WHO Linda Oliver, 58, a dentist, and her husband, Bill Oliver, 58, an electrical engineer
WHAT 4-bedroom house
WHERE Morgantown, W.Va.
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Linda: There are folks who want to escape to nature, who yearn for privacy and head to the outdoors to find that. We aren’t those people. In fact, we hardly ever come here by ourselves.
Bill: We first started coming to the Canaan Valley decades ago. We’d rent houses up here each year and host retreats for the college kids at our church. When we finally decided to buy this lot and build, we wanted it to be a refuge not just for us, but for others as well.
Linda: And that is exactly what has come to pass. We still host the retreats, as well as other events. But now a lot of those college “kids” have kids of their own, and they come along, too.
Bill: Although the property is only five acres, there are no fences or visible markers between our land and the tens of thousands of acres that make up the bordering national wildlife refuge.
Linda: And that refuge is land that belongs to everyone. You aren’t trespassing when you walk across the property line. The heavens and the wetlands and the mountains and lake are intended to be appreciated and shared. To witness the various mosses and ferns, to see the moon rise over the lake, to see the wildlife in this setting is restorative in ways that are hard to describe. I like to say that being here leaves us physically refreshed and spiritually renewed. Our guests tell us they feel this way, too.