Pocahontas County

Again we had well laid out plans, but Mother Nature told us that she was the boss not us. We met Park Superintendent Mike Smith for a tour of Beartown State Park about an hour from Lewisburg, but were greeted by garden hose rains. When traveling we've learned rule number one- always be flexible, and have an alternative plan. We drove a short distance to Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park for a tour of the park museum. Mike is extremely knowledgeable and after giving us the background of the Civil War in this area and a brief history of the park, the rain clouds parted and the sun came out.

This is the oldest park in West Virginia, dedicated in 1928, and the site of the last major Civil War battle in West Virginia was fought here in 1863 only five months after West Virginia broke away from Virginia This park has an awesome view from its observation tower with a 30 mile vantage point South and a 10 mile vantage point to the north to the Valleys. Breathtaking is the only cliche word that suits the scenery, engulfed in the panorama at the top of the mountain.

The park has three and one half miles of hiking trails and barbecue areas abound so it's a great attraction for families, travelers and Civil War buffs. To us it was worth the view alone. Now I know why the waitress in Lewisburg called West Virginia a little bit of heaven. No matter what your religion, you are amazed that God created this beauty for us to enjoy.

A lot of this area of West Virginia is woodland, evidenced by the large amount of natural areas to visit. Next we went to Cranberry Mountain Nature Center about 15 minutes away. In this federally funded learning center is a large handmade quilt outlining the area with embroidery stitches and buttons as markers. This was a wonderful idea using the crafts of this part of the country as a visual aid to highlight the 750 acres in this preserve. The hands on museum area had an ingenious display I had never seen before: a sand table for the children, and animal footprint stamps so that they and the adults alike can visually distinguish between all the varied indigenous animals by imprinting them in the wet sand.

We played a little bit in the sand, checked out the display of SCAT (that which is left when the animal passes by) and was frightened by the live snakes that I thought were fake. Our tour guide led us down to the Glades Botanical Area, which protects West Virginia's largest area of bogs, also known as glades. The boardwalk makes a ? mile loop and that seemed very doable until the guide told us quite calmly to be on the lookout for wild animals that inhabit the area, like snakes or bears. Didn't she realize she was dealing with a city girl? At first I laughed and thought she was joking, but it soon became evident that she was serious