This section contains amateur and “semi-pro” shots from year one of the operation of The Spirit of West Virginia along the length of the Kanawha River from where begins – to the confluence with the Ohio River near Point Pleasant.  We plan to open this section up for photo contributions as soon as we figure out how to do that.

Youngsters react to the sound of The Spirit's air horns.

When Captain Dick Daugherty pulled away from the berth in Montgomery, WV in the Fall of 2010, he signaled his intention very loudly.  The air baritone and tenor horns atop the sternwheeler combined in a dissonant chord that echoed off the hillsides and rattled up and down the Kanawha River.  The kids on the second deck in front of the pilot house soon learned to anticipate the noise and cover their ears.

I'll be happier when they serve the ice cream.

This young lady was the most photographed “Montgomeryite” on board in the Fall of 2010.

The Spirit spent a couple of days on the Kanawha River near Montgomery.

Hundreds of folks took advantage of the offer to cruise leisurely between the golds, greens and reds of fall that blanket the hillsides and frame the valley upstream from Montgomery,  where the river called “The Kanawha” begins.

Moored in Montgomery in the Fall of 2010.

Placid view of The Spirit of West Virginia at its berth in Montgomery during a lull in the activities that offered several hundred upriver folks an opportunity to experience the Kanawha during leisurely ride on an authentic sternwheeler.

The pink sky offers backdrop near Charleston.

This pink sky shot was taken on one of the earliest cruises of The  Spirit of West Virginia.  Passengers were treated to an incredible sunset as the sternwheeler glided upriver near the West Virginia State Capitol Building.

First mate Nancy in her Foster Grant's.

Normally concerned with the details of passenger comfort and acting as tour guide, First Mate Nancy displays a winning smile for the camera.  Nancy’s voice is the one you’ll usually hear when you call for reservations or information.

The Spirit of West Virginia heads up river past the state capitol building.

This is what we call an “iconic” shot (lifted from the video you’ll find elsewhere) of the sternwheeler under power heading east past the historic West Virginia State Capitol Building.  The complex is just about eighty years old.  It was designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert.  You can learn more about the capitol and other West Virginia history and lore at www.wvculture.org/agency/capitol.html

Captain Dick looking for a parking place that has time on the meter.

This is The Spirit almost home in Dunbar.  There are usually several boats of various shapes and sizes anchored and moored in the vicinity.  Captain Dick is adept at maneuvering the sternwheeler into position during an elegant pirouette that involves just the right paddle-turn, just the right approach angle and just the right feel for the Kanawha River current.  It’s something to behold.

Upriver under the bridge that spans the Kanawha between Nitro and St. Albans.

This is another photo lifted from a video shoot as The Spirit of West Virginia paddles upriver toward its home in Dunbar.  The sternwheeler has just spent a couple of days at an Ohio River festival in Point Pleasant.  The bridge is the soon-to-be-replaced eighty-year-old two-lane that crosses between Nitro and St. Albans, West Virginia.