Driving the Skyline Drive at Shenandoah National Park

#NatureWritingChallenge Topic: An underrated experience at a National Park, refuge or National Forest.  Check out the challenge here.

(Note: Rules for this challenge include writing, unfiltered, on the topic for no more than one hour.  Please forgive typos and incomplete thoughts)

After spending a couple of days in Charlottesville, VA (awesome!), we took a day to meander to visit my mom at her D.C. home.  We drew our route so that we could drive through Shenandoah National Park’s beautiful Skyline Drive.  To date, this has been one of the most underrated experiences in the parks that I have had.

We drove the Skyline Drive as part of a week-long trip where Jason and I planned a route that took us through numerous National Park Units through the Virginias, D.C., Maryland and Pennsylvania.  My mom had recently started working for the federal government after returning from a couple of years of service in the U.S. Peace Corps (much respect for the volunteers out there!)  We traveled through many cities on this trip, but our primary anchors were Charlottesville, Washington, D.C. where my mother was living, and Gettysburg, PA the last major stop of our itinerary.

According to the National Park Service website, “Skyline Drive runs 105 miles north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park and is the only public road through the park. It takes about three hours to travel the entire length of the park on a clear day.”  Check out a map of the park here.

I didn’t really know what to expect beyond a long scenic drive because I didn’t know anyone that had any familiarity with the park and what it had to offer.  Most of the reviews that I had read talked about how beautiful the park was in the spring when the vegetation was blooming, and in the fall when the colors were popping.  We visited in early spring before any real blossoms were manifesting themselves on the branches, so I really wasn’t expecting to be wowed.  That being said, I went into the experience expecting to enjoy a scenic drive en route to D.C., getting a Passport stamp in our little books, and not much more.  Boy was I wrong!

We entered the 105-mile drive at the Rockfish Gap entrance to the south which was not too far from Charlottesville.  Here, in addition to taking our photos at the entrance sign, we had an unexpected treat!  When we got out of our vehicles, there was an elderly couple that were waiting anxiously that hailed us to stop and chat about our location and the time.  They shared that they were there to pick up their grandson who had embarked on a long-distance hike over a week before, and who was expected to emerge from the line of trees where we entered at any minute.  Our timing couldn’t have been any better, because within a few minutes of our arrival, we got to witness the reunion of grandparents with their grandson who had just hiked the length of the park!

This was my first time witnessing a SERIOUS- SERIOUS hiker (which I would consider to be someone that hikes over the course of more than one day).  I still remember my amazement at this young man’s accomplishment as:

1. I wasn’t expecting that anyone would hike that long (I really hadn’t considered that it was a thing to do), and
2. retrospectively, the terrain was anything but straightforward.  I contemplated what it would take to “walk” a straight path for 100+ miles, and then compounded the toll that the difficult changes in elevation would take, and how much preparation one must have to put themselves through in order to even consider taking on a challenge like that!  Much respect!

We stopped midway at the Byrd Visitor Center, and got lunch at the Spottswood Dining Room at Big Meadows Lodge.  It was quaint restaurant with the friendliest servers that served meals on disposable plates.  The lodge area also had some shops and a stand that sold homemade candy and fudge.  Who doesn’t love homemade fudge? 😊

It was neat to learn some of the early history of the park as many of the towns in the valleys were somewhat insulated and difficult to get to.

There were a lot of pull offs along the roadway that twisted and turned, into and out of hillsides.  One of my favorite places was at a tunnel that was formed in the side of a mountain.

…and I am running out of time for this week’s challenge… I will post some of the pictures that I took… and perhaps finish some of the stories in another post.  Happy travels!