The Rio Turtle or Turtle Rock is a turtle-shaped rock located in the North River along Augusta-Ford Hill Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 53) approximately 2.5 miles west of the community of Rio. While this stretch of the North River forms the border between Hampshire and Hardy Counties, the Rio Turtle is located on the Hampshire side.
Over the past few decades, the rock has been continually maintained and repainted by both local professional artists and graffiti artists and has become a popular tourist attraction and picnic rock in the North River Valley. After the September 11, 2001 attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Rio Turtle's shell took a more patriotic and politically charged motif, including American flags, Christian crosses, and peace symbols. As of early Autumn 2006, the rock has been repainted and restored to its original tortoiseshell motif.
Famous quotes containing the words rio and/or turtle:
“Americans living in Latin American countries are often more snobbish than the Latins themselves. The typical American has quite a bit of money by Latin American standards, and he rarely sees a countryman who doesn’t. An American businessman who would think nothing of being seen in a sport shirt on the streets of his home town will be shocked and offended at a suggestion that he appear in Rio de Janeiro, for instance, in anything but a coat and tie.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)
“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;”
—Bible: Hebrew The Song of Solomon (l. II, 10–12)