Wild West Virgina

Credit where credit is due, Dave took this photo of the Allegheny mountains close to where we camped. For someone that doesn’t take many pictures of our trips, this was an especially great one!

West Virginia Fun Facts:

• The Allegheny mountain range is part of the Appalachian Mountain Range.
• West Virginia is known as the Mountain state – figured this would exist more west of here.
• West Virginia is the only state completely within the Appalachian Mountain range.
• The Appalachian mountain range is actually older than the rocky mountains in the US. There is a belief they use to be at least as tall as the rockies and have just naturally eroded down to their height today.
• West Virginia is the third most forested state in the US.
• West Virginia is the 32nd sunniest state in the US. For comparison, Minnesota is #39 and Florida is #10. No wonder I wanted to move south!
• This is the scariest state we have driven through when it comes to mountains, so far. Towing an 8 ton trailer, up a 9% grade on a two-lane road with no shoulders, and then coming back down, was it for me! It’s beautiful but I will not be going back with Homer. And yes, this is a typical road used by semi’s as they traverse this mountainous state.

Surrounded by Mountains

Our campground was located in a small valley and surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains. Unfortunately, our week in this spectacular location was primarily spent in the rain and fog of the ever-changing mountainous weather. Even so, it’s hard not to appreciate the view when it peeks through the clouds and fog.

While we did not see many animals, the number of deer around us was astounding. We would look out at the fields tucked up next to the mountains, and they would be filled with mommas and their little babies in the mornings and evenings. We could watch those little fawns leaping and playing for hours!

I was surprised to find the prickly pear cactus growing on the side of some of the hills and even more amazed to see all the rhododendrons growing wild in the woods. Apparently, this eastern side of the mountains receives about half the rain the western side receives. We didn’t find any new birds but had one red-head woodpecker that just loved to visit us multiple times a day.

Almost Heaven

Yep, John Denver did write the song and West Virginian’s love it and use it almost everywhere. One of our day trips included a drive over to Black Water state park. Amazingly, there are no fees to get into the park for a visit and the walk to the falls. While the trek is downhill and then back up, it was really easy given the number of steps they put in place. Did you know these falls are probably the most photographed area of West Virginia?

Smoke Hole Cavern

Dave and I had originally planned a train ride around the area, but with all the clouds and misty mountainous skies, we decided to just forget that and instead go to the smoke hole cavern. We are VERY glad we did. The cavern is not only home to the world’s largest ribbon stalactite, it also has an underground river and over a million stalactites.

We were in a group and the tour took about an hour. Our guide was very informative and shared this fun fact that I cannot get out of my head. The way to tell the difference between stalactites and stalagmites is to remember that stalactites are tight to the ceiling and stalagmites “might” make it there some day.

As always, we learned something new, saw something beautiful and explored a whole new area of the US that we would not have visited without this lifestyle. As we head out on our next leg of the trip, I did pick up a little souvenir for the ride. I found me a worry stone and you can bet I will be rubbing that baby all the way to Maine given these mountain roads.

See ya on the road,

(Although hopefully not on a turn in the middle of the mountains and switchbacks of West Virginia!)

Dave and Theresa