All talk of solar and wind energy feels worlds away. We're in Beckley in Southern West Virginia, in the heart of coal country. Of course, it's a bit ironic that we wake up to no power at all -- a consequence of last night's freak storm ("there's been nothing like this in the history of Beckley!") with 75 mph winds, leaving 300,000+ people with no power -- and none expected until at least Monday.
We head to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, but find that it's closed because of the power outage... a real bummer considering that's why we came here in the first place (the mine here opened in 1890 and closed in 1910). But no matter. If there's anything India has taught us, it's that things can't be planned.
We end up exploring anyway and spending a good chunk of our morning speaking with Sonny, a retired coal mine worker who begins sentences with phrases like: "I do declare". A logger in the 1940s, he started working in the mines in 1949, retired nineteen years ago, and has been giving tours of the mines ever since. When we tell him we're from New York, he replies with a drawn-out charming Southern drawl, "Well, I s'ppose y'all can't help that, can ya?" We experience Southern hospitality and charm, as the center opens its doors for us and gives all sorts of advice for what we can do today.
But the first stop: get gas.
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