Shenandoah

In the spirit of adventurers who have gone before, our Corp of Discovery's mantra for this year is "carpe diem."  We promised each other before we took on this opportunity that we would use every spare minute to see some historic site or take in a museum or artistic or cultural event.

Last Sunday we had our first chance to do just that.  We packed a picnic lunch and headed out the door!

Shenandoah National Park is only an hour and a half west of the DC-metro area.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, so we decided to drive a portion of Skyline Drive, a road that runs along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are part of the larger Appalachian mountain range.

We entered at the farthest north entry point at Front Royal.  The fall colors had probably peaked about a month before, but it was beautiful nonetheless.



There were overlooks around every corner, and we saw lots of deer.








The views looking down on the Shenandoah Valley to the west and the layers of mountains as far as the eye could see were breathtaking.



We reluctantly left Skyline Drive at Thornton's gap, one of the passages through the Blue Ridge mountains used by Confederate General Stonewall Jackson to move his troops during the Civil War.  There were many Civil War battles fought in and around the Shenandoah Valley from 1862-1864.  The Union ultimately took control of the Shenandoah Valley, but the Confederates had some successes and used it to screen their movements and make headway towards Gettysburg.

We look forward to seeing more of the Shenandoah Valley when the wildflowers are blooming in the Spring!