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Clyde Craig

Clyde Craig is a writer for West Virginia Explorer. Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, he traveled with his family across the globe with the U.S. Army before returning to the Mountain State in 2011.
Each bottle of Smooth Ambler in the collection features custom artwork celebrating the landscapes, history, and outdoor experiences that make the parks iconic destinations. (Photo courtesy W.Va. Tourism)
Attractions

West Virginia state parks, Smooth Ambler expand branded bourbon partnership statewide

by Clyde Craig

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A partnership blending West Virginia’s outdoor heritage with its growing reputation for craft spirits is expanding statewide.Officials with West Virginia State Parks announced that a new series of state-park-branded bourbons produced by Smooth Ambler Spirits will soon be available for purchase at select retailers across the Mountain State.The expanded retail release builds … Read more

A cooling tower is a heat rejection device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature. (Image courtesy Yamantho Supply)
Communities

Data centers collide with West Virginia’s new profitable remote-work, recreation brand

by Clyde Craig

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia has spent the past decade successfully selling itself as a place where people can trade traffic for trailheads. Now, a different kind of growth is knocking at its door—one that gives power back to outside interests: industrial-scale data centers and the power plants and transmission upgrades needed to feed them.Data … Read more

West Virginia University fashion and merchandising experts say staying warm isn’t just about piling on thick layers. It’s about layering smartly. (WVU Photo)
Communities

WVU experts say layering, not bulky clothing, keeps you warmer in winter

by Clyde Craig

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As temperatures drop across West Virginia, many people are pulling wool long johns from storage or shopping for high-tech thermal gear designed to keep winter at bay.But West Virginia University fashion and merchandising experts in Morgantown say staying warm isn’t just about piling on thick layers. It’s about layering smartly.Angela Uriyo, assistant … Read more

New River Gorge Historical Society
Attractions

New historical society to help conserve New River Gorge region in West Virginia

by Clyde Craig

THURMOND, W.Va. — Historians, history buffs, and preservationists have organized a new historical society in southern West Virginia encompassing the region around the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Unlike many such societies established around smaller communities, the New River Gorge Historical Society will emphasize a broader region, which includes parts of Fayette, Raleigh, … Read more

Almost Ghost Town: Jillian Howell interviews Melanie Dragan, whose family helped build the whitewater rafting industry in West Virginia.
Attractions

Ghost town fundraiser to highlight film, uncertain future of Thurmond, West Virginia

by Clyde Craig

HICO, W.Va. — Deep in the New River Gorge, the tiny town of Thurmond is drawing global attention. With just four full-time residents, it is technically one of America’s smallest towns, but filmmaker Jillian Howell insists there is nothing lifeless about it.On January 4, 2026, Howell and her all-Appalachia crew will bring Thurmond’s story—and its … Read more

West Virginia Paranormal Tour
Culture

Why paranormal tourism is booming in almost heaven West Virginia

by Clyde Craig

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Paranormal tourism is booming across West Virginia, but the increase in ghost tours, haunted history walks, and supernatural-themed events doesn’t necessarily reflect a rise in belief in the paranormal.According to David Sibray, publisher of West Virginia Explorer and a long-time interpreter of Appalachian folklore, the state’s growing ghost-themed tourism sector has much … Read more

Attractions

Woodside Fire in West Virginia national forest reaches 75% containment

by Clyde Craig

CIRCLEVILLE, W.Va. — Firefighters in West Virginia continue to make progress in ending the Woodside Fire in the Monongahela National Forest, with containment now at 75 percent. Cooler temperatures and weekend precipitation have helped moderate fire behavior.Crews used the favorable conditions to construct additional handline and dozer line along the 385-acre fire’s perimeter, according to … Read more