{"id":100,"date":"2009-06-04T15:59:12","date_gmt":"2009-06-04T20:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/?p=100"},"modified":"2009-06-04T16:18:55","modified_gmt":"2009-06-04T21:18:55","slug":"almost-heaven-photography-in-west-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/almost-heaven-photography-in-west-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Almost Heaven Photography in West Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Virginia<\/strong><\/span> is one of the most beautiful states in America for site seeing and outdoor recreation. Throughout the state, there are many parks and forests that you can visit within a relatively short time. West Virginia is diverse and unique in landscapes and scenery because of the rural areas that continue to be unpopulated and remote from industrial society\u2019s scenery pollution. Anyone who has ever been to West Virginia and explored the vast parks, and forests the state has to offer realize why the state is deemed \u201cAlmost Heaven\u201d. All the way from the New River Gorge and Bluestone area in southern West Virginia to the Dolly Sods and Black Water Falls parks in the northern parts of the state West Virginia has anything that the outdoor enthusiast could ever want. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Although there are several other activities throughout the state of West Virginia such as fishing, hunting, white water river rafting, I enjoy just simply exploring and finding the most beautiful areas to photograph. Exploring and Photography is what the good Lord has given me for a new hobby once I was Born Again. You know when you turn your life over to Him He will replace the old corrupt things of the world with the pleasant things that are of Him. Whenever I get away and go up to the mountains it is so relaxing to find a beautiful spot, just relax, and read the Holy Bible. When you get away from all of the hustle and bustle of daily life you can focus more on the presence and love of God almighty. One day there is going to be a New Heaven and a New Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. There will no longer be corruption, death or despair and depression. He has all this prepared for those that love Him and except the precious gift of His son Jesus Christ. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In order to help those that visit this site and have the same interests in photography, I have compiled a list of areas that are very nice to visit and explore when you get a chance to either get away from where you live outside of West Virginia, or if you are a resident of the Mountain State. I am not going to provide website links but simply just the name of the places that you can visit and a link to my favorite photograph of the mentioned area. You can use any search engine such as Google or others to find the official sites and maps of the areas. You can recognize the names of these areas in the following paragraphs by the italicized<\/span><\/em> fonts. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Monongahela<\/span><\/em> National Forest <\/span><\/em> stretches from the southeastern region of West Virginia all the way to the northeastern panhandle area of the state. The Monongahela<\/span><\/em> National Forest <\/span><\/em> <\/span><\/em>contains several smaller individual parks that have recreational areas, which provide activities for everyone in your family. I highly recommend obtaining a Monongahela<\/span><\/em> National Forest <\/span><\/em> <\/span><\/em>map so you can see all of the individual parks and areas of interest through the areas. We will give some details about my favorites that the Lord has allowed me by His grace to visit in this article however, there are so many areas to visit I could never include them all in an article.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most popular areas is the Cranberry Wilderness<\/a> <\/span><\/em>area, which is in the lower parts of the Monongahela<\/span><\/em> National Forest <\/span><\/em> . Cranberry Glades<\/a><\/span><\/em> <\/a>is a unique and picturesque area for hiking, camping, fishing and photography. The glades are a type of boggy swampy forest area that usually only exists in areas more northern than West Virginia . Cranberry Glades Botanical Area<\/a><\/span><\/em> has a very nice boardwalk that you may walk on to preserve the bog and see the diverse plant life that is in the swampy forest. Some of the unique types of flowers that you may happen across are carnivorous insect eating plants that trap bugs that inadvertently climb into the plants mouth! There is a visitor center just outside of the road that leads to the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area<\/span><\/em> that you can stop of and visit to learn about all of the areas wildlife and plant life that exist in the area. If you continue past the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area <\/span><\/em>you will enter into the Cranberry Wilderness Backcountry <\/span><\/em>which is a wonderful area for hiking, exploring, camping and fishing. You should be aware that black bears, bob cats and coyotes live in these areas so if you hike or camp throughout the area make certain to keep your food put away because they can smell your food for a long way. The backcountry is especially a nice area for photographing streams and falls of the runs that come down the mountain into the cranberry river. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n