It started as a typical summer at Watoga State Park. But it began and ended as the summer with Tog. There were seven of us hired for the summer jobs. Several of us had been there the earlier summer or two, and we knew each other. The others were new. We were all about the …
Ah, those summertime sights, sounds, and smells entice many people to visit Watoga each year. This summer was no different. From the children splashing about in the pool’s crystal-clear water to a family of deer meandering alongside a mountain stream, there’s always something to fill your senses in this 10,000-acre park. Wildlife, Back to Nature, …
INSIDER TIPS ON GREAT FALL DRIVES Roads less traveled, where to find them and why they’re worth it. Reprinted with permission from Blue Ridge Country magazine’s September/October 2021 issue. For subscription and other information on the magazine, please go to blueridgecountry.com. By ANGELA MINOR One of my favorite pastimes when I was at college in …
In many ways, the area feels like a second home to me. When I drive into the park and see those trees arch over the road, I exhale and sigh the sigh of being at home and at peace. My experience at the park is rich in years. Anything I can do to make sure …
West Virginia’s largest state park made for an incredible childhood home for one local writer. His brief account is published in the February, 2021 edition of Wonderful West Virginia, The Magazine, as The Grandeur of Watoga – Then and Now. Our writer, John Dean grew up at Watoga State Park and is a Pocahontas County native. He …
Christmas at Watoga State Park meant always receiving a special present from my Mom. I still cherish that gift all these years later. Of course, the park unwrapped presents for me to enjoy year-round, especially at Christmas. Watoga appeared to hibernate, but it was alive with life. White-tailed deer still foraged for food in the …
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As 18-year-olds, Judy and Ken Caplinger, II began a 45-year journey of making memories together at Watoga State Park. That first stop: Staying in the aptly named Honeymoon Cabin at West Virginia’s largest state park. This is Part 2. The Caplingers spent time after their wedding at Cabin 34 in the Pine Run Cabin Area. …
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Long before Ken Caplinger, II reached a career pinnacle as West Virginia’s parks chief, he had his coming of age at Watoga State Park. This is Part One. During the early 1960s, Ken, Sr. and his wife, Doris, lived next door to my family from 1962-1964. Accompanying them were their four children – Ken II, …
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. . . The more things change the more they stay the sameThe same sunrise, it’s just another dayIf you hang in long enough they say you’re comin’ backJust take a look, we’re living proof and baby that’s a fact . . . — Bon Jovi Greatest Hits, 2010 I have hung “in long enough” …
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Reminiscing has a way of putting things into perspective, especially during a pandemic. With the pool closed and Labor Day in the rearview mirror, it’s time for our readers’ perspective of their times at Watoga State Park. Childhood Reminiscing Where do I start? Watoga was my adolescence. It’s the place a significant number of my …
Read more “Reminiscing About What Watoga Offers — Our Readers’ Turn”