Consuming the rural, this time in West Virginia

This story, "West Virginia's Small-Town Revival," appeared on the front page of the New York Times Travel section today.   Lots of scholars of rurality are now observing that many folks now experience of or value placed in rurality is only as tourists, as those who "consume" the rural.  This story re-inforces that notion.  Here are two salient excerpts:

The American rural experience, as told by Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, is all about becoming immersed in largely unpopulated, natural places. For weary urbanites, such places offer a chance to find solitude and reflect. Too often, it seems, the scattered towns that dot these landscapes are ignored, lost in the shadow of their wild surroundings. 

So it goes for West Virginia. The mountains — and the wilderness that blankets them — are the stuff of American lore: blue forests, trout-filled creeks, pristine backcountry. For many visitors intent on hiking, biking or rock-climbing, the communities of Appalachia, with their rich folk culture and rugged individualism fail to register.

Though the author then goes on to comment on aspects of that culture--at least in its entrepreneurial form.  Then there is this:

That so few of these [West Virginia] places are familiar beyond outdoor recreation circles is a pity, especially when it comes to towns like Davis, Thomas and Fayetteville: three distinctive communities that are thriving because of — and in spite of — their rustic surroundings.

So, the story's angle is essentially that consuming wilderness also creates ecotourism, which leads to opportunities for the places--however small those population clusters are--close to the natural attractions.  I've written about this in other contexts, most recently here.  I am also reminded of Roderick Nash's argument that "wilderness" is a human construct.