White Grass Ski Touring Center in Canaan Valley , W.Va., is celebrated for its unusually curvy and hilly cross-country skiing terrain. Chris Jackson for NPR hide caption

Chris Jackson for NPR

DAVIS, W.Va. — Stretching nearly a million acres through the rugged mountains of eastern West Virginia, the Monongahela National Forest links some of the state's best known natural attractions. The vast area ranges from the ski slopes of Canaan Valley to the dark skies of Blackwater Falls and Spruce Knob and includes the small towns of Davis and Thomas that serve as gateways for visitors to the region.

For the past seven months, Kaleb Skelton, his wife, Ella, their 2-year-old son, Ryder, and dog Mabel have lived in a camper in this corner of West Virginia's "almost heaven." Kaleb is finishing a seasonal stint as a campground manager on a lake near Spruce Knob, the state's highest point.

On clear nights atop the isolated peak, they get to experience a river of stars in one of the very few pockets of darkness…