Wonderful West Virginia Magazine an Extravaganza of Photographs

I received a subscription to Wonderful West Virginia magazine in September 2005 as a birthday present, and it turned out to be one of the best gifts that I have ever been given.

I received such a gift once before. That was back in the early 1990s when I moved to Phoenix, Arizona. As a native West Virginian, I missed my home terribly. Although I enoyed my time in the Valley of the Sun, West Virginia called me. I returned to the Mountain State any time I wanted through page after captivating page. I thoroughly enjoyed my subscription but, unexpectedly, I moved back East and the subscription ended soon after. .

Today, now more than 12 years later and a resident of West Virginia again, I enjoy this monthly log of photographs and worthwhile stories of my home land.

The magazine is jam-packed with large, colorful photographs and several informative, interesting articles. It is usually laid out with roughly 35 to 40 pages. Artistically taken photographs of museums and their contents, aged barns, Victorian houses, covered bridges, Sugar Maple trees, Rhododendrons and various wildlife forms and landscapes throughout West Virginia's 55 counties routinely fill the magazine.

Well-written articles include topics from former grist mills and covered bridges to old glass houses and balloon festivals.

I have not decided which I prefer between the captivating color pictures or the comprehensive, entertaining articles.

On one hand, the photos often take me back to my past experiences growing up in Ohio and Marshall counties, West Virginia, and they keep me humble as I flip through pictures of today in the Mountain State. On the other, articles that depict history as well as current events keep me watching the mailbox month after month.

Features that I can count on issue upon issue include, but are not limited to, a calendar of events from around the state and a 'bookshelf' of featured books written in and about West Virginia.

The lone drawback, as far as I am concerned, is that the magazine would be better served with even more featured photographs and articles.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources have been publishing the magazine for decades near the banks of the Kanawha River in the state capital in Charleston, West Virginia.

I know that I will be renewing my subscription in late summer. There is also a very good chance that I will consider renewing the subscription for more than one year.

My recommendation is that anyone with a tie to Wild Wonderful West Virginia pick up a copy of the magazine. Give it a chance. It has the potential to draw you, and others, into the Mountain State for years to come.