I guess it was a good thing that it was chilly and rainy the first four days we were in the area to visit Shenandoah National Park…
For starters, I visited the Luray Caverns. The caverns claim to be the largest on the East Coast, and they were absolutely stunning. I left there not knowing which adjective described them best, perhaps spectacular, impressive or amazing. Each word fit. It was hard to only pick out a few pictures for the blog. The area in the caverns I loved the most was called “dream lake” and the mirror image of the stalactites and stalagmites in the water was just gorgeous. Dave chose not to accompany me, as can feel claustrophobic but he was given a free entrance into the car museum next door, which had all sorts of cars from the early years of the automobile up to the model T. Such a nice gesture.
While we were wimping out and not wanting to hike in the cold and wet conditions, we tried several of the local food establishments. We enjoyed delicious Mexican food with quite strong margaritas, some of the best crispy fried chicken Dave and I have had, and a truly scrumptious cheeseburger. Oh, and I can’t forget the yummy pumpkin frozen custard from a roadside stand. We needed to get hiking with all calories we consumed.
The sun finally came out and we enjoyed a day of hiking various trails in Shenandoah National Park. The majority of the trail heads are off the 105-mile Skyline Drive, which is a scenic public road along the crest of the Blude Ridge Mountains, with many overlooks to stop and gaze at the views. Our first hike of the morning was to Hawksbill Summit, where unfortunately the clouds still hadn’t dissipated, but we were able to see the gorgeous views later in the day.
Murphy’s favorite hike was on Rose River Falls Trail, where there was a nice area along the river that he could swim and fetch sticks. Of course, he wanted to stop both on the way down to the falls and back up to the trailhead. I think the water was quite cold as he wouldn’t stay in it long, hurrying back with his stick.
Our final stop this week was at Hungry Mother State Park in Marion, Virginia (southwest VA), situated along Hungry Mother lake. The story of how they named the area is quite sad; I included the story below in a photo. The park had a gorgeous landscape, with the surrounding mountains full of trees with their leaves starting to change. We enjoyed a 6-mile hike around the lake, weaving up and down around the mountain terrain. It was a brisk hike, as it was 31° at sunrise; warming up to the high 50’s for our hike.
Next week we travel to Tennessee, to see a very dear friend we haven’t seen in many years. We can’t wait to see her!!!
Thanks so much for following along on our 2022 RV Travels.
Bundled up in Virginia Brenda, THIRTY ONE DEGREES?!?! Dave, and I love the crisp air Murphy
Wow! Beautiful! Those cavern shots are awesome.
I was going to help with the HM park name explanation until I read the plaque. ( as in “I am one Hungry M—-” )
Mr. Murphy growing his winter coat yet?
We have started to cool off a bit, but the real welcome change is the dryer air! Ahhhh!
Enjoy.
31 degrees!! You are not moving south fast enough 😘