Shenandoah National Park

Today we headed to Shenandoah to experience Skyline Drive. It's basically exactly like the Blue Ridge Parkway (the road snakes over the top of the mountains) only this portion of the road you need to pay an entrance fee. We drove up to the visitors center, got some maps, and took a tour of the little museum. I found the museum fascinating – and amusing. The first thing that amused me was the fact that I can't get enough of natural history, but have zero interest in just about all other history. For instance, yesterday we strolled into the visitor's center in Lexington. I asked for some suggestions on what to do during our very short visit. The nice lady told me all about the General Lee museum. She said that I could see the first ever portrait of George Washington and if that wasn't exciting enough, I could see Stonewall Jackson's war coat with a bullet hole in it. Wow, this is excitement at it's very best. I tried to be polite and act as if this was even remotely interesting when all I really wanted to ask was, "Where can I buy a baseball cap and get an ice cream cone?" You couldn't pay me to go and look at a portrait of George Washington, but I could listen to stories about how that water carved the Natural Bridge all day.

The second thing that amused me in the museum was great. A little boy of about 7 or 8 years old was completely intrigued by one of the exhibits. I overheard his grandfather telling him, "I have one of those at home." The boy was only half paying attention as he was playing with this object in amazement. A few minutes later the little boy ran into his father and all I could hear was, "Dad, you have to check this out. It's the coolest thing ever. Come here and see this." I just couldn't resist following them to see what the little boy so desperately wanted to show to his father. You ready for this? This was it:

Ok, enough indoor entertainment. We left the visitors center and found a great hike. After carting our hiking boots for 200 miles yesterday, this morning we decided not to bring them. Figures. I had to hike a few miles in my motorcycle boots, which wasn't too bad then, but I now have a few blisters brewing. The weather was perfect and the sights were, as usual, superb.

After lunch the clouds took over and we knew thunder storms were on the way. Being the chicken that I am, I insisted that we head back to town. This time we took a different route through the rolling farmlands. The minute we got down from the 3,000+ foot elevation the weather was sunny and warm. We really enjoyed the ride and never did see any rain. Since we got back sooner than planned we shopped at a cool little Amish market. We bought all kinds of snacks and now we're all set for tomorrow's road trip to the shore.

I posted the photos from today's journey online here.