Tag: Appalachia
-
Bridge in a Haystack
Random search engine queries caught in my user access logs often inspire articles on the Twelve Mile Circle. I found one earlier this week that went something like this: “only ky bridge that leaves one state, crosses a river, comes back into the same state.” That sounded like it could be an interesting adventure so…
-
Lazy Blue Ridge Afternoon
Over the weekend we traveled down the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It forms part of an ancient backbone, the Appalachian chain abutting central Virginia. As the crow flies, it wasn’t too far from Shenandoah National Park’s Swift Run Gap and Skyline Drive. We were guest on private land so I won’t give…
-
The Free State of Winston
It’s not possible to be more truly Southern culturally than the residents of the state of Alabama. That’s why it’s surprising to realize that one Alabama county did not support secession. Its residents refused to join the Confederacy willingly. Winston County is located in a hilly area in the northwestern part of the state. As…
-
Virginia, West of West Virginia
West Virginia split from Virginia in 1863 during the height of the Civil War. It elected to remain with the Union while the rest of the Commonwealth remained firmly entrenched within the Confederacy. Tensions based on divergent economies, cultures and geography simmered between the western and eastern portions of Virginia for decades leading up to…