Shenandoah National Park

    Alright, let us begin with a confession. I have no idea at all how or why I have failed to post about Shenandoah NP until now. Shirley and I have just returned from a fall trip that included Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Cumberland Falls St. Park in Kentucky, Great Smoky Mountains NP, and up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Shenandoah NP. We have been visiting Shenandoah since the '70s when family vacations seemed to alternate between the Smokies and Shenandoah because both are within a one-day drive of Toledo. Shenandoah served as a base for visits to numerous other destinations in Virginia: the homes of Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe; an amazing number of Civil War battlefield parks; the Historic Triangle that includes Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown; Colonial era mansions on the James River--Sherwood Forest, Westover, Evelynton, Berkely and my favorite, Shirley Plantation. There were also family tours of Washington, DC reached from Shenandoah as well as Assateague National Seashore on the Delmarva Peninsula.

   So, when Shirley and I returned from this most recent trip, I downloaded photos and updated posts for the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway. That's when I discovered there was no place to put the Shenandoah pix. But it is at least partly your fault. You are the one, after all, who failed to tug my sleeve and say, "Oh, please, please share your travel photos from Shenandoah." 

   Perhaps you can be excused because you have read several accounts of Shenandoah in my monthly "A Walk in the Park" column in Healthy Living News. Which, by the way, includes yet another in the Nov. 2021 issue. Just in case you have not, here is a thumb-nail summary of what to expect in the park.

   Shenandoah was established in 1930 with land purchased from residents along the Blue Ridge in Virginia. Much of the timber had been logged and the land cleared for farming. Though Jefferson loved the view of the Ridge from Monticello, by 1930 historic photos reveal it was far from attractive. Still, the Park Service built Skyline Drive that runs 105 miles along the crest and has allowed the forest to re-establish itself naturally. What you see today is nothing at all like the barren, heavily eroded land of 1930. Only Congress would decide that such a desolate looking place would make a great national park. Well, hurray for Congress! This was one of the four or five times they have been right since 1798. 

   There are impressive vistas from most of the 75 pullouts along Skyline Drive even though, in some places, the forest has grown right up to the road, obstructing the view. Not to worry. There are still plenty of opportunities to enjoy the scenery. To the east are the mountains and rolling hills of the Piedmont and to the west is the Shenandoah Valley with its tidy farms and tiny towns. Beyond that, the Allegheny Mountains march toward the horizon until lost in the mist and haze. Wildlife includes deer, bears, and wild turkeys.

   In spring, the wildflowers, flowering trees and shrubs are simply spectacular and the fall color season attracts leaf peepers from all over. But never mind all the talk. Just look at the photos. At last.
 

For those who prefer not to camp, the lodges at Big Meadows, Skyland,

 and Lewis Mountain are attractive options.

Scattered among the trees of the forest are hold overs from the homes and

farmsteads that were there before the park was established. Deer do an

excellent job of cleaning up the fallen apples.

Dark Hollow Falls is only a mile and a half roundtrip.

The Bearfence Rock Scramble is popular with the strong and agile. 

The "trail" is cracks and crevices in a rock outcropping.

Rapidan Camp was President Hoover's version of Camp David used

for fly fishing vacations and private consultation with government 

officials. At the end of his term, Hoover donated it for inclusion

in the new Shenandoah National Park