Tag: West Virginia
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Northern Panhandle of West Virginia
Anyone looking at a West Virginia map would immediately notice its northern panhandle. It rose high above the rest of the state like a flagpole. This narrow splinter ran 64 miles (103 kilometres) due north, wedged tightly between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Its width also narrowed sometimes to only 4 miles (6 km). Four counties occupied…
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Digging for Minerals
A mine is a hole in the ground owned by a liar (attributed to Mark Twain). I began some initial planning for a brief county counting trip to West Virginia that I hope to undertake in a couple of months. Examining potential routes, I noted a county called Mineral that I would hit in some…
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Weather or Not
Several places named Hurricane — all found far from a coastline — interested me a few weeks ago. From there I wrote a simple article I called Inland Hurricane. I also wondered if the same peculiarity extended to other weather phenomena so I began to search some more. I found mixed results. Even so I…
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Inland Hurricane
Hurricanes often hit the eastern parts of the United States. Generally they concentrate on the Atlantic side of the nation or along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. However, sometimes they move inland, weakening as they push away from open water. Those can cause massive flooding and damage. None of them ever pushed all the way…
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Appalachian Loop, Part 6 (Seeing is Believing)
I knew I needed to create my own fun when I chose to drive through an area that didn’t cater much to outsiders. The people of Appalachia are friendly and always seem welcoming, so that wasn’t the issue. It’s simply that tourism isn’t a major preoccupation there. It didn’t help that my adventure happened at…
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Appalachian Loop, Part 5 (Bridges)
Several months ago I went on a fifty mile cycling adventure on a bright, late-summer morning in Maryland. Afterwards I made an effort to describe the Bridges of Frederick County that I’d encountered. The lack of reader response didn’t deter me from my emerging fascination, either. It seems I have a thing for bridges, covered…
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Appalachian Loop, Part 4 (Hatfield and McCoy)
I wondered what we might do during our brief Appalachian adventure beyond my stated purpose. Originally I simply wanted to collect Virginia’s final counties. I would have been happy to drive the full distance without stopping although that wouldn’t have been fair to my passengers. However, there didn’t seem to be much in the way…
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Appalachian Loop, Part 3 (Cultural Threads)
Appalachia described more than a physical geography. It described a proudly self-reliant people who’d lived within these hills and hollows on their own wits for more than two centuries. I mentioned some of my perceptions after I visited Kentucky in 2013. It would be all to easy to reduce Appalachia to unfair hillbilly stereotypes. Naturally…
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Appalachian Loop, Part 2 (Vistas)
Notions of endless horizons came to mind as I prepared for an Appalachian Loop. We would cross mountaintops, dip into hollows and follow valley flatlands along tumbling rivers amid early signs of spring. This journey promised stunning scenery in a little-visited and often under-appreciated rural preserve. People who ventured into Appalachia as tourists usually came…
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Appalachian Loop, Part 1 (The Quest)
It began with a simple premise. Finish Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia was a particularly difficult journey for County Counters due to its odd configuration of 95 counties and 38 independent cities. It also happened to be my home state. I’d long been irritated that I still hadn’t completed it. I’d chipped away at the…