{"id":16720,"date":"2016-03-30T18:39:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T23:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=16720"},"modified":"2021-11-23T18:49:10","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T23:49:10","slug":"appalachian-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/appalachian-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Appalachian Loop, Part 2 (Vistas)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who ventured into Appalachia as tourists usually came in summer. Nobody would be silly enough to come in March — nobody — unless they wanted a reasonable chance of miserable weather, or they had an ulterior motive like I did<\/a>. Some of the places surely must see crowds later in the year. Not in March. That was just the way I liked it; 12MC zigs when everyone else zags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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West Virginia State Capitol<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"West<\/a>
The Capitol in Charleston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been to Charleston three times in as many years. The city offered an odd hybrid of small town feel with urban amenities, and fewer than a quarter-million residents in its larger metropolitan area. Yet, it was West Virginia’s capital and largest city. I mentioned our Charleston plans to acquaintances and they nodded heads approvingly. South Carolina should be so nice at that time of year, they said. Then I noted wryly that it was the other<\/em> Charleston, the one in Appalachia, and waited for their confused expressions. I rather enjoyed that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived on a Friday afternoon at what should have been the height of Rush Hour and barely slowed down, a nice change from terrible traffic back home. Charleston sat along both sides of the Kanawha River, with tough rocky terrain hemming it in. Yet along the river where the city sat, there was hardly a hill to be found (terrain<\/a>). It was flat. This fascinated me during every one of my visits, driving hours through mountains and arriving at a city as flat as a tabletop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dome of the state capitol building (map<\/a>) rose over the riverbank, this photo taken from the far side of the Kanawha River at dawn from the campus of the University of Charleston. We got an opportunity to tour the capitol complex and the state museum later in the day. I’d recommend the museum, by the way. It was extremely well done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pikeville Cut-Through<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Scenic<\/a>
Pikeville Overlook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Scenic views filled our dashboard multiple times along the route, simply driving around. However I knew nothing about the overlook atop Bob Amos Park in Pikeville, Kentucky until 12MC reader “Andy” suggested it. The precipice perched high above what was officially called the Pikeville Cut-Through (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pikeville, like Charleston, hugged the relatively level lands along a river. The town followed a U-shaped bend on the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. The river used to flood into Pikeville’s streets and homes from time-to-time because there wasn’t anywhere else for the water to go when it rose. That was simply a hazard of living within a narrow Appalachian valley. People in town simply endured it for the first hundred and fifty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n