Trail Magic, the 35th State, and a Roadside Mystery
Plus, the Ramps and Rail Festival and Ruby Summer Concert Series
We’re heading to West Virginia this week—one of two new Southeastern states we now cover as part of our content expansion. (Please tell all your friends who live there!) We also share Part 2 of our Appalachian Trail thru-hiking story, look back at how the Mountain State formed, visit a mysterious roadside attraction, and introduce you to an annual ramp-inspired festival. (If you don’t know what ramps are, we’ll tell you below. Hint: These ramps have nothing to do with highways.)
Committing to the Climb, Part 2
Story and photos by Ron and Kelly Gaulden
We were surprised at some of the wildlife along the way. The deer in Shenandoah National Park were so tame that we could practically reach out and pet them. We saw lots of timber rattlers, especially in Pennsylvania. They’re actually very timid.
We usually slept well on the trail, but we would wake up during thunderstorms. The peeper frogs were so loud at one campsite in Virginia that we barely slept a wink. There was also a campsite in New Jersey where this strange sound kept us up. All. Night. Long. We later learned it was a whippoorwill.
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The Formation of West Virginia
June 20, 1863
West Virginia became the thirty-fifth state in the Union on June 20, 1863, during the Civil War after deep political and economic divisions separated the western counties from eastern Virginia. Virginia had seceded in 1861, prompting Unionist delegates in the northwest to form the loyalist Restored Government of Virginia under Governor Francis H. Pierpont. Claiming to represent the legal state government, it authorized the creation of a new state, which was originally named Kanawha but later became West Virginia. Congress approved admission once gradual emancipation of enslaved people was required, and President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill on December 31, 1862, clearing the way for West Virginia’s statehood.
Roadside Restoration
Ansted, West Virginia
In 1973, Donald Wilson opened Mystery Hole, a roadside attraction featuring optical illusions in a slanted basement chamber, where visitors experience perplexing effects like tilted rooms, balls rolling uphill, and people standing at impossible angles. After closing in 1996 amid declining tourism and neglect, which followed Wilson’s death, new owners Will and Sandra Morrison revived and restored the roadside attraction, complete with a colorful gift shop. Visitors are welcome May through October from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on varying days.
