My New Favorite Place: Shenandoah Valley

I have added a new item to my To Do Wish List: hike the length of the Appalachian Trail. The 2000+ mile trail goes from Maine to Georgia and takes 5-7  months to cover by foot; I got a tiny taste of the experience while camping in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia last week. Miles and miles of forests and mountains, about 90 minutes from D.C.  Breathtaking!

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

This buck plopped himself down next to my campsite.

My first-ever bear sighting!
This guy was (literally) hopping around in the woods.

Being highly allergic to bee stings, I was more nervous about taking the bee shot,
than the bear shot. But anything for my blog readers...;o)

This little stinker, who normally only ventures out at night, sauntered right out in front of my car.

View from Hughes River Gap overlook along Skyline Drive.
I plan to return here in October, when the autumn foliage is at its peak.

 

Where:
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Comments

[DonnaK]

During the 1975-76 AY at UConn, I was one of four RA's at Tolland Hall. An RA by the name of Warren Doyle lived on the floor below me. In the summer of 1975, Warren had walked the AT for the second time. At that time, I had no idea what that meant. What I do recall is that Warren kind of bounced on his toes when he walked. I just googled that name and it turns out that Warren Doyle is now one of the "elders of that special tribe." If you google his name, you will get his bio(including his 13 statements of wisdom about the trail,a link to his institute and an interview done a few years ago. One of the stories in a Reading book written for my ESL is story written by Christine Tierney and Joe Starr about the AT. My students are often impressed with the story. I cut out articles about the trail wheneverI see something in the paper. If you walk it, I will invite you to be a guest speaker. In meantime, google his name. Maybe you can join the next group.

[Sharon from CT]

You are a brave soul so you get rewarded with pleasant visitors and breathtaking views!! Even the wildlife is under your spell!! I read a laugh out loud book about a middleaged guy who hiked the trail ??A Walk In The Woods?? It was also very informative...gorgeous...Better than looking at the devastation along the CT shoreline...Guilford Marina lot looks like an earthquake hit it...and Cosey Beach, East Haven no longer exists...homes washed out to sea!! I'm stunned.

[Radha Tereska Buko]

I drove by several years ago - yes it's quite breathtaking. A very good friend of mine is intermittently a national park ranger there and gives interpetive nature talks and walks. If you every do the A.Trail and come through Vermont perhaps I can meet you for a few miles (as long as my hip holds together!)

[DonnaK]

Basia,
If you've had a chance to see the news in the past few days, you might have seen stories about the destruction of Bastrop State Park and an area the size of Conn. being ravaged by forest fire. Today they interviewed the owner of the oldest pharmacy in Bastrop. This was the place where you and I had ice cream before we walked over the My Sister store. I can't remember if that was 1 year ago or 2 years ago.

[Basia]

Donna: So that's what it takes for me to be invited to be a guest speaker in your class...I'll keep it in mind, thought my guess is that by the time I get around to crossing that item off my list, you will be well into your retirement and your classes will be just a distant memory....

Sharon: "The wildlife is under your spell"...I like that..;o)

Tereska: It's a deal...I'll look forward to you joining me when I come through the Vermont segment (although, see my reply to Donna above, above the probable timing of this adventure...)

Donna: Oh no...how sad...I'm glad we saw it when we did (it was 2 years ago, in Nov 2009). You guys are being ravaged by fire, we're being ravaged by floods here. Co za swiat.

[DonnaK]

The pharmacy was not destroyed.