Happy 4th, Shenandoah NP day 3

Today is our last day here. We got up early and got a head start on the mob. The hike was a 5 mile loop, a good portion was along side a cascading creek. It was excellent. Tomorrow we head further north into Pennsylvania. One observation about our stay here. Probably 1/3rd of the people staying in the campground are from India or Pakistan. We have never seen that anywhere before. There is probably a flight from Mumbai to Washington Dulles that brings them in. We are not to far from Washington. Anyway, we feel good about our visit to this park. We have seen quite a bit of the Skyline drive and hiked a few miles in the backcountry. Below are some pics taken on today's outing.

Shenandoah NP day 2

Today's adventure was a 6 mile out and back to the 2nd highest waterfall in the park (87 feet). We decided to go early so that we could nab a parking spot at the trailhead. When we got there there were maybe 10 cars. When we got back 4 hours later there were probably 100. There is a 10 person limit in most of the buildings so, consequently there are long lines everywhere of people waiting to get in. The crowds remind us of Acadia in Maine. That's not a compliment. This is the 4th of July during a pandemic. Anyway, our hike was excellent. I took the pic of the flower and Jenny under that tree because that is a Mountain Laurel. That looks nothing like the Texas Mountain Laurel all of my Texas relatives are used to nor does the flower have that distinctive grape smell. More tomorrow.

Shenandoah National park

Just a quick post. We drove 55 miles to get to the "Big Meadows" campground. A bunch of it was on the Skyline drive (35 mph) it took a while. We are near 3000 feet elevation and it is way cooler than it was at the river. That's good because the campground has no electric. It has no water either. We can run the generator and our water tank is full so I should stop with the negatives because it is really pretty. We are exploring a little around the campground this first day. There is a lodge with a restaurant and lounge. This being 4th of July weekend, things are going to get crowded. The campground has no cell so we will have to go to the lodge to make any calls. Probably do some hiking tomorrow.

Shenandoah SP day 5

This is our last day in the SP. Tomorrow we move into the NP with no hookups. This will be a 4th of July weekend adventure. The NP campground is sort of in the center of the park. We should be able to see some different sights if we can find a place to park at the trailheads. Today was a biking day. I rode some single track stuff this morning and then Jenny & I rode along the river. We didn't want to, but we had to visit the local Walmart this afternoon. As you can see in the pic we had some essentials to buy. We have no idea about cell coverage at the new campsite so it's best to be pessimistic. I know some of you live for these blog posts but all I can do is try my hardest. Sometimes, that's not good enough.

Shenandoah SP day 4

I pumped up my SUP this morning and paddled up the Shenandoah river for an hour. There was a pretty good current and several ledges that caused some consternation but I got a good workout. After lunch was administrative work. Laundry mostly. We got a call from the New York park honcho and he was very pleasant giving us bad news. We had to cancel our first 3 nights in his great state. We were going to visit "The Grand Canyon of the East" Letchworth State Park for a 4 night stay. It's one night now. Oh well, you gotta be flexable. We have booked 3 nights in Pennsylvania in a state park near the NY border. The SP we are in now has a bunch of Mountain bike trails and I have been trying to kill myself every afternoon. Very little blood has been let so far. We have to leave the park to get any cell reception. Today required some effort to find and book the Pennsylvania camp site so we have been sitting in a picnic area in the National park. Not sure what well do tomorrow. It's after 5 so I have a thirst to quench.

Shenandoah SP day 3

Today we drove back into the National park and did a couple of hikes. This park was cobbled together from numerous private farms and established as a park in 1935. There is evidence everywhere of those farms. We visited one of those today.---subject change---We are headed to New York. The Governor has decreed that SC residents are diseased and should not be allowed into his state unless they have been out of SC for 14 days. Our first NY campsite is on day 12. (We drove into Virginia on the 27th). We talked to a big wig at the park we will be visiting and he was sorry but he would have to think about our predicament and get back to us. The plot thickens. I'll let you know. Below are some random pics taken while on our hikes.

Shenandoah SP day 2

We spent most of today driving on The Skyline drive through the northern 1/3rd of Shenandoah NP. The Skyline drive is sort of like the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are numerous pullouts with expansive views and also many trailheads. This was kind of an exploratory first day. We are looking for interesting places to hike to. We did do a few hikes, one short stretch was on the Appalachian trail. The Skyline drive mile '0' is in Front Royal VA. We are currently sitting in a parking lot after eating a pulled pork sandwich that was cooked on a smoker on the side of the road. They call themselvves "Two Fat Butchers" believe me, they are. Anyway there is cellphone coverage in this small town so Jenny is making her calls and I'm doing this. More tomorrow.