No Easy Answers

Shenandoah National Park, VA

First thing we did this morning was jump on our bikes and continue to explore this awesome campground. We rode our bikes a short way to this sweet little lake that was surrounded by soft white sand, landscaped lawns and CCC built structures. (Terry, it so reminded me of the place we camped at in Arkansas, only there was no "By the Book Betty"). Free tip from me, if you're ever driving in Virginia stay at Cave Mountain Lake USFS campground and pick site #6. Just about every campsite is next to the stream, but this one has a little hand built dam made with rocks so it's a sweet swimming hole.

Since we were just a few miles from Natural Bridge we decided to become tourists and take a look. Thomas Jefferson was so enamored with this natural wonder that he bought it from King George for just a pittance. (A little over $2 in today's money). Legend also has it that George Washington surveyed this and even carved his initials in the rock. (Yes, our first president was a graffiti vandal). It's also touted as one of the true wonders of the world. We had to go. I have to admit Ned and I are spoiled by National Parks and Monuments. You usually pay a nominal fee and get a great outdoor experience seeing something pretty awe inspiring. For whatever reason, this Natural Bridge that our 3rd President was so in awe of, wasn't set aside or given to the Government, instead it fell into commercial hands. And that was sad.

When we drove into the town we drove right by the entrance to Natural Bridge. We thought it was an enormous bank - seriously. We entered the world's largest gift shop selling more snow globes and magnets than I thought was humanly possible, and purchasing our tickets for $18 each (ahem), we began the self guided tour. We opted out of the Wax Museum Tour. We descended into the basement of the structure and had to go through Jefferson's play land. (Rolling in his grave, I'm sure). After walking past the outdoor snack cafe we rounded a bend and there she was! I must admit it's pretty amazing. It's hard to grasp the enormity and scale of this natural bridge. A small creek runs through it and you're able to walk alongside the path and through the several story high arch. I guess the concessioners felt guilty about taking $18 for this short little tour so they added in a couple of other extra features, like George Washington's supposed initials being carved in the wall. Of course they were across the creek and about 60 feet away so we had to take their word for it. We also walked past a make believe Indian village (closed), next to a roped off saltpeter mine, near a "lost river" and read sign after sign of "inspirational" quotes. The path finally ended at Lace Falls, which were nice, but nothing spectacular. We enjoyed the morning walk, but it made me sad and so appreciative of our National Parks. No matter what your politics, you have to admit that our National Parks are a treasure.

After that little outing we got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drove forever. This end of the parkway doesn't have as many Visit Centers, etc. as the southern end. We finally crossed from the Blue Ridge Parkway and onto Skyline Drive in Shenandoah Park. The views from Skyline Drive are just as spectacular as from the Parkway, but the actual drive, while beautiful, isn't quite as stunning. We finally made it to about half way to through the Park and decided to call Big Meadow our home for the night. (Amenities like laundry and showers beckoned).

We took a ride on our bike checking out the Big Meadow Lodge and Visitors Center. This lodge is reminiscent of the great lodges of the West and has the ubiquitous fireplace and an enormous back porch that looks over the entire valley.

At the Visitor Center we watched a movie about the CCC and spent some time learning about the history of this National Park. Unlike the National Parks in the West where there is some incredible geology (Yosemite, Zion, Yellowstone, Glacier, etc). Shenandoah was created. Yep, pretty much the whole thing is fabricated. FDR and Stephen Mather, the first Superintendent of National Parks, wanted to create a big western feel National Park in the East Coast like the West. So, they went out in search of one. They decided upon Shenandoah. It was close to populated areas, but the problem was "Shenandoah" was pretty much Appalachian farmland and barren of trees. When FDR created the CCC the largest group of young boys were sent here and they created this park. The CCC planted over 100,000 trees, built the road and structures. Basically, what we have today is a National Park that is made up of completely planted trees. It was also heartbreaking to read the stories of all the families that were misplaced (many of them not compensated) so that this National Park could be built.

My lesson for today is that there are no easy answers. It's sad to see a natural phenomena being so crassly commercialized, especially when our National Parks do such a great job. On the other hand, it was just as sad when the government kicked people off the land and made up a forest!!

Blue Ridge Parkway - Day 2

Cave Mountain Lake, USFS - Natural Bridges, VA

As usual, we slept on the upper deck of Winnie last night. It was magical feeling the cool night breeze, listening to the creek and for the first time of this trip watching the fire flies light up the night. As we were lying there in the pitch dark, just us and the fireflies. about 12 people walked by with multi-colored glow sticks around their heads, necks, arms and legs. By the height differences, I'd say they ranged in age from about 5 or so to adult. It was surreal seeing these glow in the dark "Michelin Tire" looking people with their different gaits, weirdly floating past.

I was so excited to see the Blue Ridge Music Center that I was up a little after 6 and trying, not so very hard, to be quiet. Ned finally rallied by 6:30 and we were on the road by 8. When we at last arrived at the Music Center it was 9 and our hearts sunk that it didn't open til 10. I told Ned, it didn't matter we'd catch it on the next road trip or so. Ned drove about 10 miles, pulled into an overlook, and said, "Debi, we've driven 200 miles out of our way for fried chicken, we can wait 45 minutes for the center to open." (Reason 1001 why I love this man). So, we turned around and headed for the locked gate. By the time we got there we had about 15 minutes to wait and chatted it up with some friendly motorcycle guys also waiting to get in. At a quarter past 10 our buddies decided not to wait any longer and took off. Several other cars also came in and left. I was NOT to be detered. I pulled off my bike from the back of Winnie, slipped through the locked gate, and told Ned to wait there. The Music Center was just a ways down the hill and I was pleased to see a young Park Ranger open the door for me. I asked him if he was open and he said yes, but was amazed that no one had shown up yet. I told him about the locked gate and he was shocked! Oops, after that little snafu the gates were opened, Ned drove in and joined me. Sometimes, it pays to be bold.

I'm so glad we took the extra effort to visit the Blue Ridge Music Center. It was more than I had hoped for. The interactive displays not only told about the history of Blue Grass, but had amazing audio and video. Ned especially loved some of the old instruments on display, like the wooden and gourd banjos. It was so cool to listen to some of the early recordings of the ballads, some dating as far back as the 1700's in Scotland, Ireland and Germany. Playing around with the sound board mixer was also tons of fun. There was also a live performance by a couple of local musicians playing guitar and banjo. We spent close to 2 hours there and I could have easily spent the whole day. Best part yet of the Parkway for me.

By this time, it was early afternoon, we'd worked up an appetite and headed for Mabry Mill. It's a historic sawmill, blacksmith shop and grist mill that still grinds flour to make their pancakes. Their speciality is buckwheat cakes, but they also serve sweet potato, cornmeal, oatmeal, and traditional pancakes. Ned and I couldn't decide so agreed we'd try the sweet potato, buckwheat and cornmeal. The only one we really liked was the sweet potato pancake. The others tasted like sawdust. I wasn't impressed.

The best part of Mabry Mill was walking around the grounds, taking photos of this famous mill and listening to the rangers describe how the mill worked and demonstrating certain crafts. We both got a kick out of the old still that was beyond the fence and near the creek. After visiting some distilleries and seeing this old timey still, Ned wants to try his hand at making some moonshine. (Oh lordy, food science majors).

As we drove further up the parkway we continued to see breathtaking view after breathtaking view. You almost become jaded seeing so much beauty after every bend. As we drove farther into Virginia the parkway topography definitely changed from mountainous to pastoral with lots of wild flowers lining the road. The highest point on the parkway in Virginia was a little over 3950 ft. At one point we were driving down the ridge of the mountain and you could see the valleys from both sides.

While we wanted to camp on the Parkway, none of the National Park campgrounds have showers. While planning this trip I had located a USFS campground not too far from the parkway that looked like a good candidate. From the parkway there weren't any road signs on how to get there nor did the park ranger we spoke with know anything about it. There is no cell service on the Parkway, so it was a bit sketchy to find this campground. As Ned drove down a heavily forested windy gravel road, down, down, down into the holler I became a bit skeptical and suggested we should perhaps turn back and just stick with the National Park campground. Ned said he had faith in my research and wanted to keep going. After about half an hour we passed a group of really sketchy looking folks swimming in the river. I must admit that scenes from "Deliverance" passed through my mind, but then I remembered how I look when I've been swimming in the Yuba all day. Yeah, they looked like me after a day at the river. We finally found this campground and it is a winner!!! We knew it was the right place when the first thing we saw pulling in were two VW minibuses, both giving us the thumbs up. Ah, kindred spirits. Once again we are camped right next to a very noisy stream. The campsites are really spread far apart and look like they've were built by the CCC. Some campsites even have little bridges over the creek. The amount of wildlife around here is ridiculously noisy. The frogs were so loud it was hard to hear and now some kind of large winged insects keep attacking our screens. This place is deliciously wild and I'm so glad Ned is camping with me.