March 30, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caryn Gresham
304-558-2200, ext. 347
cgresham@callwva.com

West Virginia destinations featured on Weather Channel

Four West Virginia sites will be featured this week on the Weather Channel's Road Crew show. The Road Crew production team visited West Virginia in mid-March to shoot the segments for this national program.

Two shows will be featured on March 31 and April 1 during the Weather Channel's Evening Edition (9 p.m. - 11 p.m. ET) and two on April 2 and 3 during the Weekend Planner (7 a.m. - 11 a.m. ET).

Thursday, March 31 -- Heritage Farm Museum & Village, Huntington
"Weather was something that they absolutely lived by. It was not a matter of inconveniences, it was a matter of life and death, truly." Mike Perry is an amazing man with a mission: Preserving and recreating his Appalachian heritage for future generations. Kelsa Kinsly and The Weather Channel Road Crew learn how West Virginia settlers survived brutally cold winters and hot, humid summers without today's modern conveniences.

Friday, April 1 -- Winfield Locks & Dam, Winfield. How do you get millions of tons of cargo across West Virginia mountains? Using river locks and dams is one way. Almost 18 million tons of cargo went through the Winfield Locks and Dam (on the Kanawha River) in 2004. The Weather Channel Road Crew finds out how this engineering marvel works in almost any kind of weather.

Saturday, April 2 -- ATV'ing on the Hatfield-McCoy's Little Coal River Trail. With over 500 miles of trails to explore, this is now the largest trail in the National Trail System. And an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) might be the most fun way to experience West Virginia's beautiful mountains. Kelsa Kinsly takes one of these amazing four-wheel machines up hill, down hill, and through knee-deep mud, while turning our guide into a nervous wreck. Find out why ATV's are popular year-round fun machines. They're even a blast in the snow!

Sunday, April 3 -- West Virginia State Capitol Dome Restoration, Charleston. In 1988, this historic landmark's dome was covered in brand new gold leaf. But West Virginia's weather extremes did a number on new dome, making another restoration necessary. This time, the entire dome is enclosed in a climate controlled covering. Kelsa Kinsly and The Weather Channel Road Crew discover how controlling temperature and humidity will make this restoration last for decades.

Information about the Road Crew and the West Virginia shows can be found at http://www.weather.com/newscenter/roadcrew.

The West Virginia Division of Tourism coordinated the Road Crew's visit with special help from Mike and Henriella Perry of Heritage Farm Museum and Village, Craig Warner of the Cabell/Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Peggy Noel of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Todd Markle at the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority and Diane Holley of the West Virginia Department of Administration.

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