Almost Heaven, West(ern?) Virginia. Have you ever wondered which state “Take Me Home, County Roads,” the song released by John Denver in 1971, actually references? The questions arise from the first verse when the singer croons about the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River. Want to guess which state has the longest portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains? That’s Virginia. And according to Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains, that’s specifically “western Virginia,” where the range slices “a great crescent.” Only a tiny sliver of the mountain range goes through West Virginia—and none of that is along the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, which spans 469 miles from Rockfish Gap to Cherokee, North Carolina. As for the Shenandoah River, that starts in [guess where] Virginia, where it meanders for the majority of its 57 miles. Just 20 miles of the Shenandoah River slink through West Virginia before emptying into the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry. We’re not the first to burst out into song...