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!
Hi Mattie, what an unusual wildflower. I see on the internet that it's a passionflower (genus Passiflora).
ReplyDeleteEnjoy these last days of your adventure. We're looking forward to having you back next week! Sandy McIntyre