No, it is not a hoax. I got that question many times over the past week or so. I guess it sounds too good to be true. It is true, though.
Just a couple thank you notes from Veterans who stayed free with us this weekend:
“Thanks so much for the ‘Free Veterans Stay’ at Opossum Creek Retreat!!! We had a wonderful and relaxing time! The cabin was so cozy and clean! The view from the hot tub was amazing!!! What a wonderful way to honor those who have served our country!!!! Thanks again!!!!”
-Sherry H.
“My heartfelt thanks to Keith and Geoff and Co. for my free stay in cabin 3 Veteran’s Day, Nov 10-12, 2013. Very nice accommodations. Will return. Took a drive to see The Farmhouse. It would be fun to take a bunch of us down there to stay and ride the area.”
-Brian B.
We gave away our entire inventory for a 4-day period. Thirteen Veterans and their loved ones got free stays over the 2013 Veterans Day holiday weekend.
That’s correct; we did not give a free cup of coffee when you bought an $8 breakfast. We bought the whole breakfast, and the coffee.
Maybe this is an unsustainable model, and that is why all the big chains only hand out a token thanks of free pancakes or what have you. Maybe next time we should give away free cabins with no furniture in them, or have the power and water off with a sign saying you have to pay extra for those.
Well, we won’t do it that way.
Meet in the middle at OCR, near all these major East Coast locations.
The free Veterans Day deal will be back again next year. And more of our favorite holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, are just around the corner.
We’re smack dab in the middle of the East Coast, so the whole family can gather here easily. Vets, if you want to treat your family to a holiday getaway at OCR, please use our 10% veteran discount. The deal is annual, but we offer the discount year-round.
If you missed out on the free cabin this year because we were full, be sure to like our Facebook page and sign up for our newsletter to get the first crack at next year’s Veterans Day Free Stay offer.
Free to: Any Veteran
2 free nights, Nov. 8 & 9 or 10 & 11, 2013
Yes, it is free.
The Deal
Veterans: our doors are open to you. Our Treat.
For the past few years, we have been giving a free cabin to veterans on Veterans Day in honor of our friends and family who have served.
Not the whole cabin. Just a couple of nights in the cabin.
Some gave all, all gave some. We are only able to give a cabin for 2 nights. It is our humble gesture of thanks to those who have served our country. Thank You.
We don’t care if you are homeless. You won’t be for two nights.
Heck, bring the whole squad, we have cabins that will sleep up to 20 people!
The Details
We ask that you share this deal with others. Tell a friend, post on Facebook, “like” us on Facebook, review us on Trip Advisor, or other such stuff.
We do require you to fill out the contract using a credit card, just as a security measure.
Please only take advantage of this annual offer once. We want every veteran to get a chance to enjoy this deal.
There are limited dates and spots available, but if we fill up, be sure you’re signed up to receive our e-mail newsletter and Like us on Facebook. We’ll continue sharing our gratitude for Veterans Day year after year.
We hope you understand when we ask each Veteran to take advantage of this offer only once. Please spread the word and let others enjoy.
We also offer a 10% discount for Veterans all year long.
What to do during your free stay
You don’t just have to come sit in the cabins all weekend! There’s more to do around the New River Gorge.
Know what you want to do? We have some ideas. Lots! We’re local experts, so whether you want to see the sights or get off the beaten path, we can show you where.
We have our favorites, but some things you vets might enjoy:
Adventure & explore:
The New River Gorge is a natural playground. Hit the trails for a stroll or bike, and let them lead you to beautiful overlooks. A little less adventurous adventure, maybe? Ok, try our shopping and culture guide.
Relax:
Of course, you don’t have to leave the cabin. Get a massage, or a spa treatment. Then slide into the hot tub and enjoy the beautiful rolling backdrop. We have a relaxation guide so you can get the most from your vacation.
Did you know Fayetteville has its own war history? It was an important strategic site during the Civil War. It was the first place that indirect fire was used in battle. A Halfway House in nearby Anstead was used as a Civil War headquarters. The bridge for which the town of Gauley Bridge was named was a strategic aid during the war as well.
Pay respects to fallen brethren at the War Memorial Building honoring World War II Veterans, the Veterans War Memorial for Civil War soldiers in Smithers, or the grave of General Thomas Stonewall Jackson’s mother in Anstead.
We hope to see you around Opossum Creek, so we can say thank you.
Shutdown be damned! Bridge day is really happening anyway.
BASE Jumping is still on for Bridge Day, despite Government Shutdown.
It’s Official. “We will have Bridge Day even if the government is shut down,” said Sharon Cruikshank of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.
Yes, it will be a little different, but who will notice? My guess is no one. All the security and traffic control supplied by the State Highway Patrol will be in place, and everything is going to run smooth as silk.
Will we see fewer park Rangers? They are designated as essential, so they will be there.
The crew from New River Jetboats will be leading the team picking the jumpers out of the river— one of my favorite parts. The Ossum food vendors will be there.
We will be there, and we hope you will be here, too.
Everything except the world-famous Visitor Centers are open now. This park does not have a gate, so we are free to enjoy our lands, and the weather has been beyond perfect for fall fun.
Our guests always rank cleanliness at the very top of the scale on the exit surveys— something we are very proud of and work hard to ensure. Actually, now that I add them up, it is easily the highest-rated category. Looks like we need to work on signs, and we don’t answer the phone or respond to emails fast enough. (Why is everyone looking at me?)
So it was not a surprise to see this in the mail, and though it is not the first time, I had to take a pic and show it off.
Okay, we need your help. Well, WVU needs your help. Well, WVU and New River Gorge CVB. We all need your help.
Free night? In one of our gorgeous cabins? Awesome. Win it for yourself.
We will bribe you to help us, too.
It is easy; it will take a few minutes. It’s just a quick survey. And if you are like me, you will get mad at one or more of the questions because some PHD can’t speak English, and the question becomes, well, weird, confusing and/or stupid.
But all that aside, it is good stuff they are doing, and I (we) hope you will play along.
If you do play along, we will put you in a drawing for a free nights’ stay with your next reservation. There are some hoops, but, hey, it’s still free! This offer has a maximum value of $250, and requires a minimum 3-night stay (So, you could pay for two nights and get the third night free, up to a $250 value).
Pretty cool, because we know not everyone will spend the time to fill out a survey. Which means you have a greater chance of winning!
If you are on-site and seeing this, we will hand you a free T-shirt in exchange for the completed survey. (And give you bonus points for adding comments in the sidebar about better wording options for the question.)
They are not trying to talk down to us, they just can’t talk any other way. Maybe they could hire a 5th grader to translate? Next time.
Think this is big water? You haven’t seen anything yet! 2013’s Gauley rapids will swell higher than ever before!
Don’t get me wrong, this Gauley River rafting season is going to be epic. More water than ever scheduled before. (You see, they have released this much and more, but they have never told us when it was going to happen.) So now that we can plan for it, you should, too.
Okay, as you can see in the wonderful newsletter from or CVB (Convention and Visitor Bureau, the folks responsible for making good use of half of the 12% tax we have to charge you when you book any lodging), that all the raft companies are very excited about the extra H2O, as well they should be.
This is how we make your life better: we will give you the inside scoop on all the other great stuff to do while you are here for this epic, never seen before Whitewater Wonderland!
We have some links to our great itineraries, but for the hardcore goining-to-raft-all-day-everyday guest, this is for you:
Save the boozing it up for the end of the trip. Like, the last night. Countless guide stories about the guy with the hangover…
Use the hot tub to loosen up those paddling muscles.
Have the fridge stocked with easy-to-make meals (i.e., grill it!)
Day two or three, schedule a day off and have our message team come work you over.
Go for a hike or bike ride to get the lower body in the game.
Make it a progression. Don’t start out with a Double Upper Gauley trip.
Start on the Lower Gualey at normal flow on a Sunday, hit the upper on Monday, and then do the Lower river on these dates:
Sept 17, 24 and Oct 1
Rest for a day and see massage team
Bike for a day, then repeat
Of course, you will have to win the lottery or quit your job, but this is going to be EPIC, and may never happen again!
Of course, we have special rates to help if you do not win said lottery or do quit your job.
No, this is not really about our cabins, but some things are worth talking about, even if you won’t get any cabin bookings from it.
I really did not pay any attention to the planning, as I was going on this end-of-summer family trip regardless of what was happening. We head up with a group of 12— 6 adults and 6 kids. I am not the oldest in the group, but definitely the roundest. We have been adventuring together for 18 years. That makes it easier somehow.
Let me start by saying I have no fear of heights. In fact, I was one of the first kids to have a leash. Pretty sure someone saw my mom tie rope around me and clip the dog leash to me and turn the dog loose when we got out of the car at some overlook some where in the midwest in the early 60’s, and then they watched as I realized there was a cliff and ran for it, only to be yanked off my feet at the end of the line. They saw this, and the lightbulb went on. You can buy them online now days.
That happened a lot, I think: me dangling from the end of the dock in Canada, pissed that I did not hit the water some 20 feet below and over and over again until at some point (I do not know when), I stopped at the edge.
Looked first, then jumped. That’s when they took the leash off.
Once, much later, I sent a picture to my parents of me flying off a cliff with skis on. She asked I not do that anymore. Send the pictures, that is.
I still get the urge to jump even now, but something has changed. Kids of my own, I guess. Maybe my body remembers some of those landings, and deep in the subconscious, it says “lets talk this over” to that part that just wants to fly.
I climbed a little one summer when living in Estes Park, Colorado. So I was not concerned about the idea of climbing steep rock with hundreds of feet of exposure.
Scaling the Walls of the Via Ferrata
I was thinking about the “walk” to the rock. I could see it way up there.
As we started out after getting geared up, I was wondering why we were not taking the bus. WTF, walk up a road? If there is a road, and a bus??? Then it dawned on me: this is by design, to weed out the round ones like me. You better get a head start, I heard a voice say (I think it was in my head) a few minutes in. The rest of the group scampered past my head start, and then they disappeared around a bend in the road.
I was not alone, though. One of the guides, Justin, was keeping a close eye on me as I plodded up the hill to the base of West Fin of Nelson Rocks. I am sure he was guessing how long I would last.
He kept asking questions so I could not breathe. I had to talk and breathe and hike. DUDE! Please, I am sucking wind, here. Let’s chat latter!
This inquisition went on for some time as we left the road and started switching back on a trail. Then, as we came around a switchback in the trail, the whole group was standing there waiting for me, so they could start the safety speech.
Blah, blah, blah, “1 in 10 will not make it to the end.” What ? F…, we have 12. Who is not going to make it? Everyone looked at me. Did I mention it was hot and sticky? Even the skinny little shits where red-faced and sweating.
We stood looking straight up. I was so glad this was the last of the hiking and we could start climbing. If for no other reason than to get to the first evacuation point so I could bail!
Swinging Bridge during the climb
Then I stepped onto the rock, and to my delight, the Via Ferrata was a breeze once I stepped up off the ground onto the rock. I was happy— inexplicably, positively giddy. The guide even stopped worrying about me and stayed back to coach others along.
I felt like a goat scampering around on the rungs and rocks. Wow, this is cool. Pretty and beautiful. What a view, and why have we not done this before? And how is this in the winter, when it’s not hot and sticky? I want to do it again, and we are not even all up off the ground and on the route yet.
I will save you the details. Suffice to say, you should go and try, even if you are one the people that takes the early out option. I did not made it all the way and loved it.
The part that really struck me is the attention to detail. It was exquisitely laid out, like a well crafted story. Ebs, flows, surprises, and did-not-see-that-coming and take-your-breath-away moments.
They said it took a special kind of crazy to lay out, come up with and pull off the idea of the Via Ferrata. I would like to meet him someday. And I am sure glad he is.
Finish books (a woman stayed in cabin 3 writing for a month because she was “on a roll”.)
Paint.
Painting done during a stay at OCR
Get married.
Get inspired to get married.
Get inspired to stay married! (Maybe not in that order.)
Read books.
Draw.
Fall in love.
Forgive a loved one.
Explore, outside and in.
We talk about relaxing all the time.
These are the kinds of things people experience once they do relax.
All of these are stories we have heard from our guests, who have written in the guest books or in a note on the comment card. Some even have gone to the trouble to send us a thank-you letter. We are humbled and thrilled that you think of us this way.
Puddles. I hope this is my nickname in my old age.
I was talking to a guest and he was going on about what a great area the Gorge is, how much he liked the cabins, how private and peaceful it was, and how great restaurants in Fayetteville were. And then he asked, “Why don’t you fix the road?”
I knew immediately what he was talking about. You see, we have a long driveway, not really a road so much. It’s not a great road. It is really not even a great driveway.
I would like to see a strip of grass down the middle making it more of a two-track from my childhood, but… fix it? No WAY! Those puddles are staying!
Cities and fancy resorts and gated communities— these kinds of places have speed bumps. We have Speed PUDDLES! Yep, speed puddles. Some call them chuck holes or potholes or any number of endearing terms, but to us, they are speed puddles.
Speed Puddles
They don’t have much affect on humans.
This one had a life of it’s own so we had to fill it in.
These are our style.
The straight away has lots of speed puddles to remind you to relax.
You see it is a one-lane gravel driveway, not a road. And if you are going too fast, you will miss something you don’t want to miss. I mean, you do want to miss the puddles, and you can work around them if you slow down enough. And you don’t want to miss all the cool things we have seen on the driveway.
Slow down, look around and relax. The mud will wash off.
Besides, they are a good weather gauge: if the puddles are dry we need rain. They have not been dry too much this year.
Come check out our speed puddles and slow down a little. You will like it.
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