Spruce and Guns

So what else did I do on my trip to West Virginia? Some things that I thought were very West Virginian. And a good sign of things to come.

In the afternoon after I had 'looked' at some houses, my one host Evan, had been reading about a section of red spruce forest that had been missed by surveyors around the turn of the century. The result is a piece of virgin forest with 250 year old trees! Because red spruce cannot grow at a lower elevation, the one replanted section of forest creates a stark contrast to forests I am used to. The spruce, with their thick, coniferous needles, block out almost all sun light and prevents anythig except moss from growing on the forest floor. The virgin forest has started to change, which the interpretive text panels kept saying over and over again, leaving spruce mixed in with maples, beeches, and other hardwood trees. It was amazing to see these huge trees and realize that it was only because of sheer luck that it wasn't logged with the rest of West Virginia. It was great to be able to just on a whim go look at something and experience something new.

That evening I talked with my other host Russell about hunting and shooting. I had never shot a gun, but hunting seemed to be a favorite topic of conversation. He agreed to take me to the old quarry on Rich Mountain the next day for target practice. I was really excited. Along the way we stopped by Beverly and looked at some work the historic preservation team had been doing and met some volunteers. When we got up to the quarry, Russell went over gun safety, how to load, hold, and shoot his single-barrel 20-gauge shotgun. My excitement turned to nervousness. Guns were a thing of movies, T.V. and videogames. Not shooting at green glass bottles in a quarry in West Virginia. After Russell shot, I gave it a try. I couldn't shoot one he threw in the air. That was a little forward. So I tried shooting a bottle sitting on some rocks a distance away. With the first one, my hand was steady. As I shot, I got more nervous and shaky rather than more relaxed. Finally I was able to shoot some bottles and feel like maybe target practice would be a source of fun in my new West Virginian life.