Fresh eyes for West Virginia

Lindy Point at Blackwater Falls State Park

Days of wide, flat evaporated in the wild country of Maryland near the Pennsylvania and West Virginia borders. Early in the day, we passed Catoctin Mountain Park, a National Park unit that covers 5,000 acres of forested mountains, including the off-limits presidential retreat, Camp David.

From the tiny entrance road, it is hard discern that such an important diplomatic retreat hides in those woods. Cumberland proved extremely difficult to navigate. Congestion turned the interstate into a used-car lot. Several downtown streets had been closed into a pedestrian arcade. Other roads did not cross the Potomac River as we expected. Finally, we rejoined I-68 to connect with the state route that would ferry us into West Virginia.

After a brief Denny’s stop just across the border in Keyser, we took W.V. 93 until passed under a huge viaduct that carried U.S. 48 over the valley. Within a few turns, we ascended into the highlands of West Virginia on a new highway seemed to run just below the region’s peaks. Mountaintop wind turbines appeared closer than they normally would. This road scraped closer to the sky than some western mountain roads.

Mountaintop wind turbines

I must admit to low expectations for a stop in West Virginia. Chris and Mitzy lobbied hard for us to visit the highlands since they spent long stretches of their lives up there; Mitzy has a doctoral project at a location I won’t name here. They spent a lot of time in those mountains at work and play.

 I also admit to being completely wrong. The high ground in the Allegheny Mountains is unlike anything else I encountered in the East, and was the easily the equal of any mountain terrain in the West. These mountains are older and stranger. Most are nearly 500 million years old. By comparison, the 55-80-million-year-old Rocky Mountains are virtual children.

An even bigger change overtook me as we traversed the state. It lacks the nation’s highest peaks, topping out at Spruce Knob’s 4,863 feet, but West Virginia more than earns its Mountain State nickname. The entire state is a crown of peaks.

The state relies so heavily on mining and energy sectors because large-scale farming looks difficult. The 90 miles of I-79 we traveled didn’t have a mile of straight or flat road. Pioneers searching for the gap to cross the Appalachian Range did not find one in West Virginia; they had to go south to Cumberland Gap to bridge the mountains. It’s a rugged place, but a friendly one. We didn’t hear a bad word from any of its friendly residents.

By the time we reached Blackwater Falls State Park, I changed my mind. We took a short hike to view the falls, where tea-colored water spilled over a 50-foot ledge. The river’s name is authentic – the brown waters receive their color from tannins absorbed from the bark of spruce and hemlocks along its banks. Usually these types of rivers occur in swamps and low-lying areas near the coast, so the Blackwater is somewhat anomalous.

Blackwater Falls

Unfortunately, the best overlook of the falls was occupied by a family reunion that decided to conduct a photo shoot on that platform. Without any regard for the surroundings, they kept on shooting. When the group shots were done, couples started posing. Ignorance when you’re blocking other people from a natural landmark is a vice.


We left the falls and began looking for trailheads to see some of the spectacular valley into which the Blackwater River flows. In these highlands, the valley plunged hundreds of feet below us. Although we could hear it rushing, the river appeared as nothing but a trickle from the lookout altitude.

After realizing any hike down, required an extremely steep hike back up, we crossed the Blackwater above the falls to reach Lindy Point, an isolated ridge. After a half-mile in the woods, we realized the land dropped off quickly on either side of the trail, which emerged as a viewing deck even higher than the lookouts across the gorge. The state planned this lookout well. Really, Lindy Point could not have been more scenic. Rock pillars surrounded the lookout as the river valley A hawk soared below us. The placid point was among the most tranquil mountain experiences in recent memory.

Not all roads in this corner of West Virginia had become sky highways. We rounded plenty of mountains on our journey to Charleston. Without ceremony, we came into the mountain capital, a town of just 50,000 and the largest we had seen since Roanoke. Nancy found us the Charleston Capitol Hotel, comfortable high-rise that washed away any memories of our Gettysburg lodging. Charleston had a smattering of restaurants with many exotic flavors.

Lindy Point

Early on, we had our eyes firmly on Black Sheep Burritos and Brews. They served cocktails plus beers made next door at the Charleston Brewing Company. Better yet, a few blocks from the West Virginia capitol, we could eat street tacos with fresh drinks. Along with chips and multiple sauces, we had a spicy night at Black Sheep. In the morning we came back for brunch.

Before that, we visited the Capital Market, Charleston’s public market. Outside vendors sold local product and the interior housed businesses selling West Virginia products, wines, and other items. This market fit its city. Near outside the market, Charleston stuck out as a pedestrian-heavy place. Everywhere we went Saturday, people were active and out walking.

We drove over to the capitol complex. Ten years ago, when on a tour of friends down the East Coast, I passed through Charleston. It was likely the first capitol to strike me for its beauty. You could see it throughout the entire Kanawha Valley. From a distance the sun struck its gold-leaf For the first time, I stood below that dome. It wasn’t just the state’s capitol but the state’s tallest building. The dome’s gold plus blue highlights made many state capitols look modest when compared.

The governor’s mansion sits adjacent to the capitol building. The Kanawha River lies across the Kanawha Boulevard East from the capitol’s front entrance. The setting below the mountains perfectly fit the gold dome. For all the Lincoln statues on our journeys, West Virginia’s capitol boasts the best. At the capitol’s main entrance stands the ghostly Lincoln based on Vachel Lindsay’s poem “Lincoln Walks at Midnight,” which depicts the 16th president unable to find peace in death due to conflict in the early 20th century.
  Also receiving a statue on the capitol ground was Stonewall Jackson. A Confederate general might be an odd choice, but Jackson’s hometown of Clarksburg is now part of West Virginia.

Leaving Charleston, we meandered out of the Kanawha Valley and came within glimpse of the Ohio Valley. The low, rolling peaks could not hide the broad river nestled between them. Soon Kentucky came, along with a slow road across the sparsely settled eastern part of the state and soon the horse farms of Lexington. As we throttled across the rolling country of eastern Kentucky, just a few hours from home, our minds raced back to the West Virginia highlands. From Blue Ridge to coast to Allegheny Range, it’s hard to shake any of those landscapes. But the West Virginia mountains, their high plateaus and their empty places.

West Virginia Capitol with "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight"