Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Day 52

After leaving PA, we passed through NJ, DE, MD, skirted Washington, DC and entered VA on our way to Shenandoah National Park. The scenic roadway, rock walls, tunnel and many of the original structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Park was formally established in 1935. We entered the park from the north and began our 105 mile journey down Skyline Drive, following the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The winding road featured 75 overlooks with magnificent views of the mountains, Shenandoah Valley, and white oaks.

Part of the famed Georgia to Maine Appalachian Trail runs adjacent to Skyline Drive. For a brief moment, I thought about the idea of hiking it, until Bob reminded me that it was close to 2,200 hundred miles.

All along the highway, there were many white-tailed deer camouflaged so well in the trees, it made it difficult to see them until they jumped out to cross the road.

We also saw plenty of hawks and an occasional peregrine falcon. Since it was getting late in the day, we decided to stay at the first campground, Matthews Arm. We were ready to relax, cook dinner outside, and enjoy a campfire. On Thursday, we took a 4.5 mile hike to Elkwallow wearing just our long sleeved t-shirts. We were surprised to hear that last week, they had a nor’easter and the park was shut down for a couple of days due to snow. We counted our lucky stars that we missed it! After two days, we were ready to move to Big Meadows campground, 30 miles south. I wanted to try out my new mountain bike and talked Bob into going exploring as soon as we unhitched and got settled.

We woke the next day to rain and fog and spent the day doing laundry, reading, and relaxing at the Lodge while checking on email. After dinner, we decided to return to the Lodge to hear an Irish folk-singer. The fog was so thick, we had to creep along in the truck, using the white arrows on the campground roads as our guide. By Friday, it was warmer but still overcast. We went to the Visitor Center and took another hike. On our way back to camp, we spotted a black bear stalking deer and a sow and her cub up a tree. By Saturday, we were ready to get off the mountain and move on to Virginia Beach. As we hit sunshine and warmer temperatures, we were ecstatic, rolling down the windows and opening the sun roof.