All lit up

Back in the late 1980s, the state of West Virginia installed lights on the East Huntington Bridge to light up the cables. It was something new for this part of the Ohio River.

I've said before -- only half in jest -- that everyone who lives within 25 miles of this particular bridge must take at least one nighttime photo every year or face criminal penalties.

Since then, other bridges have been lit up. The U.S. Grant Bridge at Portsmouth, Ohio, is a favorite of photographers at night.




The new Bridge of Honor at Pomeroy, Ohio, is illuminated with purple lights, giving it a distinctive look.

The Simon Kenton Bridge -- an old-style suspension bridge at Maysville, Ky., looks good at night. I hope to get down there this winter when night comes early so I can get a shot and get home at a decent hour.

C.R. Neale has gotten a couple of decent photos of the Hi Carpenter Memorial Bridge at St. Marys, W.Va. Alas, there are none to link to.

The Wheeling suspension bridge looks nice all lit up.

And now, according to the Wheeling newspapers, the Market Street Bridge will be lit up when it reopens to traffic before the end of November. That one should be something to see, too.

If anyone has links to good photos of other Ohio River bridges all lit up at night, please send them along.

A not-very-complimentary comment about Ohio River towns

A tweet posted by Twitter user Marcus Andrews, who goes by the name OGuermo2319,  on Oct. 7 (language alert):

Driving through all the dirty, impoverished industrial towns along the ohio river make me very glad to live in central ohio

Boat, fog

Here's a different view of a boat in fog.

Falls of the Kanawha as darkness falls

So Adam and I went up the Kanawha River because I wanted to show him (1) the London Locks and Dam and (2) the Falls of the Kanawha at Glen Ferris. Because of the security fence -- you have to keep the terrorists out by land, I guess, even if the place is wide open by river -- we didn't get a good picture of the dam.

But we got to Glen Ferris as dusk settled in. Ninety-some miles up the Kanawha, at or near the head of navigation, the river runs between some steep mountains. The sun sets early, and the valley is in shadow long before night really falls.

This old power plant is being restored, and it should be putting electricity back into the grid soon.

Now if I could only convey the sound of this place adequately...