I continued driving through West Virginia heading down to the Kentucky high point.  I drove for 6 hours along a four-lane highway, with heavy fog and little traffic (I may have seen a dozen cars over the entire drive).  I passed numerous coal mining operations along the way.  And between the fog and black smoke, it was a little eerie…  I found a small motel within an hour of the high point and crashed for the night.  The next morning I was happy to see the weather had finally cleared and I continued my drive to Black Mountain.  This high point is an active coal mine and requires a permit to klimb.  With a copy of the permit in hand I parked just outside the gate and decided to run the 3 mile round trip to the summit.  This high point has a lookout tower, but it is not accessible due to the periodic blasting from the mining activity.  The monument is located under this lookout tower.  On the way back down I finally had some spectacular views!