Shenandoah: Skyline Drive

We planned a whole day to enjoy Shenandoah National Park and we began it at the southern most part of Skyline Drive. Skyline drive is 105 miles and the speed limit is 35 mph so we expected that with 2 long stops and a leisurely pace it would take 5-6 hours. We had breakfast at our hotel and got on the road pretty efficiently and in high spirits.

We pulled into a few overlooks and everyone pulled out cameras. Megan and Rachael have their own cameras so they got tons of shots. Emma doesn't have a camera so I let her use my phone to take pictures. As we made our way along the drive they enjoyed the varied scenic views and plants. Hanna got hungry so we stopped for lunch at one of the picnic areas. Jim made everyone sandwiches while I fed Johanna. By the time we had all used the bathroom and cleaned up all of our crumbs it was an hour later. We continued our drive, this time though, we stayed in the car at overlooks so that Hanna could get a decent nap.

 

When we arrived at Big Meadows Visitor Center we all got out to explore. They had a nice exhibit about the creation of the park, the CCC, and it's history. We also watched 2 short films on the park. The girls were struck by the people who had to leave their homes. Hanna was squirmy so we put a blanket on the floor and let her stretch her arms and legs while we enjoyed the films. As we got back on Skyline Drive we saw a number of deer by the side of the road. Then a short later we saw something black cross the road and an on coming car come to a stop. It was a black bear and 2 cubs. That was a thrill. We all tried to get a few pictures but the bears were moving among the trees so we only got blurry pictures. Still it was a thrill.

I had researched hikes that were good for children and we stopped to hike the Limberlost Trail. It was a crushed gravel path that would have accommodated the stroller easily, but instead we out Hanna in the backpack and Jim carried her. Hanna almost immediately fell asleep. The gravel path was pretty loud under foot so regularly we would all stop to listen to a sound in the underbrush. Everyone was convinced there was an animal right out of sight so there was lots of stopping. We did see lots of birds, 2 deer (one that was right off the path), a few chipmunk, and a bunny. It was a beautiful hike. We got to a crossroads and Jim stayed on the gravel path while I took the girls on the dirt path that met back up after a few minutes. It was much quieter and had more of an adventuring feel that the girls were looking for. It was after 5 by the time we all got back to the van and we were all hungry.  A short way on I spotted a large black bear by the side of the road, so I slowed and pulled over. Again everyone grabbed cameras and those that could got up to the window to see the amazing animal, who was watching us in turn. Again we didn't get great pictures but Jim did get a video.

We moved on again. The sky got very overcast and low clouds hung along the hilltops. The girls declared we needed to play the Misty Mountain song. Jim had burned a CD full of road trip music and had included the Dwarf's song from the Hobbit movie. We turned it on and baritone voices accompanied our trek. We had intended to be out of Skyline Dr. by this time and just have fast food for dinner, but since we still had 40 miles to go we stopped at the Skyland rest stop restaurant for dinner. We were all so thoroughly enjoying the Park. We had released our pre-conceived timeline hours ago. It would be a late night.

The sun was losing it's strength when we pulled back onto Skyline Drive and Emma thrilled at the possibility of catching the sunset. They had been longing to climb on rocks but we hadn't come across any that were friendly to the climbing proposition yet. And then there the were right apart of the overlook. The girls climbed out and then up and over. We let them climb until Hanna had enough of her lonely car seat. Contented they climbed back in. We stopped one last time for a bathroom break and the chance to feed Hanna and put her in her PJ's. This stop gave the girls time to enjoy the sunset and soak in the beauty more fully.

 

The day was a long one, a long beautiful memorable one through land that was set aside for us. We headed out onto the highway to make our way home, full of appreciation.