My month in West Virginia

My month in West Virginia

where I went this month

The yellow lines on the map showing where I went don't show up all that well, I see, and in the north it turns into a green line because I drove right along the border which is outlined in blue.  But this map still shows I missed the whole northeastern section and the whole southwestern section.  And those misses are mostly due to the slow progress I can make on the back roads there, and the surprisingly few campgrounds in this state.  I really don't know why there aren't more, unless folks just can't find enough flat land that isn't already built on.

The People of West Virginia
The women I first met at the visitor center told me one of the reasons they like living in West Virginia is that people are pretty laid back.  And I think they're right.  I guess the adjective I'm looking for is relaxed -  people seem to have relaxed into a challenging environment, not fighting against it all the time but, instead, enjoying it.

I met a few people who love the towns they live in, whose faces light up when they talk about them.  But almost everyone said they would rather be living somewhere else.  But when I asked, they didn't have a where else in mind, they just didn't care for their particular town.  One woman told me her town is so tiny everybody knows everybody else's business and she's tired of that - I got several of those.  One man worried about opioid addiction, and WV is reportedly among the states hardest hit with that problem.

But every single person I met loved the state of West Virginia.  They loved the mountains.  Everybody.  And I have to say I've come to agree with them.

The Land of West Virginia
My initial impression was right: there is no flat land in this entire state.  There are almost-flat places along the riverbanks, but they don't last more than a few yards before they start inching up into the hills.  My mother would have hated every minute here because she was so terrified of heights.  I don't like them much myself, but I never really found that fear to kick in here, which is surprising considering all the driving on mountains I was doing.

WV has no large natural lakes, but it's chock-full of large rivers - and all the creeks and streams that feed them.  And thanks to the rivers, it's got a variety of wildlife living happily.  We were even told to keep an eye out for brown bear on the Cranberry Glades walkway.

Much of WV seems wild and untamed, but things were quite different a hundred years ago.  The logging industry especially, followed by the various mining operations, encouraged by the railroads, must have changed the entire appearance of the state.  The trees have grown back now, and all the logging operations I saw were selective-harvesting, not clear-cutting, which helps with appearance and erosion prevention.

Mining is still going strong around the state, but many of the mines I saw were minerals and gravel and sand.  I didn't see any oil wells but understand they're here - petrochemical processing certainly is.  But thanks to all those mountains, most unsightly operations are hidden and don't spoil the view.

The exception, of course, is the banks of the Ohio River.  It's been used for commerce since any human set foot in this area, and that hasn't changed.  I just wish current humans would respect it more - it doesn't deserve to be polluted.

Speaking of pollution, I've been pleased to note that litter isn't at all the problem here that it is in neighboring Virginia.  Odd, really, considering VA recycles and WV doesn't.

Life Here
It looks to me like life mostly happens in each individual town or, in many cases, the county.  Most of the towns seem to be unincorporated, and I guess they rely on county government for services.  In many places I found a string of towns only a few miles apart.  I saw lots of banners for events that weren't scheduled in that town but somewhere else in the county.

I'd heard that WV has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, but I didn't see much evidence of that.  I did see, though, many places that needed and wanted rehabilitation for the town - this seems a good candidate for a variety of grants and loans to help places get back on their feet.  The downturn seems to have happened because the local industry closed down, not because people didn't care.

It also looks to me like people are more willing to make do with what they have.  I didn't see much evidence that people were trying to strike it rich - I suppose there's as much movement of young people to the cities here as everywhere else - but mostly it seemed like people were just living their lives.

Driving in West Virginia
Every single person I talked to complained about WV's roads.  Everybody.  The odd thing to me is that they don't seem any worse than any other state's.  But then, I'm comparing WV's back roads to - say - Texas's back roads.  The difference is that most of WV's roads are back roads, which is likely why people think that.

But even there, I found few places where the state didn't seem to be trying to improve them.  And those few places were so far off the beaten path that I doubt if those roads get any attention within a quarter century.

So maybe what people are complaining about isn't the road surface - generally not bad - but the fact that so many of them are 2-lane, no shoulder, winding, climbing or dropping, one side against a mountain and one side falling off it.  My RV isn't the best vehicle to be driving on roads like this, but I honestly didn't have much problem.

Part of that, though, is that right from the beginning of the month I came to terms with the driving attitude I needed: do my best to stay in my lane, go as close to the speed limit as I feel comfortable with, move to one side to let following traffic by every chance I get, and stop trying to drive for everybody else but let them do their own driving.  That attitude has served me well throughout the state.

I was lucky that WV drivers are generous.  They wait for me to change lanes, they offer me their place in the traffic line, they don't tailgate or honk, they signal their turns.  I've been really grateful for their attitude.

What I Didn't See That I Wanted To See
I missed several places I'd been planning to go.  Especially I missed the Eastern Panhandle and Harper's Ferry National Historical Park.  And in that general area, I missed Dolly Sods Wilderness (originally owned by the Dahle family and used for grazing sheep ("sods").  I had to bypass the Cass Scenic Railroad, the Pearl Buck Birthplace Museum, and the town of Helvetia, which I've heard is a Swiss-type village.

There's a 48-bell carillon at Concord University that is played daily that I kept meaning to go hear but didn't.  There are annual festivals for local music that weren't happening when I was there - for instance, Elkins has a Fiddle and Banjo State Championship in October, which sounds great to me.  I missed Bramwell in far southern WV, known as the Village of Millionaires; at the turn of the century it was home to more millionaires per capita than any place of its size.

West Virginia has several caverns, and I'd have liked to visit at least one.  Near Pillippi (the last "i" is pronounced as "e") there's a covered bridge where the first land battle of the Civil War was fought.

Sweeney Punch Bowl

Wheeling has, in addition to the historic sites I mentioned in the daily posts, the Oglebay Institute Glass Museum.  What's special about that museum is the Sweeney Punch Bowl, created by 2 brothers in 1849, it's the largest work of cut glass in history - 5' tall and 225 pounds.  Wheeling also has one of the world's oldest vehicular suspension bridges still in use - I think I passed it (it has a height limit of 10' and a weight limit because it was built for horse-and-buggy combos) but I'd like to go back and take a closer look.

I saw a lot of what I wanted to see, but I also missed a lot I'd like to come back for.

Conclusion
I liked West Virginia very much, surprising when I'd dreaded coming here because of the mountain roads.  I was comfortable here and liked the people and country a lot.

I wouldn't want to live here permanently - too far from the ocean for me - but for me it's a great place to visit.