Almost Heaven ~

"Almost Heaven, West Virginia

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River..."

Lyrics and music by John Denver

My roots go deep into the mountains of the beautiful state of West Virginia. On my father’s side I can count back 8 generations to the first of my ancestors who settled there (which at the time was Virginia.) On my mother’s side, Congressman Kellian Whaley (my g-g-great Uncle) gave a speech that was pivotal in West Virginia becoming a state. I have so many lovely memories…of playing with my cousins under the hot summer sun…eating fresh strawberries from my Grandpa’s garden…sitting on my Aunt’s front porch gazing up into the mountains on a crisp autumn morning.

The mountainous state of West Virginia has more than one million acres of land in 2 national forests, 9 state forests and 37 state parks. The steel-arch bridge that covers the New River Gorge was, for a long time, the longest bridge of that type in the world (it’s now the third longest.) Just a few of the other attractions in West Virginia include Harper’s Ferry, the Cass Scenic Railroad, National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the world-renowned Greenbrier Resort. Nature’s canvas at some of its’ best. In the words of John Denver, “take me home…country roads.” Sometimes a picture really is worth a 1,000 words.