The trip began with a simple idea: A visit to relatives in Parkersburg, W. Va., with a side trip to a new crafts center near Beckley in the heavily touristed area of southern West Virginia. Then it got longer: During our stay, my wife's cousins suggested we extend our weekend and explore some of the great natural beauty to be found in that part of the state.
It was good advice. When we took out our maps, we saw that we could make the swing through southern West Virginia, then cross into Virginia and return via the lovely Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.
While 1,000 miles may seem a bit much for a four-day weekend, with 65-mph speed limits almost everywhere, the distances shrink substantially.
En route, we would marvel at the New River Gorge and the world's longest single steel-arch-span bridge; lunch at a state-park lodge beautifully situated on a cliff over the river and ride its cable car to water level to pedal around in a paddle boat; shop at a just-opened craft center displaying the work of West Virginia artisans; and stare in silent wonder at the great stone arch of Virginia's Natural Bridge -- originally surveyed by George Washington, once owned by Thomas Jefferson and long since a major tourist attraction.
One of the most pleasant surprises of the trip was Parkersburg itself. Not exactly known as a tourism center, the small city nonetheless has enough charm and history to make it a worthwhile detour, if not a destination in itself.
Parkersburg sits on the east bank of the Ohio River and one of its chief attractions lies about a mile and a half downstream -- Blennerhasset Island. Officially Blennerhasset Island Historical State Park, the four-mile-long island is home to the reconstructed Blennerhasset Mansion, several late 18th-century and early 19th-century buildings, a small crafts village, gardens and walking trails.
The island's historical significance stems from the fact that its owner, Harman Blennerhasset, held meetings in his mansion where Aaron Burr and several others plotted (depending on which historian you read) the establishment of an independent nation in the southwestern part of America; the return of the Colonies to Britain; or the overthrow of the U.S. government.
