Mountain Times ~ Supplement to the Pocahontas Times ~ SnowShoe, Slatyfork, Green Bank, Cass, WV

Focusing on the resort and tourist
community of Slaty Fork, Snowshoe Mountain, Cass and
Green Bank

Vol. 3 No. 7
July 2004

Serving SnowShoe Mountain, Slaty Fork, Green Bank and Cass
"News you can resort to"

Second Section of
The Pocahontas Times
Post Office No. 436-640
ISSN No. 07388373

Upcoming Events Around the Mountain Resort

July
AROUND THE COUNTY
Star Lab € Every Thursday at 2:00 p.m., NRAO, Green Bank 456-2150 Limited space: 15 participants/program. Who cares if it's cloudy! Guests will gather inside a portable planetarium for a fascinating look at the sky above.
Public Tours € NRAO, Green Bank. 456-2150. Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, Open Daily. Free tours begin at the top of the hour: 9 AM - 6 PM. Group tours: motor coach groups, school groups and youth groups, civic clubs, amateur astronomers are welcome! Please contact us for reservations. Call 304-456-2164 or email gbt-tours@nrao.edu.
Solar Viewing € NRAO, Green Bank. 456-2150. Offered every sunny day at 2:45 PM at the science center. Get a SAFE peek at the sun through an optical telescope... and observe the sun with a radio telescope!! Free, no reservations required!
July 2, Jul 30 € Murder Mystery Train, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park 1-800-CALL-WVA or 304-456-4300. Come enjoy this whodunit train ride to Whittaker; includes dinner and entertainment. Train departs at 5 p.m. Make your reservations early; you won¹t want to miss this one!
July 2 € Science Film Fest € NRAO, Green Bank. 456-2150. The show starts at 6:30, and will be science or sci-fi based. FREE to the public. Call for movie title.
July 2 - 3, Jul 30 -31 € Moonlight Fire on the Greenbrier Rail Excursion, Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad 877-686-7245. Offered on full moon nights during the season, this late evening excursion begins with a buffet dinner at the Durbin Depot followed by a trip along the beautiful, moonlit Greenbrier River. Train departs the depot at 8 p.m.
July 14, 28 € High Tech Wednesdays € NRAO, Green Bank. 456-2150. 3:30 PM. $3.00/person . Limited space: 15 participants/program. Participants will be guided through areas of NRAO normally off limits to visitors, like labs where sensitive receivers are designed and built.
Jul 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 € Fiddles and Vittles Train,Cass Scenic Railroad State Park 1-800-CALL-WVA or 304-456-4300. New features this year take a train ride to Whittaker Station and enjoy dinner and live bluegrass music along the way.
July 4 - 7 € Greenbrier River Inn to Inn, Elk River Touring Center 800-572-3771. Experience the off-road countryside of the county at your leisure, overnighting at B&Bs along the way. Beginner to intermediate, great for families and couples.
July 8 -11 € 38th Annual Pioneer Days, Downtown Marlinton 800-336-7009. Four days of arts and crafts, music, street dances, horse & buggy rides and lots of summer fun. Folks come from all over the country to meet friends who come back just for Pioneer Days.
July 9 - Jul 11 € Fly Fishing Weekend, Elk River Touring Center 800-572-3771. Offering weekend and four-day midweek fly fishing schools including lodging, meals, equipment, flies, and instruction. Beginner to intermediate.
July 12 € Star Party € NRAO. 456-2150. All star parties begin 30 minutes before dark. FREE! NRAO staff will orient guests to starry sky. Bring optical telescopes and binoculars. Cloudy weather will cancel this program. Orientation at the tour center.
July 14 - Jul 17 € Durbin Days, Downtown Durbin 800-336-7009. Craft show, entertainment, gospel music, train rides, fire works and a lot more.
July 16 € John McCutcheon in Concert, Opera House in Marlinton, Second Avenue 800-336-7009. McCutcheon has been called "the most overwhelming folk performer in the English language." Join us at this performance and you'll hear why!
July 23 -25 € Gauley Mountain Tour, Elk River Touring Center 800-572-3771. A three day, two night trip designed especially for returning singletrack graduates, with some technical terrain as well as scenic dirt roads to connect trails. This is a dream come true for riders who enjoy singletrack, great food, and this beautiful area.

On The Mountain
For more info about any events at Snowshoe, call 877-441-4FUN.

July 2 - 5 € Independence Day Celebration. Celebrate Independence Day in the cool mountain air and enjoy great foods, fun-filled activities for the family, bluegrass music, and a spectacular mountain-top fireworks display.
July 10 € 12th Annual Fire On the Mountain Chili Cook-off. Recognized for years as one of the largest and best cook-offs in the country. Live entertainment, family fun, arts and crafts and plenty of chili tastin' from some of the East's best chili cooks make this one of the best event weekends of the year.
July 20 - 25 € Freedom Fest Motorcycle Rally. The perfect week for the motorcycle enthusiastŠ all brands welcome. Bike shows, live entertainment, great times with friends and some of the best mountain road touring in the East make this rally one not to miss.
July 28 - Aug 1 € Snowshoe Institute & Symphony Weekend. A celebration of the best of human endeavors highlighted by symphony performances, guest speakers and workshops in music, history, writing, theater and more.

Come on and take a freeride:

Mountain bike park can soothe the savage rider

Die-hard freeriders find some thrills on Snowshoe Mountain's new Freeride Mountain Bike Park
Photos courtesy Snowshoe Mountain Resort

Drew Tanner
Staff Writer
      This summer Snowshoe Mountain opened its newest attraction, a free-ride Mountain Bike Park featuring natural and man-made rock drops and challenging descents. According to Dave Huber, Manager of Outdoor Adventure Programs at Snowshoe Mountain, the cutting-edge park brings new trends in freeride mountain biking from the Western United States and British Columbia to the East.
      Freeriding, said Huber, is a sort of cross between mountain biking and BMX, focusing on technically challenging terrain and features. The course, "primarily designed for the intermediate to advanced rider" according to Huber, features boardwalks, ramps, jumps and drops that are "insanely high off the ground."
      A full helmet and array of protective pads are standard equipment for riders in the park. The ride surface itself can vary from a generous 32 inches to a scant five inches in width.
      "This is the type of riding you're seeing in places like the X-Games," Huber continued.

Designed by Racers Edge, headed by Mike Hartlove, the course features natural, as well as man-made, drops, jumps and features
Photos courtesy Snowshoe Mountain Resort

      Daunting as it sounds, Huber noted the site was designed "so the average person could ride the course." While some of the riders have expressed a wish for more technical features, Huber said "it doesn't do any good to build features that 80% of people can't ride."
      According to Huber, the park's layout, trails and features were designed by Mike Hartlove, of the Maryland-based Racers Edge biking organization.
      The Mountain Bike Park enjoyed a successful opening on Memorial Day weekend, according to Huber, with somewhere between 120 and 150 riders on Saturday alone during the Snowshoe Freeride Festival. The weekend festival featured live entertainment, bike demos, cookouts and the grand opening of Snowshoe Mountain's Mountain Adventure Center Bike Shop. Huber said the Mountain Adventure Center "is the only bike shop like this in the Mid-Atlantic."

For those just starting out in freeriding, Snowshoe offers half-day and full-day instruction sessions.
Photos courtesy Snowshoe Mountain Resort

      At the Mountain Adventure Center, guests and visitors to Snowshoe Mountain can find the latest in high-end bikes and gear for cross-country riding, full-on downhill and freeride. The bike shop rents bikes as well as all the pads and helmets riders might need.
      According to Huber, those who like to plan ahead "can call, make a reservation and pick up a tuned bike." Guests can also have their own bikes serviced by the shop's technicians. Huber noted that with the opening of the Mountain Bike Park, Snowshoe Mountain is in the throes of its busy season for cycling. During June 10-13 the resort hosted the National Off Road Bicycling Association's National Championship with more than 1,200 racers participating. Two weeks later, Snowshoe Mountain hosted 24 Hours of Snowshoe one of the largest 24-hour team relay mountain bike races in the country with more than 2,500 participants. Then, on September 11-12, Mayhem in the Mountains--the West Virginia State Championship and Mid-Atlantic Cup finals--comes to Snowshoe, with pros and amateurs alike competing for more than $5,000 in cash and prizes. The event is also a qualifier for U.S. National Championships.

Everything you need to take on the course, from bikes to pads to helmets, can be found at the Mountain Adventure Center.
Photos courtesy Snowshoe Mountain Resort

      If you're a mountain biking novice or if seven-foot rock drops and screaming downhill descents aren't your cup of tea, Snowshoe Mountain offers several other options for cyclists of all abilities and interests. Huber noted that many beginners enjoy the guided half-day trips along the Greenbrier River Trail from Clover Lick to Marlinton offered by the Mountain Adventure Center and more than 120 miles of cross-country trails, many of which are accessible by lift or shuttle.
      Another unique offering is the Cass Scenic Railroad bike package. Guests take a shuttle to Cass from the resort, ride the train to Bald Knob, then enjoy lunch and a guided cross-country tour from Bald Knob to Snowshoe.
      Back on the mountain, packages include two-hour, half-day or one-day freeride instruction sessions as well as half-day or full-day cross-country instruction and tours.
      From the extreme to the serene, Snowshoe Mountain's biking programs, packages and events offer something for cyclists of all walks or rides of life.

One of Marlinton's best kept secrets in affordable lodging:
It's okay to fall asleep in this church

Situated along a quiet stretch of 9th Street, in Marlinton, McCall's Lodging is conveniently located near downtown Marlinton and the Greenbrier River Trail.
Photo by Drew Tanner

Drew Tanner
Staff Writer
      Bikers touring through the area, hikers and cyclists looking for a bed and a shower or those just passing through should look into one of Marlinton's best kept secrets in lodging. McCall's Lodging provides all the amenities typical of a motel, lodge or motor-inn at a bargain price.
      Joe McCall, a Pocahontas County native, renovated the 65-year-old former Nazarene church on 9th Street and opened it up as a a smoke-free eight-room lodge in November, 2003. Six of the rooms in the historic stone building have two full-size beds, while the remaining two have one. Each room includes linens and towels, cable TV, full bath and reclining chair.
      Guests can also enjoy shared access to a lounge area with coffee pot and microwave ovens, coin-operated washer and dryer, phone and a small kitchen with electric range, refrigerator and freezer.
      Only two blocks from the Greenbrier River Trail, and convenient to downtown Marlinton, McCall's Lodging is the perfect stop for a rewarding night of comfort or shelter from inclement weather along the trail.
      Groups are also welcome to rent out the entire lodge, which sleeps 28 total.
      Centrally located in Pocahontas County, McCall's can also serve as a convenient "home base" for those seeking to explore the county's many trails, byways and trout streams for several days without breaking the bank.
      For those considering an extended stay, McCall's also offers three efficiency suites available for nightly, weekly or monthly rental. The suites are located on Fourth Avenue and are just a stone's throw away from the Greenbrier River Trail, the Convention and Visitor's Bureau office and State Route 39 in downtown Marlinton.

The rooms at McCalls Lodging are simply furnished, but each has one or two full beds, an easy chair, TV and full bathroom.
Photo by Drew Tanner

      Each suite features one-to-two double beds, private bath and cable TV. Two of the suites have their own kitchenette, while the other comes with a small refrigerator and microwave oven. Whether staying for a night, a week or a month, McCall's Lodging is one of the best values in lodging in the county.
      McCall's Lodging is located at 619 9th Street in Marlinton. Reservations can be made by stopping by or calling 304-799-7427 or 304-651-6042. This summer, rooms at the lodge begin at $29.95 for single occupancy. Each additional person, up to 4 total, is an additional $10. The entire lodge can be booked for $350 per night.
      The efficiency rooms on 4th Avenue are available for $30-50 per night, $100-150 per week or $300-550 per month. ‡

ADVENTURES IN GOOD EATING

Lunchtime patrons enjoy a meal in the newly remodeled Dories, located in the Marlinton Motor Inn.
Photo by Pam Pritt

Doing lunch?
Try Dorie's
Pamela Pritt
Managing Editor
      Dorie's has been a traditional dinner spot for some time now, but with the addition of lunch and weekend breakfasts, the restaurant has opened new possibilities for weekday lunchtime outings.
      The former Shawnee Room at the Marlinton Motor Inn, Dorie's has undergone a facelift as well as a menu boost.
      The walls are now paneled in light-colored wood and the lighting is much brighter than it used to be. And the walls are now adorned by large paintings of the depot in Marlinton, a ski scene at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, and in the bar, a fall scene complete with deer.
      But the atmosphere is not all there is to enjoy at Dorie's.
      The food tastes like homecooked and is reasonably fast for lunch. Not only that, the menu offers a side variety, so even picky eaters in your party can find something to satisfy their taste buds.
      And satisfy their hunger pangs, as well. Dorie's serves generous portions. Take the taco salad, always a favorite around here. The plate is piled high with seasoned ground beef and nacho chips, as well as the lettuce/tomato garnish, and the sour cream and hot sauce are served on the side. It takes a steady eater to finish the meal, but it's worth the effort‹every bite is delicious.
      Another Mexican delight, the jumbo burrito, is filling, as well, with the same seasoned ground beef and lettuce and tomatoes, all wrapped in a flour tortilla and topped with salsa and sour cream. Your choice of filling includes beef, bean or chicken. Dorie's offers more Mexican options like the taco supreme, nacho supreme and cheese nachos.
      Dorie's also has a way with the Rueben. The corned beef is lean and there's plenty of it on Rye bread with sauerkraut that's just the right blend of sweet and sour and a hearty helping of Swiss cheese, along with Dorie's special sauce.
      Other available sandwiches are the ham and cheese, breaded chicken, BLT, club, grilled roast beef, tuna melt and Philly cheese steak, all priced less than $6.
      The restaurant offers a variety of salads, including a steak salad that's a delicious boost for your midday meal. Strips of tender steak top the greens, tomatoes and other veggies and cheese. Dorie's also tosses a few french fries on the salad for a nice complement to the steak. Also try the chef salad and grilled chicken salad.
      Dorie's also has daily lunch specials. For dinner, Dorie's has a variety of options with fish, chicken, roast beef, baked ham, steak, shrimp and spaghetti.
      Friday nights are special at Dorie's with a one-pound shrimp special and your choice of potato, green beans and tossed salad.
      For dessert, Dorie's offers apple, coconut cream, blackberry, blueberry, butterscotch and peanut butter pies, hot fudge cake and cherry or blueberry cheesecake. ‡

Season kick-off at Opera House
Formidable folksinger returns to Marlinton July 16, Chamber Players round out month

      A packed house came to hear world-renowned folk-singer John McCutcheon perform at the Pocahontas County Opera House in Marlinton last summer and it was a highlight of the year for those lucky enough to attend. This enormously talented, charming and gracious musician has agreed to return this year to launch the 2004-2005 performance season. Don't miss his encore performance on Friday, July 16 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $7 and will only be sold at the door

World-renowned folk-singer John McCutcheon

      John McCutcheon wasn't supposed to become a folksinger. He was headed for a career as a social worker in migrant labor camps. But Woody Guthrie got there first. McCutcheon heard the songs of the Dust Bowl refugees, the Grapes of Wrath stories that crackled on the airwaves of early 1960s radio and knew something else was going on.
      While still a college student, McCutcheon took up the banjo "to help keep myself sane" and went off the deep end. He heard recordings of Roscoe Holcomb and Clarence Ashley, walked out to the end of the college road, stuck out his thumb, and never looked back.
      He ended up roaming the Appalachians, trading a university classroom for the front porches, picket lines, union halls, churches and square dance barns of his adopted home. Under the tutelage of some of the greats of traditional Southern music he quickly mastered seven different instruments, became an insightful and powerful singer of traditional songs, and honed an ear for a good story. Songwriting, storytelling, social activism all met and finally made sense.
      From this series of chance beginnings, McCutcheon has become what one Australian paper called "the most overwhelming folk performer in the English language." His mastery of American folk music and instruments, complemented by "storytelling that has the richness of fine literature" (Washington Post) weave intimate, insightful and often hilarious canvasses on which McCutcheon draws his vision of Americana. Johnny Cash called him the most impressive instrumentalist he ever heard. His songwriting, rich in detail and broad in scope, has created a catalog of hundreds of songs covered by performers throughout the world. As one reviewer put it, "calling John McCutcheon a 'folksinger' is like saying Deion Sanders is just a football player."
      The Opera House series continues the following Friday, July 23, at 7:30 p.m. with The Garth Newel Chamber Players performing works by Dvorak, Prokofiev and Mendelssohn. The players are Katie Lansdale, violin; Timothy Shiu, violin; Evelyn Grau, viola; Suzanne Wagor, viola; and Tobias Werner, cello.

The Garth Newel Chamber Players are resident and guest artists at the Garth Newel Music Center

      The Garth Newel Chamber Players are resident and guest artists at the Garth Newel Music Center near Hot Springs, Virginia. They are known for high energy performances, virtuosity and offering fresh insight into both standard and new repertoire. Their concerts are informal, conversational, and even interactive. They perform over 50 concerts each year at Garth Newel and have recorded two CDs and performed extensively throughout the United States and on five continents. In November of this year they will make their New York debut at Carnegie Hall.
      Tickets to the Garth Newel performance are $5 at the door.
      This concert is part of a performance series sponsored by the Pocahontas County Opera House Foundation with financial assistance through a grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
      Financial support is also provided by Pocahontas County Drama, Fairs and Festivals. Programs at the Opera House are casual and family-friendly. For further information, call 800-336-7009, or (304) 799-4636.


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Building Supplies
Gas 'n Groceries
Gifts is sponsored by the advertisers
you see on our pages. Please take time
to patronize their businesses!

Outfitters
Restaurants
Realestate

Burton ~ Salomon ~ Nitro ~ New and Used Demos Come talk to the resort's most
experienced snowboard outfitters.
Store Sale 20 - 50% OFF
Ski and Snowboard Rentals and Sales
1 mike south of WV 66 ~ 304 572-4173

Open Daily 7:30 am - 11 pm, Later on Friday

Largest Ski and Snowboard Rental Co. in the Southeast 304 572-1234
Located at the corner of Rt. 219 and Rt. 66
LOWER RATES ~ FRIENDLY SERVICE
All Ski & Snowboard Clothing and Equipment
ON SALE!!!
Entire 2nd Floor DISCOUNTED

SNOWBOARD & SKI RENTALS
Great Quality, Great Prices
Daily 7:30 am - 11 pm
Friday 7:30 am - 2 am    304 572-1200
route66@neumedia.net

Restaurant
at the Inn at SnowShoe ~ EVERY WEEKEND ~
SHOW COOKERY & BUFFET STATION
Room service available 6:30 am- 1 am
Lounge hours
Mon. - Fri. 4:30 pm - 1 am
Sat. amd Sun. 1 pm to 1 am
Menu Items available daily 'til 1 am
~ 304 572-1000 ~

Open 7 AM until 9 PM
Home of the $4 breakfast!
Located on the corner of
Rt. 219 and Rt. 66

An intimate off-mountain dining experience
Featuring an International Buffet with
live local music each Thursday nite.
5 miles south of WV 66 on US 219
Open Thursday thru Monday evenings
For reservations call:     304 572-3771
Privately owned and operated Since 1982

Douglas S. Keith, Broker
Christine Butler, Assoc. Broker
Beverly Figg, GRI ~ Matt Matthews
Raymond Godwin     304 572-5687
P.O. Box 364 Snowshoe, WV 26209
Visit our Office in Shaver's Centre, Snowshoe Mountain

Presenting the Height of Luxury
Allegheny Springs at Snowshoe Mountain
Yours to own 1-800-489-1943

Mountain Country Properties
304 572-4663      mcpinfo@sunlitsurf.com
David Curtis, Broker
Sales Associates: Jeanette Canada, Bet Curtis P.O. Box 7
Slaty Fork, WV 26291
on Rt. 219, about 1 mile south
of Rt. 66 intersection.

Glades Hardware

Marlinton WV
304 799-4912

Calhoun & Kipp
Unique Items from around the world.
Mon. thru Sat. 10 am 'til 9 pm
Sunday 9 am 'til 8 pm
304 572-5250

advertising@pocahontastimes.com

Eight Rivers Web Designs Last update July 5, 2004
by Michael Condon omb00875@mail.wvnet.edu

	Douglas S. Keith, Broker Christine Butler, Assoc. Broker Beverly Figg, GRI ~ Matt Matthews Raymond Godwin 304 572-5687 P.O. Box 364 Snowshoe, WV 26209
Visit our Office in Shaver's Centre, Snowshoe Mountain

Mountain bike park can soothe the savage rider

It's okay to fall asleep in this church

Doing lunch? Try Dorie's

Formidable folksinger returns to Marlinton July 16, Chamber Players round out month

Doing lunch?
Try Dorie's