Confused about West Va. (Lewisburg, Richwood: for sale, travel, jobs)

[Passthru]

[SIZE=3]I was recently in West Virginia on a backpacking trip. WV was not the original destination, but to our awed supervised we happened upon the Monongalia National Forest…talk about wild and wonderful! We hiked and camped some of the areas in Tucker County...It truly was an amazing experience, living in the wilderness and mountains of West Virginia for over a week The landscape of WV is truly breathtaking. I have traveled moderately, and I would say the landscapes of WV holds it’s own with other places I have visited. And having a National Forest in such close proximity is truly a gem for tourists and I would also think for the people in the areas we were in. So here is where my confusion lies, the people in the areas surrounding Monongalia, specifically the towns are not capitalizing on this gem, nor are they particularly friendly to the tourists. Please don’t get me wrong, I didn't come to this part or our beautiful country to find southern hospitality in its gentile wrappings, but what I would have like to see are business owners and the folks working for them being a little friendlier. Now I am sure tourists are not traversing the land this time of year, so I can see some skeptism, maybe, but after days of the same people spending money in your business, in a town and county that depends on tourism, you still act like we are a nuisance…I don’t get it. If tourism is one of the mainstays, why the attitude? See my confusion! With regard to the forest it might as well not be there, not many of the towns people knew much about it. Which I found so amazing, since part of the forest had a write up in backpacker magazine, a national publication, and moreover the article highlighted a activity prime for this part of WV, yet no one knew about it. The other thing that was odd and kind of disappointing is that the business didn’t particularly support one other…meaning, they didn’t sell each others products (pottery, wine, beer). It was almost as if every man for himself, as opposed to an organized effort of getting product sold. I will caveat this all be saying not everyone was like this, the folks we met in the hills were truly nice, friendly people, but the ones in town working the business left a lot to be desired. It’s funny to say this, but you meet less pretentious, more soul of the earth, genuinely nice people in the urban and city areas. Unless anyone can clear up my confusion I will think twice before coming to WV again. [/SIZE]

[David Kennedy]

Your question is complex and my answer may not touch all of the items of its complexity...but to hit a few points let me ask this: Suppose you were a business owner with inventory that catered to the tourist trade and not the local constablary...50 brands of imported beer and everyone of the locals drank miller lite...sat on the shelves gathering dust until the tourist season with the gormet coffees and tofu. When the touri came in the good weather, they complained that x-boo beer was not theirs or that certain personality label of Jone's soda was not to behold...

It's like ..Who cares what a touri wants...those locals have got thru the winter burning wood for heat and the money is scarce...take it or leave it...

It's also a privacy issue...their privacy is being invaded by the State Tourism office who is working with unfunded mandates...They are the office with the website telling you about that wilderness.
The locals know all about it...they are stuck in it...It is not a novelty for them...They do not drive up to the 'Purple Fiddle' and jump out of their BMW and say "How Quaint...is Thomas only this big ???? Where's the Mall."

Thomas and these little towns just like it are a treasure on their guard for the 'takers...Wv had them in the past...they are not very welcome now...come spend you money and smell the rhododendron and drink some wine on the rocks of Seneca...just take the trash home and do not leave any indication of your presence.

Most of the business owners are expatriates who have/are paying a great price for the survival of their business. In 20 years, when growth catches up and the market expands things will be better.

My company contracted a job in that area and it is now nearing completion. I see mountain people included into new jobs that are uncomfortable for them...it takes more than a wave or a smile to win them over...It took a lot of compliments and a plaid shirt and a baseball hat to win them over...and I'm from Wv...these are my people...just from a little more distant tribe...
Keep coming back to the same people and the same place...let it become a legacy of your own tribe...things will get better...as the tension of the flatlands diminish, you will be more welcomed...It's a culture thing and everybody is adapting to the change...each knows full well that change has to occur...may I recommend the trails around 'Smokehole and Landis...Landis particularly...and remember to take the trash back to the car...

[x1x]

My thoughts about the people in W.V., They are like any other small town in the U.S. and live their own life style and ways, And don't open up to strangers who ask 20 questions, These people are very close to their own and protective, So my suggestion is enjoy Wild and Wonderful West Virginia and be courteous to it's residents and you will be rewarded..

[Passthru]

x-boo beer cute ...You did shed some light, I guess from your prespectives the wilderness we come to see and enjoy is not a 'thing to see', it's your home, you live with the land, not seperate from it. If the state tourims office is pushing visiting, and it's not going over well then maybe they should stop,or maybe this is the way of getting them to stop ... I will say this, not all tourists come to take from these small towns, or ask the residents questions, i'm sure they are those, but it's a shame when we are all lumped into that catagory. As for the trash we picked up other peoples trash...and this is to all who read this posting please pick up your trash, especially in open spaces...there is nothing more disgusting that going into a forest of all places and see beer cans, and trash...Maybe it is best for the 'touries' to stay out and leave these places alone...it's a shame because it is beautiful county...

[wmrn43a]

Many (not all by no means) are not open to strangers. If you are not born there even if you live 30 yrs there your not part of the culture of the "people". It's the way they were brought up. To give an example, not too many years ago folks didn't leave their "holler" that is changing but the people do not change as fast as the times.

They are good folks that would do anything for you.

[millersangel]

I suggest you visit southern WV and by southern, I mean really south.

Try Pipestem Resort State Park.

Pipestem Resort State Park - A West Virginia State Park

You will be treated with courtesy and friendliness both within the park and at the businesses that cater to tourists.

I hike there all the time and while I am sometimes taken aback at some of the questions tourists ask me, I am always as helpful as possible.

And close by these state and national parks:

Bluestone State Park - West Virginia State Parks
Bluestone Wildlife Manangement Area - A West Virginia Wildlife Management Area
Camp Creek State Park - A West Virginia State Park
Pinnacle Rock State Park - A West Virginia State Park
The Nature Conservancy in West Virginia - Brush Creek Preserve

And there is the new ATV trail in McDowell Co if you feel like some excitement.

Coming soon, an equestrian trail in Mercer Co.

We like tourists and we welcome them. Well, we might get a little aggravated when they drive 25 mph on the two lane roads but basically, we're pretty laid back. Just don't be surprised when that beat up pick up truck zooms around you going 70 mph. :)

[Passthru]

We found out about the cranberry wilderness and we were thinking about doing that - i think it's in the south. i dont know, we'll see - thx 4 the info.

[snorpus]

The Cranberry Wilderness is in the southern part of the MNF, but it's more the south-eastern edge of central than anything else. (My own purely arbitrary system says that "South" has to be south of I-64/US-60.) It's roughly between Richwood and Marlinton, perhaps an hour's drive north of Lewisburg.

I'd say it's at least as Wild, Wonderful as the Tucker County area (Dolly Sods, etc.).

[David Kennedy]

All in all...its hard to beat Tucker County for wilderness...possibly the major recreation out weighs the minor problems...What I like about that Landis Trail...no people...I mean NO people at all...(Pendelton/Grant County)

[snorpus]

By the way, the little general store on the north edge of Richwood had ramps for sale today... $3.99/lb.