Shenandoah Pi Day

Because last Saturday was the pi day of the century (3.1415!), I felt it was important to go on an adventure to find some really good pie. There had been a cute, local restaurant near Shenandoah that I'd always wanted to try. In lieu of having a Park Cafe or Johnson's around, The Apple House is probably the next best thing. Plus, who can resist a place with donuts and BBQ?

3-14-15 - Maddie experiments with "double-straw" at The Apple House

Lunch was good, cute, and reminded me of our small-town park days. We took a drive through Shenandoah National Park and the weather was perfect for a short mountain hike, so we stopped for a walk through the woods and to eat our donuts as it began to rain. Alison and Madeline are turning into excellent hikers!

In short, we had an excellent Family Adventure Day! Then again, how could it not be when the day ended with pie?

Shenandoah & the Blackberry Festival

7-26-14 - Skyland

Shenandoah National Park is only one hour away and this year we booked just one night of camping in the Big Meadows Campground.  When we arrived, the park was having their annual Blackberry Festival, which included pulled pork with blackberry relish, blackberry ice cream and local cloggers!  Now, that's what I call a festival!

Just arrived at the Blackberry Festival!

After bumping into Ranger Kelly, who used to be our neighbor at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, we found our campsite, set-up, and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon in the fresh mountain air.

 

"Oo, a rock!  Can I eat that?"

At nightfall, Nathan and I finished one round of cribbage when it started to rain.  Then it started to pour, then thunder and lightning...all night.  At precisely 4:41am, the whole campground was jolted awake by the loudest, simultaneous thunderclap and lightning strike I've ever heard.  There was a faint electronic sound as if a car down the street had short-circuited, but then everything was OK.  Luckily, we all survived.

In the morning it kept raining, so we packed up our wet gear and went home.  We had some pretty amazing views along the way:

It's pretty awesome to live so close to such a spectacular park!

Shenandoah

I have nearly two weeks of freedom before starting the new job.  This week, we took a family vacation and camped in Shenandoah National Park.  Shenandoah is only two hours from us, so it's a convenient place to escape into the wilderness.  It's not the world's best wildlife or scenic park, but I do enjoy the view of the mountains through the haze.

There is a lot of hiking to be done, including pieces of the Appalachian Trail.  We chose to do a shorter hike to Dark Hollow Falls, which, with the kid carrier, turned into an amazing workout for me.

 Dark Hollow Falls

My favorite part of the trip occurred in two doses.  Each morning, we were treated to a half-dozen hummingbirds feverishly sucking down nectar from the blooming milkweed plants next to our campsite.

 Photo Credit: Nathan King

We didn't see any bears, but that doesn't matter.  The real mission was accomplished: introducing Alison to an amazing park and adding to the world another happy camper.

Photo Credit: Nathan King

Shenandoah

We visited too many cities on our Tour d'East Coast and the mountains were calling us.  Shenandoah National Park is perched on the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western Virginia.  These mountains are beautifully different from the ones I've fallen in love with in Montana.  Instead of rocky outcroppings and grueling trails in excess of 10,000 feet, the Blue Ridge Mountains are a gently folding blanket of green trees with gorgeous sun-streaked trails.

The trees were just starting to change colors, but still monotonous enough to make every pull-out look the same.  The road is nice, but the hiking trails are spectacular.  We only had time to do two short trails.  The first one was the Old Stony Man trail, which leads you up to the second-tallest point in the park, a mere 4,010 feet.  We stayed in the Skyland Lodge, which is right next to the Old Stony Man trailhead.  By the time we got checked in and put our gear on, it was 45 minutes until sunset.  Even though the sign at the trailhead told us it would take 2 hours to complete the circuit, we left with 30 minutes to spare and got to the summit to see the sun dip behind a neighboring mountain and were down in less than 45 minutes.

Sunset over Shenandoah Valley

Old Stony Man actually starts on a portion of the Appalachian Trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine, so now I can officially claim I've hiked the Appalachian Trail. :P  It was impressively lovely, especially this time of year with the trail lightly covered in leaves and the sun shining through the yellowing trees.

Appalachian Trail

The next morning, we tackled Hawksbill summit.  We did a three-mile loop that also encompassed part of the Appalachian Trail and ended up on the rooftop of Shenandoah, 4,050 feet.  The view was nice, but there's something to be said for busting your butt all day to get to the top of a really tall mountain vs. doing a jolly 2-hour hike to the highest peak in a park.  I miss Glacier.  Still, there was a fantastic view at the top that is worth the easy walk.

 Hawksbill Summit

South of the park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, which connects Shenandoah to Great Smoky Mountains National Park begins.  I actually liked the scenery on this road better than the parks' - it was a bit more dramatic and in some places more of the trees had begun to change colors so it was very spectacular.

 Trees Outside Skyland Lodge