Posts Tagged ‘southern west virginia’

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20 Reasons Why Tamarack Really IS The Best Of West Virginia

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Anyone who’s driven through southern West Virginia has seen it.  That red roofed round-about building that kind of looks like a landing spot for when the mother ship comes to down to get us.

Or maybe it’s a crown.  Or a flower.

Tamarack at Night

Actually, when viewed from above, the Tamarack building itself is a structured representation of its own logo, a geometric design within an invisible quilt square. It’s a beautiful work in and of itself. Inside the building, though, is what really matters.

Here are 20 reasons why Tamarack is always worth a visit:

1.    Tamarack houses art from all 55 counties in West Virginia.
2.    The Greenbrier Resort runs the kitchen, which means you’re walking in to pretty much the greatest cafeteria that’s ever existed.
3.    There are artisan made foods, candy, jellies, and sauces from all around the state.
4.    There is an information desk to answer questions right as you walk in (brilliant!)
5.    There’s live music, for free, almost every week.
6.    Kids like the small playground on the south side of the building (where they can’t break anything).
7.    Music from all over the Mountain State is for sale.
8.    Also, handmade instruments of all kinds are for sale.
9.    They have a ton of books written by, for, and about West Virginians.
10.     There’s a pretty good selection of out-of-the-ordinary WVU and Marshal items.
11.     Tamarack has a large and extensive gallery of fine art, if that’s your thing, if it’s not,  after visiting the gallery it will be.
12.     The glass objects section is easy to spend money in.
13.     You’ll see some of the most amazing woodwork of your life.
14.     Toys have their own section; all of them are handcrafted.
15.     If you find the perfect WV keepsake and can’t take it with you – they’ll ship it to you.
16.     The conference space is beautiful & well equipped, large enough to host nearly any event.
17.     The theater screens movies and slideshows from around the state.
18.     It’s the perfect (only?) place for eating ice cream while looking at art.
19.     It’s round, so once you look at everything, you’re back where you started.
20.     It’s a showcase of the art, music, dance, flavor, tradition, and pride that makes West Virginia wonderful.

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The Boys Scouts of America & West Virginia

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Just in case you haven’t heard: the Boy Scouts Of America are coming to West Virginia!

All of them.  (Well, almost all of them.)

Scouts Gathered for the Arena Show

We are the new home of not only the Boy Scout’s of America’s fourth and largest High Adventure Camp but also the site for future Boy Scout Jamborees.

It’s one thing to be told that there will be 40 to, oh, I don’t know, 50,000 scouts each year, and approximately 200,000 visitors coming to the Jamboree in West Virginia in 2013.

But it’s another thing entirely to attend the last Jamboree being held at Fort A.P. Hill, VA and see it for yourself.

Our staff, as well as representatives from the WV Division of Tourism, hosted a “Welcome to WV Booth” at the Jamboree that began on last Monday, July 26th.  All we can say is WOW!  The boys, leaders, and all of the visitors seemed very excited about the new location and we had a ton of great questions and comments.

We talked to scouts and scouters  from every single state and several different countries.  These scouts literally come from everywhere, and I can honestly say that I have never been in the company of so many polite young men in my life.  (And if you’ve spent a lot of time around groups of kids, you can really appreciate that last sentence.)

The Scouts can’t wait to raft the New River, climb in the gorge, hike our trails, and participate in all the other countless adventure activities in the region.

The Scouts and visitors were eager for information on our state as well as the plans for The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, and I for one came away knowing much more about the project and about what to expect in 2013.

Kay handing out info on WV - home of future BSA Jamborees

Here’s a really broad overview of where we stand, time-wise:   In 2013 the Jamboree will be held in West Virginia.  In 2014 The Summit – Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve will open the high adventure and summer camps.  The Summit will be used year round for winter camps, training and more.

I can definitely tell you one thing after meeting people at this year’s Jamboree in Virginia from California, Washington to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas, Japan, Puerto Rico, and just about everywhere in between– our wild and wonderful state is no longer going to be one of American’s best kept secrets.

Thanks, Boy Scouts.  And welcome home.

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It’s The Berries

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Here’s another great post by Kay Bess on growing up in southern West Virginia.  If you try the recipe at the end, make sure you don’t skimp on the main ingredient: fresh picked berries.

Berries on the Vine

FYI:   A great place for berry picking in southern WV is Morgan Orchard in Monroe County.  I spoke with them today (7/16/10) and they have blackberries available to pick (or they do have them already picked and ready).  They also have clinging peaches, nectarines and plums ripe.  Eating apples (canning apples available now) are expected to be ready by August 1st!

It’s The Berries

Growing up in southern West Virginia, our family loved enjoying four distinct seasons. In the mountains, you get it all.

But I can honestly say that summer was by far my favorite.  It still is,  for a lot of reasons: warm summer days, going barefoot, and the food.  Oh, yes, the food!

My parents and grandparents both planted vegetable gardens, so our summertime meals consisted of fresh cooked green beans that we helped string and snap. And there was mouth-watering corn on the cob, dripping with sweet butter and just the right amount of salt.  Also broccoli, cauliflower, squash, zucchini and juicy red and yellow tomatoes so ripe they pulled the vines down.

But for my siblings and I, berry picking time never came soon enough to suit us.  Sometimes we picked in the heat of the day (what was that all about?!).  And sometimes we waited until after my dad got home from work and dinner was over.  Either way, berry picking was special.

Once we arrived at the picking site, we got the standard warnings to watch out for snakes. YIKES!  And, of course, we each got our own plastic bucket to place the berries in. Our preferred method was to pick four, eat two. So mom thought we were goofing off instead of picking when our bucket never got full.

We picked strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries when they were in season. Blackberries had the worst stickers and briers.  First aid was sometimes administered in the form of a Band Aid and a kiss.

It was fun, but it was also hot, hard work.  And we were willing to endure some misery when we knew the end result would be a pie, cobbler, tart, or other dessert made with the berries.  Some berries were made into jams and jellies for fall and winter consumption on biscuits, cornbread, or just on our peanut butter sandwich.

My mom would make traditional jam, which involved cooking the berries, sterilizing the jars, filling the jars, and processing them in a canner or hot water bath.  But she also made freezer jam which was simply cooking the berries, placing in sterilized jars and placing in the freezer.

Last summer, I made strawberry, blackberry, and blueberry freezer jam.  I gave some away as gifts and kept some to enjoy.  The list of recipes you can enjoy from berries is endless, but one of my favorites is Cream Cheese Berry Cake.

Here’s my recipe for West Virginia Cream Cheese Berry Cake:

1/3 cup cream cheese
¾ cup sugar, divided
2 egg whites
1 tsp lemon peel
1 cup flour plus 2 tbsp flour
½ tsp baking soda
1/3 cup sour cream
3 cups fresh mixed berries (can be strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries)
1 ½ cups whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat cream cheese and ½ cup sugar till well blended.  Add egg whites and lemon peel.  Mix 1 cup four and  the soda.  Add to cream cheese mixture alternately with sour cream.  Beat well.

Spray 9 inch springform pan with Pam.  Spread cream cheese mixture in bottom and 1” up sides of pan.  Toss 2 cups of berries with ¼ cup sugar and 2 tbsp flour. Spoon over cream cheese.
Bake 40-45 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing rim of pan.  Top with remaining 1 cup berries.  Top each slice with fresh whipped cream.  Makes 12 servings.

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The Top 50 Reasons To Go White Water Rafting In West Virginia

Monday, July 12th, 2010

1.    It’s hot outside.
2.    Rafting is the summer tradition in West Virginia (if you make it one).

New River Rafting

3.    Guides are ridiculously funny.
4.    White water brings people closer together.
5.    There’s no better way to see a gorge than from the river.
6.    Rapids are like roller coasters, but wetter.
7.    It’s really hot outside.
8.    You get great pictures of yourself doing something awesome.
9.    You’ll make memories.
10.     Butterflies in your stomach and a smile on your face.
11.     Amazing scenery.
12.     White water is the best way in the world to get back in touch with nature.
13.     Sometimes you watch the show, and sometimes you are the show.
14.     You can’t really wear the T-shirt unless you’ve been down the river.
15.     Amazing riverside lunch.
16.     Learning to surf West Virginia style (they really do surf rafts).
17.     It’s really incredibly hot outside.
18.     Swimming in the pools in between rapids.
19.     Paddling through the rapids in between pools.
20.     Getting smacked in the face with a wave is the river’s way of saying hi.
21.     You can push family members out of the raft.
22.     The family section of the New River (the Upper New) is perfect for kids.

Family Duckie Trip on Upper New River

23.     It’s also perfect for scaredy-cats.
24.     Summer rafting on the Gauley River is a sure fire way to have the whole place to yourselves.
25.     It’s really incredibly, insanely hot outside.
26.     Rafting is like being on a lake; a very narrow lake with huge waves.
27.     If you fall out of the raft, you’ll have a story to tell forever.
28.     If you stay in the raft, you’ll have a story to tell forever.
29.     Dinner tastes better after a rafting trip.
30.     You’ll meet people who are just as much fun as you are.
31.     Rafting leads to other stuff, like ATV rides, bike trips, and canopy tours.
32.     It will become an addiction (a good one).
33.     Rapids with names like “Scramble Like A Rat” and “Lost Paddle”.
34.     Your bus driver will be the most interesting person you meet all year.
35.     It’s really incredibly, insanely, ridiculously hot outside.
36.     You can show off that back flip at Jump Rock.
37.     It’s a scientific fact that there is no better way to make kids go to bed early than a day of white water rafting.
38.     You can show off those new river shorts/bathing suit.
39.     You’ll laugh harder than you have in a long, long time.
40.     Rapids on white water rivers make you feel alive.
41.     You can see deer, bald eagles, fish, and all kinds of other cool wildlife.
42.     It’s a great place to re-learn what poison ivy looks like and how to avoid it.
43.     Rafting lets you learn about the natural world and have fun at the same time.
44.     White water rivers are great places to challenge yourself.
45.     There’s no feeling on earth like paddling off the lip of a horizon line into a rapid.
46.     Rafting makes your vacation time really count.
47.     Your kids will think you’re the coolest person in the world (for a while).
48.     Best. Vacation. Ever.
49. It’s really, incredibly, insanely, ridiculously, stupendously hot outside.
50.     White water rafting is the best way in the universe to cool off.

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The Story of the Pink Scarf

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Ask anyone:  West Virginia is different from a lot of other places.

Our geography, our culture, our way of life.  We take pride in ourselves and our state; it’s

Pink Ribbon Scarf - Over 1200 Feet So Far

something we love to share with the world.

More than anything else, what makes us unique is our people.  Anyone who’s lived here, or even stayed with us for a visit, will hurry to tell you:  The people of West Virginia are some of the friendliest on earth.

We are a family.

That’s never more apparent than in the way we care for each other.  People in West Virginia have hearts as big as the mountains that surround us, and as deep as the valleys that define us.  We care.

Here’s a blog post by Kay Bess, Marketing Director here at the Southern West Virginia Convention And Visitor’s Bureau. It’s about a project that she and others created to show how much they care.

The Pink Ribbon Scarf

The scarf idea began in January as part of Terri’s Tribute, a scholarship fund for Terri Massey’s three children and other kids who have lost parents to breast cancer.  It was also a way for a lot of people to participate and be involved in the project.  Flyers were developed and distributed, emailed and snail mailed to potential knitters.

Knitting classes were held on Friday nights at the Oak Hill Methodist Church.  Some women showed up who could crochet, so we added the pattern for how to crochet a piece to the flyer.

Learning and Creating in Southern WV

The first few pieces measured 32 feet and we were excited and encouraged.  And then pink knitted and crocheted pieces of every hue of pink yarn started showing up in my mail box at home, at my office, some were dropped at the local library and also at my Jazzercise class. It was very emotional to open the bags and read the notes and stories of why people chose to be a part of the scarf project.

I kept track of the names of the knitters and crocheters and who they wanted to honor or memorialize with their piece and wrote personal thank you notes to the over 70 women and one man who shared our passion to make this scarf long enough to wrap around Oak Hill High School stadium for the Fayette County Relay for Life.

Phone messages were left on my answering machine from two knitting clubs in New York who had heard about the project and wanted to offer help.  The scarf went from 32 to 125 to 250 to 430 feet quickly. One weekend I got 140 feet on Friday and 210 more on Sunday which got us to 780 feet.

To date, we are over 1200 feet, 80 people from 12 states have contributed to the scarf.  There are still pink yarn pieces being knitted and crocheted as this is being written and one knitting club in NY is sending a box full from their group.

Regardless of the quality of the workmanship every piece we receive is being melded into the whole scarf, regardless of dropped stitches or mistakes in the knitting.  This isn’t about how perfectly we can knit or crochet, this is about our love of Terri and other sisters, moms, friends and family members who’ve fought breast cancer and those who will fight it in the future.

Our hope is to cover Oak Hill High School stadium in pink yarn on June 18-19 for the Fayette County Relay for Life as an awareness campaign that breast cancer can strike any woman at any time.  And the scarf will be a memorial to our beautiful Terri and to women everywhere who have fought and lost, those who are still fighting and those who are survivors.  And we hope the scarf will travel around to other relays and events re-inforcing the tagline:

“Together we can make a difference.”

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The 5 Best Reasons To Spend Spring In The Mountains

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

If you ever needed a reminder about how great life is, do this:   Come to southern West Virginia in the spring.

Pinnacle Rock in "Spring Green"

Because this is hands-down, without-a-doubt the best time to be in the mountains.

Here are 5 reasons why:

•    The Green: The green that pops up during springtime isn’t just green.  It’s spring green.  So special they designed a crayon color for it.  And you can’t see it anywhere else like this.  Heck, even if you could, nowhere has the background of the ancient mountains to really draw it out.  Spring green in southern WV is truly like no other color on earth.

•    All The Other Colors: What isn’t green is every other color that’s bright, new, or refreshing.  The redbuds burst.  The forsythias pop.  The mountains reinvigorate all of your color sensibilities, and make you feel alive and awake in a way that a museum masterpiece never could.

•    The White Water :  Okay, okay… white water rafting isn’t for everyone.  Only 93% of you.  We understand.  If you think the mountains are pretty while driving down the road in the spring, wait until you see them from a wild river like the New or the Gauley.  Even if you don’t go to a wild section of a wild river, i.e. you like family floating more than white knuckle white water, it doesn’t matter.  Spring doesn’t care, and neither do we, as long as you’re having fun.

•    All The Other Adventures :  We like to say that, if you can do it outside, you can do it in West Virginia.  So spring is our chance to rediscover all that wildness and excitement.  Even if excitement is mushroom hunting instead of rock climbing, or antiquing instead of, say, ATV riding.  It doesn’t really matter how you define adventure, as long as you’re doing something that makes you feel adventurous.

•   The People:  You didn’t think we’d leave out the key ingredient, did you?  Mountaineers haven’t exactly been holed up all winter (we’re always free, remember?)  Still, spring unleashes a whole bunch of happiness in the Mountain State, and we’re going to celebrate it.  Our yards get the attention we’ve dreamed about.  So do our grills.  We get outside and stretch in the spring sun, and if that’s not a good time to visit somewhere, it’s going to be pretty hard to figure out when is.

Need another reason?  You.  You make spring here in West Virginia better.  Time to get outside, don’t you think?

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Baseball… In Southern WV!

Friday, April 16th, 2010

When you come to southern West Virginia, you have some expectations, generally.  Natural beauty.  Secluded mountain cabins.  White water rafting, maybe.  Adventure.  Art.  That sort of thing.

Most people don’t think, “baseball”.  But they should.  Southern WV has

Power Park - Home of the WV Power

long been home to three minor league teams, the furthest south being the Princeton Rays and the Bluefield Orioles.  They’ve provided the area with awesome baseball for decades.

And let’s not forget the West Virginia Power, whose long history as a franchise in Charleston as the Alley Cats, the Charlies, and the Senators (originally the Toledo Mud Hens!) has given the state a baseball team to cheer on since 1952.

And now Beckley will step in.  A brand new, non-pro collegiate franchise, The West Virginia Miners, will begin play in “the small town with a mine of its own”.  Here’s some info to get you ready…

  • The Miners will play in the Prospect League.  This league is designed for college players and uses wooden bats (NCAA college teams use aluminum bats, but all other rules apply).  That makes it unique among other collegiate leagues.
  • There’s a brand new, state of the art baseball stadium for the team in Beckley.  The Linda K. Epling Stadium may even be outfitted with extra bleacher seats pre-season to meet demand for tickets.
  • The Miners are developing a competitive junior league for both girls and boys called the Red Hats.  The boys will play in under-8, -10, and -12 divisions, and the girls will play under 18 softball.  Home field for the kids?  You guessed it- Epling Stadium.
  • Since the Miners are a collegiate club, the organization is running a promotion to find host families for some of its players.  Host families that “adopt a Miner” get all kinds of perks in addition to the satisfaction of helping the team, like season tickets and parking passes.
  • The West Virginia Miners’ home opener is on Saturday June 5th at 7 p.m.  Expect the whole city to come out and welcome the team, so get your tickets early.

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7 Spring Flowers To Look For In Southern West Virginia

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Spring hits Southern West Virginia like it’s really, really mad at winter.

Rhododendron - WV State Flower

One day, brown hills.  The next -BAM- green.  Everywhere.  And the only things that are breaking up all that new spring green (except a lot of mud) are our beautiful spring wildflowers.

The Beginning
In the beginning, there was brown.  All of a sudden, flowers come from everywhere.  That’s a typical West Virginia Spring.

And leading the pack are the deep green and bright yellow daffodils.  Daffodils happen to be some of the easiest flowers in the world to grow.  Since they grow from bulb and from seed, they end up literally all over the place.  Lucky us.

Right there in the running for first is the hardy little crocus.  Crocuses (crocii?) have all kinds of different colors, but the shapes are generally the same among species.  Also, the yellow stamen of the, um, crocii are collected to make the spice saffron.  Yum!

The Trees
There might not be any tree with a more appropriate name than the redbud.  Making red buds is what the redbud does.  Everywhere.  If you drive around the mountains of southern West Virginia in the spring, you’re going to see three things:  cliffs, waterfalls, and redbuds.

Right along with the redbud are the beautiful swaying chains of lilac-colored Pawlonia blooms.  The Royal Paulownia, or princess trees, are spread around the Mountain State for two reasons:  They were adopted as ornamentals around the turn of the century, and the seed pods were used as packing peanuts for everything that was shipped by rail.  Great way to proliferate.

Two More
Another early bloomer isn’t quite a flower.  Instead, look for spring green to be complimented everywhere by the bright, bright yellow of the Forsythia.  These bushes are great yard ornaments, and are also found around the edges of river corridors.  If lemons were leaves, it would look like a F0rsythia bush.

Spring flowers get rounded out when the roadways and walkways of the state get taken over by the chest high blooms of the wide spread tiger lily.  There might not be another flower that better shows off the state in spring.  They’re wild, they’re everywhere, and they’re beautiful.

Actually, there’s one more that might show off the state even better than the tiger lily.  It’s the state flower: the rhododendron.  This one will be in full flower right around Mother’s Day in colors from white to flaming pink.  The stand at Grandview Park in the New River Gorge National Park are the prettiest ones in the state.

Hope you get a chance to see some spring flowers this year.  What are your favorites?

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Spring In Southern West Virginia

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Comin’ In Like A Mountain Lion
It’s March!  Time for, um, madness.  And four leaf clovers.  And lambs going out somewhere.

Actually, none of that makes much difference – Spring is on the way!  After the amazing, record breaking winter we just had, the sun is a fine sight to see.

Okay, “amazing” isn’t the word that some people would use.  But it was amazing if you like to ski, or sled, or play outside in the snow.  And even if you don’t, you have to admit it was still pretty cool.  For a while, anyway.

Ok, we won’t talk about snow anymore . . .

It’s

Whitewater Rafting in WV

White Water Time!

Go down to any river in Southern West Virginia and grab up some water and splash it on your face.  Wow!  That’ll wake you right up!

Well, if that’s your idea of refreshing, you’d be surprised how many people think exactly like you do.  Any idea?

It’s enough people to start white water rafting season off in West Virginia.  The weather can get chilly, but it’s nothing compared to how cool it is to go rafting before anyone else in the world.

Plus, there’s a real reason people go whitewater rafting in March and April:  You’re guaranteed some of the best whitewater of the year.  Spring is when the rivers run high, which means bigger rapids.

And every outfitter in West Virginia has hot showers at the end of the trip.  If you’re at all adventurous, you should give spring rafting a shot.

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10 Things About The Boy Scouts You Didn’t Know

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Southern West Virginia recently got some great news for anyone planning a visit with kids:  The Boy Scouts of America are going to be building their newest High Adventure Base Camp right here in the mountains.

We’re all really excited to have the scouts come and explore the New River Gorge, and make it their new home.

How much do you know about the Boy Scouts?

Boy Scouts of America Logo

-The Scouts were incorporated February 1910 in the District of Columbia (Hey, that’s exactly 100 years ago!)  The first annual meeting was held at the White House.

-Scouts go to space.  179 astronauts were in the scouts, and 39 of those were Eagle Scouts.

-With the new facility here in West Virginia, there will be a total of 4 High Adventure Bases in the United States.  Last year, more than 1 million scouts visited the first 3 Bases.

-The scouts have a (kind of) secret handshake.  In 1923, the left handclasp was adopted as a good way to say Hi.

-The Boy Scouts  were recruited in both world war I and II to by the U.S. Government to help with the war effort.  They helped with selling war bonds, and driving fuel and food conservation projects.

-The scouts are on their own stamp.  The first one was issued in 1950 and was worth 20 cents.  Today, it’s worth double that (though there’s probably a lot more sentimental value).

-The first female scouts joined the Explorers program in 1969.

-The 100 millionth youth member joined the scouts in 2000.  It was a kid named Mario Castro, a 12 year old Mexican immigrant from Brooklyn.

-The National Scout Jamboree is a gathering of tens of thousands of scouts from all over the country every three to five years.  It used to be held at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia (last one at this location being held July 2010).  From now on, they’ll be… you guessed it… here in southern West Virginia.

-There are almost 3 million scouts and more than 1 million scout volunteers active today.

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