Fall Colors in Shenandoah

Shenandoah Nat'l Park--looking west toward West Virginia

The fall colors we saw in Upstate New York two weekends ago (blog post forthcoming--having to rewrite this one after losing it during a computer crash!) and the sense of impending winter got us out the door on a cool, crisp day this past weekend in search of some more fall beauty and harvest-time treats.

We had been keeping a close eye on the "fall color update" blog on the NPS website for Shenandoah National Park because we knew the display along Skyline Drive, which meanders its way through the park along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, would be spectacular.  

Here's an enticing passage from the latest park ranger blog entry describing the display going on in the park:

"Sumacs throughout the Park are in different stages. These shrubs don’t ever seem to play by the rules: in places where the rest of the woods are mostly green, sumacs might explode in unnatural-looking neon palettes; where the woods are every shade you can think of, the cagey shrubs might still be as green as Ireland. Sassafras trees are festive – turmeric gold in some spots, a candy bowl of tones – all on one tree – somewhere else. Along Skyline Drive scarlet Virginia creeper slithers over rock walls, as if trying to escape the lowlands and sneak across the road to safety. You might suddenly look up and catch a golden-orange hickory rising like a Jack-o’-Lantern into a turquoise sky – a scene so instantly lovely your next breath fails you and you gasp with glee."

Endless views from one of the many overlooks

We entered the park just north of Charlottesville, and drove about 65 miles north on Skyline Drive, exiting the park several hours later at its northern border in Front Royal.  The pictures (although they don't do justice to the colors), will show you some of the sights we saw along the way.

On the ridgeline on scenic Skyline Drive

Literally ablaze with color

Incredible views on a gorgeous, sunny day

Enjoying unexpected splashes of color

Deep reds into browns

Some trees were a palette of color, all on their own

Glimpses of nature's mosaic around every turn

This tree was about halfway through its transformation

Gorgeous reds

Happy adventurers

If we look a little blue-lipped and cold in the pictures, we definitely were!  An Arctic front had blown in for the weekend, and most parts of Skyline Drive seem to be around the 3000' elevation.  The winds were gusty, and temps never got out of the high 30s.  At one stop, we noticed there was something blowing around in the air, and we realized it was snowflakes that had formed due to some slight moisture in the air.

On top of the world, Mom!

Not surprisingly, we weren't the only ones who had the idea to head to the Shenandoah.  Thankfully, we trusted our hunch that there would be less traffic driving north through the park rather than southbound.  At times, it was a little like driving through parts of Yellowstone, where people abandon their cars in the middle of the road to get pictures of bears, only here people were hurrying to capture pics of the fleetingly beautiful fall colors.  

Navigating the impromptu parking lot of cars

Constant stream of cars coming southbound on Skyline Drive

Corridor of color through the windshield

On the way home, we stopped by The Apple House in Front Royal for fresh apple cider and their legendary hot apple cider donuts (yum!).  

Hope magical fall colors and tasty harvest treats are delighting your days, wherever you are, dear family and friends!

Semper Fi

It's hard to miss the unusual structure on the east side of the freeway as you're headed north on I-95 near Quantico, VA (about 40 miles south of DC).  We've driven by it many times on our way to/from other carpe diem adventures, always in too big a hurry to stop.

The National Museum of the Marine Corps opened in 2006 and serves as a tribute to Marines, past, present and future.  Its design is meant to bring to mind the brave Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima.

Replica of Iwo Jima near the museum

Even though our colors fly blue and gold now, the hubs still bleeds scarlet and gold ("Once a Marine, Always a Marine"), so it was especially meaningful for him to get to spend time there.

These pictures don't do the place justice, but if you get a chance to go, be prepared to be blown away from the moment you walk through the doors.

Soaring atrium in the entrance to the museum

Planes from all eras on display

We have seen a lot of aviation and military museums, but I was overwhelmed by the quality of the exhibitry and the sheer volume of information conveyed.  It starts with the birth of the Marine Corps at Tun Tavern in 1775 and takes visitors through Vietnam.  

Early battle flag of the Marines

Ironclad in the Civil War era

Drum major for the President's Own (the Marine Corps Band)

World War I Marine aviation

Young Marine aviator

Young Marine in the War of 1812

Very lifelike!  

Marine anti-tank gun with crew

Vietnam-era M50 Ontos ("Thing") Tank Destroyer

The motto of the US Marine Corps is "Semper Fidelis" or "Semper Fi" (always faithful).  When the nation has called, the Marines have gone, to every clime and place (such as China during the Boxer Rebellion, or the Barbary Coast or, more recently, Iraq and Afghanistan).

The museum will begin construction of its final phase starting early next year, teaching visitors about the Marines' role in present day conflicts.  Go and see this museum if you get the opportunity, and God bless the Marines!

Colonial Market & Fair

Even though only half of us were reenacting, we were ALL excited to venture down to Mt. Vernon once again, this time for its Colonial Market & Fair.  

This is an annual event where dozens of vendors, performers and reenactors gather together on the grounds of Mt. Vernon to ply their wares and share their crafts and talents, colonial style.  

There were weaving demonstrations . . .

Weaving linen

and several potters and other artists doing ceramics demonstrations . . .

and wonderful musicians singing and playing period favorites . . .

The Ship's Company Chanteymen

Common Stock Entertainments

and woodworkers and furniture makers and all manner of other 18th century goods made by hand, such as soaps, glass, paintings, textiles and clothing.  

The old General himself (the esteemed General George Washington), also held forth in a massive tent periodically throughout the day, engaging in discourse with the visitors to his lovely estate.  

And of course there was a HUGE line at the bakery, which only took cash and had us fishing for spare change in my purse so that we could enjoy some of the goodies.  Who knew something as simple as a slab of bread with a generous amount of well-aged sharp white cheese could be so delicious?

A familiar Colonial sampling the wares at Crown Point Bread Co.

But visitors young and old came rushing over to the nearby military encampment when the drummers summoned the soldiers with the call to arms.  Members of the rifle and musket companies and the dragoons of the First Virginia Regiment gave thrice daily demonstrations of their skill throughout the weekend, engaging the audience in various battle scenarios and skirmishes that might have taken place during the 18th century, bringing history to life for young and old.  

It was a big weekend for our oldest boy (pictured below), as he turned 16 over the summer, which meant he actually got to load and FIRE the musket (versus just going through the motions and pretending to fire) . . . and he got to borrow a prized regimental coat to complete his "kit" for the event.  He was in heaven, as is evident from the photos below.

Our own much-loved members of the 1st VA musket company

It doesn't get much better than this!

The encampment

Oh my, who is this handsome fellow?  (Lol!)

Eligible young musketry men and their commanding officer

Executing a right-wheel maneuver to get to the battlefield

Demonstration by the 1st VA musket company

A few of the dragoons

Thanks for the wonderful time, Mr. Washington . . . can't think of many better things to do on a cool, pleasant fall day!

Great Falls Park

We've been cooped up for much of the summer helping the little guy recover from major back and leg surgeries, but we were finally able to make an excursion to an amazing national park everyone has been telling us about that's only about 15 miles from our house!

Great Falls Park is where the wide and mighty Potomac River chokes down and flows through a narrow gorge as it heads toward Washington DC and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.



The result is a breathtaking stretch of whitewater and waterfalls that meanders through the jagged rocky outcroppings of Mather Gorge, on the border between Virginia and Maryland.

The rapids vary from Class II to Class V and higher.  I don't know if my Dad ever saw this on any of his many trips out to DC for work, but I know he would have enjoyed looking at and "scouting" the river to find the best and safest route through and around the hazards.  This stretch of the river is definitely not navigable in a drift boat, but the kayakers downriver were playing around in the rapids and having a great time.

Other "Fun Facts":  

-  Washington D.C. and the surrounding area relies on the Potomac watershed for the majority of its water.  

-  The park ranger at one of the overlooks was telling tales of the various high water marks (see photo below) that have occurred over the years due to quick melts of particularly large snow falls, massive rainfall, and the like.  Apparently the river will back up and flood here very quickly because it's narrowing down from about 1000 feet wide upriver to about 75 feet wide as it makes its way through the gorge. 

-  George Washington surveyed and spent much of his life in and around the Potomac Basin, and he led an effort to construct a canal system on the Virginia side of the river to facilitate trade and commerce upriver.  

-  The first canal system only operated about 30 years, but it was replaced by a canal system on the Maryland side of the river that still exists today.

We'll definitely be back to this beautiful place before winter sets in, and next time we'll bring our picnic basket!