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West Virginia's nickname
is the Mountain State, and those words just about tell
the whole story. West Virginia is mountains -- the
Appalachians -- and travelers who love a strenuous hike,
a breathtaking whitewater run, a rhododendron copse, and
the tumble of clear water over rocks rubbed smooth by
nature's sandpaper will find West Virginia a virtual
paradise. If you're more inclined towards city ritz or
indoor activities, skip this area and move on along to
Cincinnati.
This is a state that goes its own way. Already at
odds with Virginia over representation and economic
pursuits, West Virginia split off at the start of the
Civil War when Virginia chose to fight on the Southern
side. Then when West Virginians discovered coal, they
moved away from their farm-based economy and became the
United States's largest producer of the black stuff.
Sparsely populated and definitely untouristy, West
Virginia still calls to the explorer in each of us, and
the legacy of its mountain culture -- think bluegrass,
storytelling, patchwork quilts -- is as alive as it ever
was.
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