Shenandoah NP, Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Smokey Mtn NP

Hello from Florida!

Yes, the expedition has ended (safely) and we are ensconced in our FL residence.  We arrived on Tuesday - one day earlier than expected.  When we checked in at the Townsend, TN KOA on Monday, our plan was to stay two nights.  However, when we arrived we learned that the weather called for a better than 60% chance of rain that night and all the next day.  This was not very good news since our itinerary on Tuesday included a scenic drive and golf.  So we made the decision to head south.  We also made the mistake of planning our drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway on a Holiday week-end (during leaf-peeping season) so traffic was miserable although we did see some beautiful scenery.  This post will cover all the spots in the title above - the last 5 days of the expedition.

The foliage was not as brilliant on the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah as on the Blue Ridge Pkwy.  The shot below is typical of what we saw.

No sooner had we entered the park we saw this white tailed deer - abundant in the park and along the drive.  There are also Black Bears in the area but we did not see any of those.  We also saw lots of Wild Turkeys.

Skyline Drive goes along the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains and sometimes through it.  Below is the Mary's Rock Tunnel - one of several on the drive. 

Some fun facts about the Skyline Drive:  it is 105 miles long with a speed limit of 35 mph which means it takes a minimum of three hours to take the whole drive.  It was begun in 1931 and finished in 1939 at a per mile construction rate of $50,000.  The highest elevation is 3680 feet and there are 71 Overlooks.  The feature below is called Stony Man and if you really use your imagination (and squint just a little) you can see what looks like the outline of man's face (if he is laying on his back).  At least that is what the interpretive sign said.

We took a "short" hike to Dark Hollow Falls.  The info about the hike said it was 1.6 miles round-trip with an elevation drop of 426 feet.  What the info neglected to say is that about 350 feet of that elevation drop was at the bottom 1/3 of the hike.  It didn't sound like much standing at the sign and reading the details.  But it felt like a lot while actually walking (or climbing) it.  I could almost hear the Applachian Mountain Club members laughing (demonically) in the distance.

The next day was a non-driving day so Jim could play golf at Vista Links in Bueana Vista, VA.  It seemed like a good idea when I was planning the trip last summer.  The shot below is how the day started out.  Jim is the dark spot on the left.  He teamed up with Jerry, the hunched over spot on the right.

The guys seemed to enjoy the round - especially once they could actually see where their golf balls went and the weather cleared as seen below. 

Turns out the non-driving day was a blessing.  We would have been driving in that pea-soup fog, seeing nothing, for several hours before it burned off.  In the afternoon we went to a drive through Safari Park adjacent to the KOA.  It was an interesting way to pass the afternoon and we got to see this giraffe up close. 

The next day started out the same, foggy way but as we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway we emerged from it several times - sometimes below it and sometimes above it.  A sample of each is shown below.

The next two days were spent driving the Blue Ridge Parkway.  When I lived in South Carolina, I heard a lot about the Parkway and since then have wanted to drive the full length.  It was exciting to start the drive (immediately after the Skyline Drive ends).  Unfortunately, there was about an 18 mile stretch that was closed for repairs and we had to follow a detour.  So, technically, this item on my bucket list is still open but I am confident that we will make it up at some point in the future.  We ran in and out of fog - especially in the mornings - on the drive as seen below.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles long - 217 miles in Virginia and 252 miles in North Carolina.  Compared to Skyline Drive, the speed limit on the Parkway is a zippy 45 mph.  Once on the Parkway, we began to see much more color in the trees (below).  If you click on the photo you will see in larger and you may be able to pick out the Linn Cove Viaduct on the left side of the shot.  

The Parkway is one of those places I would like to re-visit, maybe in the Spring.  There are mountain laurels all along the road and it must be beautiful in full bloom. 

So that is the whole 36-day trip in a tiny nutshell.  The total miles travelled was just shy of 6015 miles.  By comparison we drove 12,146 miles during our 56 day trip out west in 2007.  I have 2187 photos in my Expedition folder.  I've already deleted at least 500 which were repeats or came out blurry.  I imagine it will take a few weeks (or longer) to go through them all again and organize my favorites. 

We already have two more trips brewing.  One will be the history tour of the Washington Monuments, the historice battlefields, and Jamestown / Williamsburg.  The other will be to Colorado - a state sadly missing from our last westward trip.  Not sure of dates as yet but we will keep you posted. 

Finally, if you would like to weigh in on YOUR favorite photo from the blog, we would love to hear from you.  Thanks for taking the time to come along with us and we look forward to sharing our future travels with you.

Mattie and Jim







 

Virginia Sights

Greetings family and friends!

We have been in Virginia for the last 4 days. The weather has finally cleared (except for some early morning fog) and the temperatures have been brisk in the morning and warm in the afternoons.  On Tuesday, we left our friends in Delaware and headed south to visit the Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge before crossing over the 17.5 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel.

The flower (below) was about the most interesting "wildlife" we saw in the park which is located just before the Bridge - Tunnel.  Does anyone know what this is?

The shot below was taken just before we started our crossing of the Chesapeake Bay.  This bridge-tunnel combination was quite impressive and we wondered how the tunnels were actually built.

From there we took the scenic Colonial Parkway through Williamsburg over to Jamestown Settlement.  Unfortunately, we arrived late in the afternoon and felt we would not have enough time to really see the area.  We are planning a future trip to the Washington DC monuments and have decided to add both Jamestown and Williamsburg to this trip so we can spend at least a day to a day and a half to really see the area.  Below is the entrance to the Jamestown Settlement. 

We stopped for a dinner in Williamsburg since we were staying at the Williamsburg KOA.  This was an attractive building in the old part of town.  I, for one, am looking forward to spending more time here on a future expedition.

On Wednesday, we started across Virginia heading for Shenandoah National Park.  Actually, we went due North and then West, but I digress.  We stopped at the Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge (just outside of Annapolis) which was created specifically to preserve the feeding and nesting habitat of Bald Eagles.  The Ranger at the welcome center noted that we were in luck since it was a windy day and Eagles love windy days.  Suffice to say that, despite ample wind and sunshine, there was not an eagle to be seen.  We did see a gaggle of Canadian Geese, several very furry caterpillars (which I believe is an omen of a hard winter), and several turtles like the one below.  The turtles were all sunbathing - something I am looking forward to when we get to Florida.







We spent Wednesday night in Front Royal, VA - at the northern end of Shenandoah National Park and the start of the Skyline Drive.  The next post will cover that and the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

Later!

Pennsylvania through Maryland (September 30 thru October 4)

Greetings from Virginia!

It seems like a lot has happened since the last post.  We left Connecticut early last Friday morning in great weather after a rainy Thursday.  We took the Delaware Water Gap Scenic Drive - or at least we tried to.  After about 3/4's of the way, the road was closed and we had to turn back and take an alternate route to the Delaware Water Gap KOA. In fact, the weather was SO NICE (and we had left SO EARLY) that we decided to tour Bushkill Falls on Friday afternoon.  This turned out to be a very good decision.

If you have not visited Bushkill Falls, you should plan to do so.  There are several waterfalls in a concentrated area and they are all beautiful.  Bridesmaid's Falls (below) is an example.

On thing that amazed us was how much water was roaring in the Bushkill River.  Jim was looking over my shoulder while I was reviewing the Bushkill Falls photos and he noted that the pictures don't do the scene justice without hearing the sound of the water pounding through the area.  Parts of PA and New Jersey have received the highest rainfall amounts in August and September since records started being kept.  We would have liked to have had a way to compare what we saw to normal water levels.  

The shot above shows a fairly common sight along the river.  So much water running in the area has compromised the banks of the river in many places causing trees to topple over.  The excess water was also common on the trails through the area.  We were often walking through water on the trail as seen below.  We were very grateful for our waterproof hiking boots.

In the shot above, the third tree slice from the left side of the photo provided added thrills by rocking significantly when we stepped on it.  FUN!

The next morning was raining and cold.  We had originally planned that I would go to Bushkill Falls while Jim played golf.  We were happy to have seen the falls on Friday when it was drier and warmer and Jim was there to help me along the hiking trails.  Jim decided to skip golf which gives you an idea how bad the weather was.  We moved on to our next destination taking a scenic drive that was also partially blocked because of water on the road but this time there was a detour.  We did stop at the Washington Crossing monument near Trenton (below).

The monument was presented to the people of the United States in memory of Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on December 8, 1776 by the Indiana Limestone Industry.  My guess is the monument is made of limestone.  As I mentioned above, the water levels in the area are very high as again evidenced in the photo below also taken at the Washington Crossing site.

When we got to the West Chester KOA (on the banks of small river) we saw the tree below.  Jim is standing next to it so you have an idea of the size of the tree.

Sunday, we drove from West Chester to visit friends in Selbyville, DE.  On Monday, they took us to one of their favorite spots - Assateague Island in Maryland.  The island is a National Seashore and State Park most noted for the wild horses that roam the island.  We had several sightings (see below for a sample) which was the first major wildlife we have seen on this trip so far. 

The other facet of Assateague that is quite beautiful is the beach (below).  The long, flat, sandy beach extends out flat for quite a distance out into the water from the beach.  This makes for some nice large waves coming on shore.  We saw the fisherman you see here plus several surfers.  Note the dark sky.  We had rain on and off through the day.

Our next stop was Chincoteague in Virginia.  This island is actually connected to Assateague but there is no road that goes from one end of the island to the other so we took a long ride to get there.  Below is the Assateague Light, built in 1866 to replace the smaller light built in 1833.  The light is 142 feet tall and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  Note the sky.  This is the same day as in the shot above. 

After a very enjoyable visit with our friends, we headed for Williamsburg, VA.  But that will have to wait for the next post as it is getting late and we have a busy day tomorrow.  From where we are in Virginia, we are officially moving south on our way to Florida where we will be on October 12.  There will be at least one more post from the road before we get to FL and a final one after we get there.  Until next time!