West Virginia

GET CRAFTY – West Virginia has kindly concentrated its considerable artisanal talents in Tamarack, an attractive one-stop tour of the state’s local artists. There’s plenty of shopping, but if you’re shopped out, you can just watch a blacksmith, potter, woodcarver, or textile artist work. Tamarack is right off I-77/I-64 in Beckley.

GORGE-OUS – The New River (actually, one of the oldest rivers in the world) cuts its way through the Appalachians to form the New River Gorge, near Lansing. In any season, but especially fall, views from the top of the gorge near the New River Bridge are breathtaking. Learn more about this underappreciated natural wonder at www.nps.gov/neri/index.htm.

ON THE MOUND – Prehistoric Native Americans created massive burial mounds more than 2,000 years ago, generally found in the East and Midwest. One of the largest of these, the football-field-sized Grave Creek Mound, is in – surprise! – Moundsville, south of Wheeling. An associated museum tells what’s known about the people who created the mounds. Get started at www.wvculture.org/sites/gravecreek.html.