Saturday, September 10, 2022
We ran out of coffee this morning, so we walked to the campground store (which didn’t open until 9) to get a cup of their free morning coffee. While there, we also bought some more coffee grounds and pancake mix. So, back in our motorhome, we had a pancake breakfast with real maple syrup that we had purchased in Pennsylvania earlier in the trip. After breakfast, we drove north up the Shenandoah Valley and then headed east up the Blue Ridge to the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.
The southern end of the Skyline Drive is at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Rockfish Gap, VA. The Skyline Drive runs across the top of the Blue Ridge for 105 miles with its northern end at Front Royal. It was completed in 1939, much of it being built by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers.
We started without a plan, but ended up entering the Skyline Drive on US 211/340 at the Thornton Gap Entrance Station (mile marker 31), driving south, and exiting on US 33 at the Swift Run Gap Entrance Station (mile maker 66). Upon entering The Drive, we immediately stopped at Mary’s Rock parking area hoping to take the hike that started there (and to use the restroom). However, after driving around the lot, we couldn’t find a place to park and continued south. We later realized that, while the park wasn’t too crowded, most of the trail head parking lots were full while hikers took hours-long hikes. As we continued south, we passed through a tunnel and then randomly sampled views at the numerous overlook pull-offs with views of the Shenandoah Valley to the west and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east.
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| Eastern View of the Blue Ridge Mountains |
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| Western View of the Shenandoah Valley |
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| Another Western View |
As we continued, we made a pit stop at the Pinnacles’ restrooms, then stopped at Skyland, There, we had a surprisingly tasty lunch with a window view at the Skyland Dining Room. We were excited when we saw signs for a taproom adjoining the restaurant, but were disappointed to learn that it didn’t open until later in the afternoon. So, we continued southward. Light rain had started and blurred the beautiful views along the way into indistinct gloomy images of gray. Around mile marker 51, we pulled into the Dark Hollow Falls parking area and luckily obtained a parking spot where hikers was just leaving. The downhill outbound leg of this 1.6 round-trip hike was relatively easy, although steep and rocky, and led to a nice view of a cascade of falls. The return trip was more challenging, but Jane and I made it in decent time.
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| Skyland Dining Room (with Tap Room) |
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| A High-Elevation Tasty Lunch |
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| We found a Parking Space! |
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| Deep Hollow Falls |
Our final Skylining stop was Big Meadows where we visited the Harry F, Byrd Sr. Visitor Center. There, we visited the park store, got our NPS stamp, and walked through displays with information about the planning and construction of the Skyline Drive including how it impacted the local residents. Big Meadows itself is a large high-elevation meadow perched atop the Blue Ridge and surrounded by lush mountain forests. The reason for its unusual existence is unclear, but it serves as a magnet for wildlife (and human) visitors. While at Big Meadows, we drove to the Park Waystation which was another store with restaurant and surprisingly, a commercial gas station.
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| Visitor Center at Big Meadows |
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| Big Meadows |
We exited The Drive and while passing through Elkton on the route back to our campground, could not resist stopping at Elkton Brewing Company for a beer. Back at the campground, we walked to the store and ordered a couple of personal pizzas for dinner. While waiting for our pizzas, we played a comical game of foosball that Jane won; I helped by scoring three of her 10 points. (For the record, I won last time we stayed here.) After pizza in the RV, we caught up on news and watched part of a college football game before retiring to the sound of more rain pattering on our motorhome roof.
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| Only a Block off our Route back to the Campground |
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| Time to be Happy |