Adventure Vacation Blog | Ace Adventure Resort

Take the family to ACE's beach this summer

Posted by: ScottP in West Virginia, Family vacation, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 9, 2010

Recently I switched from working in the Reservations Office to working in the Marketing Department. I have been assigned various projects. I was working on something today and was brainstorming. I walked around the office and asked everyone for their childhood vacation memory. What was the typical family vacation? What I discovered was there is no set "typical" family vacation.

For my family, it was the trek to the beach. Myrtle Beach. One trip, in particular, rings a bell because we felt like glorified Beverly Hillbillies - only I didn't realize it at the time. It started with our station wagon. There is a running '70s cliche about the white station wagon with the wood paneling. That is exactly what we had. I don't think we wore a seat belt the whole trip as my dad chain smoked Salem lights. This was a very different time with no glimpse of anything remotely politically correct.

How Did The New River Get Its Name?

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, Teays, New River, Keninskeha, History, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 8, 2010

Seriously, how could they name the second oldest river in the world "New" River? I mean, this is some of "America's Best Whitewater." Couldn't they name it something more appropriate? How about "Big Water Canyon" or "Cataract Canyon?" Oh yeah, that one is already taken.

It's part of the ancient "Teays" river system, which would be a little better name. Or we could use the Shawnee name "Keninskeha" (you can read about that in my "Raft the Keninskeha" blog). So what if we can't pronounce it?

Raft The Keninskeha River With ACE

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, Shawnee, New River Gorge Bridge, New River Gorge, New River, Native Americans, Keninskeha, Cherokee, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 4, 2010

ACE has been taking people down the Keninskeha River for more than three decades now. Well over 500,000 people have rafted with us in that time! Wow, that's something.

The Shawnee considered the Kanawha and New River as one great big river. They called it the Keninskeha, which supposedly translates to the "River of Evil Spirits," or as some claim "The River of Death"!

Where Did The ACE Welcome Center Go?

Posted by: ScottP in West Virginia, Welcome Center, Adventure Vacations, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 3, 2010

A few years ago the main question in the media was WHERE?

Where's Waldo? Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? Where in the world is Matt Lauer?

And in a historical context, where is Jimmy Hoffa? Where is Amelia Earhart? Not to imply they are at ACE by any means. Just making a reference.

And my personal childhood favorite - Where's the Beef?

These days, the main "Where" question is "Where is Conan O'brien going to move?" However, I have a new question for all ACE fanatics. There is a mystery afoot at ACE these day. The Welcome Center is gone. I made up fliers and put them up around town. No response. I put a picture of the Welcome Center on milk cartons to no avail.

ACE's Mysterious Neighbors On Armstrong Mountain

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, settlers, New River Gorge, Native Americans, Kanawha River, Armstrong Mountain, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 2, 2010

A "mountaintop Stonehenge that baffles archeologist..." is located 16 miles north-northwest of ACE Adventure Resort. The massive stone walls, a gigantic compound, of Armstrong Mountain have puzzled archeologists since the 1880s.

Who built them and why they were built has been debated for more than a hundred years. Col. P. W. Norris did the first real study in 1884 for the Smithsonian Institution - followed by several other attempts throughout the years since.

Prehistoric People Visited ACE Adventure Resort

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, Shawnee, New River Gorge, New River, Native Americans, Cherokee, arrowheads, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 1, 2010

For more than 20,000 years, people have visited the New River Gorge area. ACE Adventure Resort's 1,500 acres is situated at a key, natural migratory route that was no doubt visited and used by these early people. Arrowheads and other evidence leave little doubt that even back then this area was popular.

ACE's Beach, our private river access on the New River, is located at the base of the gorge. It is the second largest beach in the entire gorge. Flat land has always been prime real estate in the mountains.

Located in the middle of a huge horseshoe bend in the river, where three major tributaries here funneled both wildlife and people down to the river, it has always been a crossing point. Also, with almost a mile of broken cliffs located high above the river and facing mainly to the east, these natural rock shelters would have been tempting living quarters.

Top 10 Reasons To Work At ACE

Posted by: Lenore in whitewater raft guide, West Virginia, Top 10, ACE Adventure Resort on Feb 25, 2010

What's so great about working at ACE?

I've worked here full time, year round since April 1, 1989, a day I'll never forget. I had a perfectly good job in Bristol, Tenn., when one of the original partners, Jack Tolliver, approached me about quitting my job and moving to West Virginia to work for ACE. I'd have to take a significant pay cut, but he clinched the deal by promising to build me a house at ACE.

The previous summer my husband, Jack Lund, had guided in West Virginia while I worked in Bristol. We'd "commuted" to see each other whenever we had a chance, but thought it was time to both work in the same place. My first day of official employment arrived, so I showed up for work, asked what I was supposed to do and nobody had a clue. I improvised, found myself a desk and started to analyze what I could do to be a productive employee.

ACE Adventure Resort

River Trips

Adventure Activities

Resort Lodging

Groups

Info & Downloads

Search

ACE Adventure Blog

Great people having a great time
in the GREAT outdoors!