Blue Ridge Country September/October 2021 - 38

BRIAN HIRT
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:
* John Deans' backroads take him to the dark skies of Watoga State
Park, West Virginia.
* The Anne Bailey Lookout Tower is in Watoga State Park.
* John Dean travels with Jack and Max (standing).
OPENING SPREAD: Greg Abernathy's " not too much of a plan "
excursions have taken him to viewpoints such as this one along the
Great Eastern Trail in Letcher County, Kentucky.
DONNA DILLEY
By ANGELA MINOR
JESSE THORNTON
O
ne of my favorite pastimes
when I was at college in the
foothills of the Smoky Mountains
was hopping in the car
and just driving. Any backroad
was fair game. I " discovered "
small ponds with baby
geese; old-timey stores with giant wheels
of cheese under glass domes; service stations
where they washed your windshield;
unimproved mountain roads where the
quietness was vast; and, roadside stands of
produce where an overall-clad fella would
tell me all about this year's tomato crop
and how his honey bees were doing.
In tandem with these mini-journeys
it happened...I read the new book " Blue
Highways: A Journey into America " by
William Least Heat-Moon. The rural roads
on my paper maps (picked up at the service
station, unfolded once, never to re38
BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
turn to their original shape!) were drawn
in blue just like the ones used by the author
of this now classic book. Somehow, I
felt a kindred spirit with his goal of " just
paying attention " to the world around
him.
And, I still wonder where that road
goes...
Our featured travelers also explore their
blue highways in the Blue Ridge . . . and
that has made all the difference. (Robert
Frost)
Let's meet them!
WEST VIRGINIA
" Let nature take over all your senses, " says
John Dean, a writer, journalist and editor.
" Backroads trips in and around Watoga
State Park are a chance to get reinvigorated
and inspired by the amazing discoveries
along the way. Watch for black bear
or deer roaming through the forest. Fill
your lungs with fresh mountain air; hear
the sounds of nature at work and stand in
places so silent that it can be deafening;
visit a pioneer cabin; and, maybe even see
a ghost, " he adds with a smile.
Generations of Dean's family have
called this region home. " My grandparents'
211-acre farm bordered the park.
They worked with the CCC to 'build the
park.' And, my dad worked there for 43
years. One of my uncles was West Virginia's
first-ever game keeper; and another
was a founding member of The Watoga
State Park Foundation " (where Dean now
serves as a member of the board of directors).
" And, I lived on site for 16-plus
years, " he states.
Dean welcomes fellow travelers to experience
" the peak months of autumn in
nature's paradise with hues of orange, red
and yellow " at a park " so remote that GPS
will not find specific directions to it! Once
you visit, " he concludes, " you'll return
year after year, especially in the fall. Each
autumn when I depart, those rustling
leaves whisper my name to return... and
I do. "
Top Fall Drive Picks:
* U.S. 219 or SR 39 to Watoga State Park
* SR 92 through the adjacent Calvin Price
State Forest
More info: watogafoundation.org; wvstateparks.com/park/watoga-state-park
http://www.watogafoundation.org http://www.wvstateparks.com/park/watoga-state-park http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country September/October 2021
