“Take Me Home, Country Roads” reaching new audiences

Bethesda Softworks this month released a cover of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" to accompany its soon-to-be released West-Virginia-centric Fallout 76 video game. Approaching its 50th anniversary, the song is again reaching new audiences, according to West Virginia Explorer publisher David Sibray: Country Roads reaching new audiences

WVExplorer names Beaver, West Virginia (WV), its community-of-the-month for August 2018

West Virginia Explorer has named Beaver, West Virginia (WV), its community of the month for 2018. Find out more about Beaver here: Beaver, West Virginia.

WV or W.Va. -- which is the correct form of abbreviation for West Virginia?

For many years, "W.Va." was the acceptable form of the abbreviation for West Virginia. The abbreviation could hardly be confused with that of anything else. Thanks to the prevalence of coding systems, however, the form "WV" has entered into widespread use throughout the U.S. Still, authorities on American English have not come to accept the latter abbreviation. What is the correct abbreviation for West Virginia? The authors at West Virginia Explorer have answered the question as best as it might be answered. It all depends, they say: WV or W.Va. -- abbreviations for wonderful West Virginia

Exploring the most haunted places in West Virginia

In search of a spooky good time? They're not hard to find in West Virginia where entire towns are said to be haunted. Follow along with editor David Sibray as he explores the five most haunted places in the Mountain State...

Introducing the five most haunted places in West Virginia

Remastered version of West Virginia Explorer to launch by new year

Editor David Sibray atop Eagle Rock on Great North Mountain, WV

Are you ready to explore West Virginia in a whole new way?

The contributing team at West Virginia Explorer will relaunch its flagship guide to West Virginia by the first of January, just as many explorers are succumbing to spring fever.

Unlike the current version of the site at WVExplorer.com, the remastered site will be wholly integrated with social media, allowing explorers to share their love of the Mountain State in real time through commentary, photography, and video and audio.

West Virginia Explorer was first published in 2000 and swiftly became one of the principal online guides to West Virginia. Now in its thirteenth year, editor David Sibray says he expects 2013 to be very, very lucky for contributors and readers alike.

Sibray LLC moving to Charleston, W.Va.

W.Va. Capitol at Charleston

Sibray Limited Liability Company, the publisher of West Virginia Explorer and the parent of Sibray Public Relations Co, will move its offices to Charleston, W.Va., in September. David Sibray said the move will better accommodate the contributors that the company contracts across the state.

Traditionally one of top three online directories for West Virginia travel information, The West Virginia Explorer over the last year underwent a top-to-bottom overhaul, during which its rankings at search engines such as Bing.com and Google.com were re-ordered. Now that the process is complete, Sibray said the publishing house will need to provide writers, photographers, and other contributors better access to a centralized office environment.

Satellite image of West Virginia at night

New NASA satellite imagery of the Earth at night is making rounds on the Internet, and I was determined to discover what might be seen of West Virginia, my home state. It turns out, quite a lot. The Charleston - Huntington metro corridor, and the Teays Valley, in between, are obvious features. They run nearly east to west. I've added a "C" to the image just northeast of Charleston. Beckley (B) and Oak Hill, to its north, cast a glow  near the center of the southern state.

Extending northeastward from a cluster of lights at Parkersburg (P), a thin but distinct ribbon follows the Ohio River and widens at Wheeling and Weirton. Morgantown (M) is the largest of clusters that follows the west flank of the Chestnut Ridge southwest to northeast from Clarksburg, to the south, far into Pennsylvania near Latrobe. One of the most surprising features, in my mind, is the scattered dim light in the coalfields south of Charleston (C) and west of Beckley (B). I expect this comes from the many small coal camps and surface-mining operations.

Other distinct features that might be discerned in this image include Columbus, (the bright, concentrated node of light northwest of Parkersburg), Pittsburgh, the large cluster of lights north of Morgantown, the D.C.-metro area along the eastern edge of the image, and the thin ribbon of development that follows Interstate 81 across the image from northwest to southeast.

I've included a reference map here to help orient readers who'd like to further explore this image.

Read about dark skies in West Virginia