Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Galax; it's one of the premier mountain-music festivals in the world.
Doctor's Inn
( 276-238-9998;
thedoctorsinnvirginia.com
;
406 W Stuart Dr; r $140-150;
)
is a welcoming guesthouse with antique-filled chambers and excellent breakfasts.
The
Galax Smokehouse
(
276-236-1000; 101 N Main St; mains $7-18;
11am-9pm Mon-
Sat, to 3pm Sun)
serves platters of sweetly sauced Memphis-style BBQ.
WEST VIRGINIA
Wild and wonderful West Virginia is often overlooked by American and foreign travel-
ers. It doesn't help that the state can't seem to shake its negative stereotypes. That's too
bad, because West Virginia is one of the prettiest states in the Union. With its line of un-
broken green mountains, raging white-water rivers and snowcapped ski resorts, this is an
outdoors-lovers' paradise.
Created by secessionists from secession, the people here still think of themselves as
hardscrabble sons of miners, and that perception isn't entirely off. But the Mountain
State is also gentrifying and, occasionally, that's a good thing: the arts are flourishing in
the valleys, where some towns offer a welcome break from the state's constantly
evolving outdoor activities.
WEST VIRGINIA FACTS
Nickname
Mountain State
Population
1.85 million
Area
24,230 sq miles
Capital city
Charleston (population 52,000)
Other cities
Huntington (population 49,000), Parkersburg (population 31,500), 4
Morgantown (population 29,500), Wheeling (population 28,500)
Sales tax
6%
Birthplace of
Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton (b 1968), writer Pearl S Buck
(1892-1973), pioneer aviator Chuck Yeager (b 1923), actor Don Knotts
(1924-2006)
Home of
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory, much of the American coal
industry
Politics
Republican
