Skyline Drive South

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Disconnect everything again and head on out. This morning, we headed south to the farthest entrance of Shenandoah (about 75 minutes away), to enjoy the lower 1/3 of Skyline Drive. Where Skyline Drive ends, the Blue Ridge Parkway begins. We figured we’d work our way North through the park and exit a bit closer to our campground (still about 45 minutes away…that’s one thing we’ve learned about National Parks – drives are rarely short or quick…). We stopped at several overlooks, and today’s scenery was more vibrant as the sky was bright blue with white puffy clouds…much sunnier although still chilly in the low 50s thanks to being at a higher elevation. Interestingly, more of the trees in the southern part of the park have buds on them, so they’re a bit further along with the transition to spring.

I can see for miles and miles with these amazing vistas!
You can see the Shenandoah River in this shot – I kept singing John Denver’s “Country Roads” in my head, when he mentions “the Shenandoah River…”

Once again, we enjoyed lunch at an overlook. It’s really so nice to park the RV, make a sandwich, and sit and enjoy it comfortably while taking in the scenery around us!

  • Food always tastes better with a view…and in comfy chairs!
  • In contrast, lunch at Yosemite in 2017, squished in the back of an SUV

After lunch, we did a short hike (about 1.5 miles) out to Blackrock Summit, and it happens to be along the Appalachian Trail, so we can say we hiked part of that (and I previously hiked some of it in Tennessee with Connor, when we visited the Great Smoky Mountains). The views at the summit were incredible, and it’s an impressive outcropping of rocks, there, too.

We finished the lower third around 2:15pm and headed out of the park back towards Luray where our campground is. Stopped for gas (never a quick task with an RV) and to walk around a neat little co-op that had a wonderful variety of antiques, gifts, etc. Picked up a cute little sign that says “Enjoy the Journey” that we will hang in the RV – very appropriate! Back to the campground (which is now almost full as the weekend begins!), leveled, connected, and ready for dinner.

Love this photo with the bright blue sky!

Tomorrow we’ll finish up with the northern section of the park, and that will be the end for this maiden voyage, as we head back to Rochester on Sunday!