to clinch the rest of the Eastern Panhandle counties. Spent Night 2 in Harpers Ferry, WV.

[ModernDayWarrior]

Wednesday, May 20: This was the day I set aside for the main reason I wanted to take this trip: to finally get to drive Corridor H, a road I've been fascinated with for years.

I started the day with a quick detour eastward on US 340 to clinch Loudoun County, VA and Frederick County, MD, then turned around and drove through the town of Harpers Ferry. From there I took WV 51 back to I-81, then headed south to Strasburg to meet US 48.

Unfortunately, it started raining almost immediately after I crossed back into West Virginia, and it rained off and on for most of the day. Still, Corridor H did not disappoint. The scenery on this road is absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to drive it again when more of it is completed, hopefully with better weather next time.

There is a very nice scenic overlook on the two-lane section of US 48 west of Thomas. Or at least it would have been, had it been a nicer day.

20260520_141643 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

I took WV 72 north from Parsons to check out the status of the construction. The future interchange there looked functionally complete to me, as did the roadway west of there. The Cheat River bridge to the east had stringers in place but no bridge deck.

The bridge over the old highway just to the west of Parsons is spectacular as well.

20260520_144745 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260520_144808 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

There was ongoing work near Montrose, and they had traffic down to one lane with a pilot car. I was stuck in it for around ten or fifteen minutes. When I rejoined the four-lane highway, a car zoomed behind me, which at first I thought was the police, but no, it was a Ford Mustang convertible that had clearly been out for a joyride on the unopened section.

Truckers in the area clearly have strong opinions about the highway's future.

20260520_152740 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

The rain let up for the rest of my clinch of Corridor H. I headed north to Philippi to see the covered bridge.

20260520_173330 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260520_172935 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260520_172820 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

From there, I took US 33 south/east past the Seneca Rocks and spent night 3 in Harrisonburg, VA.

20260520_191057 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260520_191131 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260520_191221 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

[ModernDayWarrior]

Thursday, May 21: This was another very rainy day. I took I-81 and I-64 back into West Virginia and spent the morning and early afternoon clinching more counties in eastern and southern WV.

Turnpike detour sign on US 219; I believe this was south of Lewisburg. I can only imagine how not-fun it would be for trucks to have to use this detour.

20260521_133538 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

From I-64 west, I took WV 20 south along the New River into Hinton. Stopped at this overlook, looking down on Sandstone Falls.

20260521_155137 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

I clinched WV 107 in Hinton and took WV 3 into Beckley, stopping at the Tamarack Marketplace to buy a West Virginia t-shirt for myself and some other souvenirs for family and friends.

Beckley is also where I got my first taste of the magic that is Tudor's Biscuit World. A helpful hint to anyone else experiencing Tudor's for the first time: their biscuits are gigantic, much larger than you would ever get at similar restaurants elsewhere. I ordered two sausage biscuits to go; the second one later became part of my dinner that night.

I then drove south and west towards Welch to explore the Coalfields Expressway, the part that currently exists and the construction that's ongoing. This awesome roadcut is near the end of what's been built so far; you then turn left onto a winding two-lane road signed for an 11% downhill grade that takes you into the town of Mullens.

20260521_175501 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

Mullens also has a memorial to all of the coal miners who have worked in the area. There was still some light rain, but I stopped to take a few pictures anyway.

20260521_180452 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260521_180459 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

20260521_180513 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

I then took the winding WV 16 through Pineville to Welch. North of Welch there is another massive rock cut where the new segment of the CFX is under construction. This picture was taken here; there has been quite a bit of excavation done since the Google Car last came through.

20260521_184148 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

From Welch I took US 52 south to Bluefield. It was raining so hard outside of Welch that a dead tree had washed off of the mountain and blocked the road. A truck from the Welch Fire Department was already on site to remove it. Also south of Welch was where a West Virginia State Police car followed me for around ten miles, so I made sure to carefully follow the posted speed limit, as I really did not want to get pulled over (which I thought might be particularly likely, as my rental car's license plates were from Rhode Island). As soon as we came to a passing zone, though, he zoomed around me, as did four other cars. Guess I was holding up the line.

I used WV 123 and WV 108 to bypass Bluefield and to check out the Christine West Bridge, then US 460 to WV/VA 598 up the East River Mountain since I've already been through the I-77 tunnel more than once. It was too foggy at the scenic overlook to get a good picture.

20260521_202013 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

It was also getting late, so I made my way back to I-77 from there and stopped for night 4 in Abingdon, VA.


Friday, May 22: Nothing too exciting to report on this day, as I need to be in Atlanta by early afternoon. I did take one short detour into Bristol to drive down State Street and clinch I-381.

20260522_101022 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

I took the straightforward route to Atlanta from here. I-26 crosses Sams Gap on the Tennessee/North Carolina border, which at 3760 feet above sea level is the highest point on the Interstate Highway System west of the Mississippi. There is a scenic overlook there too, but I've stopped there before so passed it by this time.

20260522_112557 by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

From Asheville, I took I-40 west to meet US 23, which turns into I-985 north of Atlanta.

Friday afternoon-Sunday night: NAQT HSNCT at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. I moderated 27 quizbowl matches over the three-day weekend, including getting to read a playoff game for only the second time ever. The national champion was Adlai E. Stevenson HS of Lincolnshire, IL, who defeated Lexington HS of Lexington, MA in the national championship game by a score of 405-270.

Monday, May 25: I had seriously considered extending my car rental by another day and taking two days to make it home, but I was pretty exhausted by this point and decided against it. I did take a new route, though: I-20 west out of Atlanta to meet US 27, which is a pretty drive but (IMO) quite a bit less scenic than I-68 or Corridor H. Traffic in Chattanooga was horrendous and I bailed out of it just west of town, bypassing part of it on US 11. Stopped in Nashville for a late lunch/early dinner and clinched I-440, then took I-65 north to Bowling Green. From there, I clinched I-165 and the Audubon Parkway to Henderson. Crossed the Ohio River on US 41, then I-69 to I-64 and back home.

[ModernDayWarrior]

And, to sum it all up:

• Miles driven: 2,990
• Miles driven that were new to me, according to TM: 1,867.17
• States visited: 12 (MO, IL, IN, KY, OH, WV, PA, MD, VA, TN, NC, GA). First time ever in PA and MD. First time visiting this year for all but MO and IL, which brings the total number of states I've visited this year up to 15 (add KS, IA and NE).
• Roads clinched: I-68, I-470 (OH-WV), I-381 (VA), I-985 (GA), I-440 (TN), I-165 (KY), Audubon Parkway, US 48/Corridor H, WV 105, WV 705, WV 107, WV 210, WV 121 (as it exists now, at least), WV 108, and VA 598.
  
• Counties clinched: 81
  
  • 30 in WV (Barbour, Berkeley, Brooke, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Monroe, Morgan, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wetzel, and Wood)
  • 12 in VA (Alleghany, Augusta, Covington (city), Frederick, Harrisonburg (city), Loudoun, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Staunton (city), Warren, and Winchester (city))
  • 12 in OH (Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Clermont, Highland, Jackson, Jefferson, Meigs, Pike, Vinton, and Washington)
  • 10 in GA (Carroll, Chattooga, Douglas, Floyd, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Polk, Rabun, and Walker)
  • 10 in KY (Butler, Carroll, Daviess, Gallatin, Henderson, Henry, Ohio, Oldham, Simpson, and Trimble)
  • 4 in MD (Allegany, Frederick, Garrett, and Washington)
  • 3 in PA (Allegheny, Greene, and Washington)

Great trip, would take again.

My updated county map:

counties by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

[Dirt Roads]

by ModernDayWarrior34, on Flickr

This one has always been curious to me, as the Mason-Dixon Line was supposed to stop at the Ellicott Line that makes up the border between the Northern Panhandle and Western Pennsylvania.  So even though this is not the true Mason-Dixon Line, it is a figurative one that separates kind of separates the North and the South (since the border between Wetzel County and Marshall is essentially an extension of that straight line across West Virginia.

For the record, the Mason-Dixon Line ended abruptly a few miles short of their intended destination.  The final milestone of the Mason-Line was placed near the border between the Delaware and the Iroquois, of which the survey team could not enter into the Delaware territory to the west.

Fun fact:  Much of West Virginia between close-to-here and the ridgeline between the Great Kanawha and the Little Kanawha was considered to be the Forbidden Territory by the Native America tribes west of the Ohio (of which the Delaware were the greatest).

[ModernDayWarrior]

This one has always been curious to me, as the Mason-Dixon Line was supposed to stop at the Ellicott Line that makes up the border between the Northern Panhandle and Western Pennsylvania.  So even though this is not the true Mason-Dixon Line, it is a figurative one that separates kind of separates the North and the South (since the border between Wetzel County and Marshall is essentially an extension of that straight line across West Virginia.

For the record, the Mason-Dixon Line ended abruptly a few miles short of their intended destination.  The final milestone of the Mason-Line was placed near the border between the Delaware and the Iroquois, of which the survey team could not enter into the Delaware territory to the west.

Fun fact:  Much of West Virginia between close-to-here and the ridgeline between the Great Kanawha and the Little Kanawha was considered to be the Forbidden Territory by the Native America tribes west of the Ohio (of which the Delaware were the greatest).

That's interesting. I did not know this about the Mason-Dixon line (and was definitely not expecting to see a sign for it here--I turned around to snap a picture of it).

So it appears I did not make my first true crossing of the line until the next day, on I-79 south. Good fodder for if/when someone starts a "How many times have you crossed the Mason-Dixon Line?" thread on the Travel forum.