On our way to Shenandoah we giggled at every "Charlotte, NC" sign we found! Charlotte was so pleased!
We arrived at the South Entrance to Skyline Drive (Rockfish Gap mile marker 105) late in the afternoon. Our plan was to drive the entire length of Skyline Drive in segments over the three days we were there, south to north.
Mama was pretty excited to be in a new National Park!
We stopped at various overlooks on the way to the cabin. It got so late we even stopped and had a picnic dinner and explored.
Our first hike the next morning was to Hawksbill Summit. It is the highest summit in the Park at an elevation over 4,000 feet. It was overcast and there were low clouds up in the mountains, so we didn't have visibility at the top, but we were nonetheless thrilled to hike the trail!
This picnic shelter is near the summit...
Nicely photographed, Eliza!
After the three mile hike, there was still no rain. So we decided to hike another loop...this one 8 miles long with views of some amazing waterfalls.
Eliza wanted more of a challenge and elected to carry Owen's backpack for a while...
Whew! Conquered it...it was a challenge!
We stopped by the Visitor's Center for a bit and Mama and Daddy had to get a picture with Stephen Mather (since Shenandoah doesn't have the memorial plaque dedicated to him that a lot of other National Parks have).
The next morning was steadily rainy, so we helped the kiddies work on their Junior Ranger badges and went to some Ranger Programs. The morning program was about screech owls (and the second was about flying squirrels).
They completed their activities and programs...they got "sworn in" as Junior Rangers!
In the afternoon the rain coats were not even needed, and we went on a Ranger led hike about the different types of volcanic rock along a stretch of the Appalachian Trail in SNP.
In addition to learning about the rock formations, we saw evidence of bears...here is an old slash mark on a tree!
Our last day in the Park we drove the rest of Skyline Drive and made our way to the North Entrance (Front Royal mile marker 0) and went on a couple more hikes.
The first hike was long and explored a Hollow where a few "mountain families" used to live before the National Park Service acquired the land.
We found the old stone foundations to many small structures.
We also found one of the oldest abandoned (and unmaintained) cabins from one of the families. It was eery to get a glimpse into the history of the land...
This cabin (Corbin Cabin) was renovated and is maintained by the local AT Club and is rented out to hikers.
Back onto Skyline Drive...
Our final hike was short and led us into another Hollow which was farmed and owned by several generations of a "mountain family."
Besides all of the old piles of stone we found along the way, the coolest part was finding the old family cemetery. It is still maintained to an extent by descendants of the family.
Two markers in the cemetery honored the mens' involvement in the Civil War as Confederate soldiers.
Goodbye, Shenandoah!
No comments:
Post a Comment