Shenandoah National Park – A Black Bear and Bearfence Mountain Rock Scramble

June 9, 2017June 8, 20171 Comment

After checking out of our room at the Big Meadows Lodge, we continued our drive South along Skyline Drive. Up to this point I had been fairly disappointed about the amount of wildlife in the park. That all changed as soon as we made it to the parking area for our next hike, the Bearfence Mountain Rock Scramble.

Perched high up in a tree was a black bear! He didn’t pay any attention to the small group of people stating up at him — he was much more interested in getting to the walnuts hanging in the tree he had climbed.

After watching the bear for a bit and taking a few photos, we set out on our hike.

I tend to be a bit more of a scaredy cat than my husband, so I was a little concerned about what this “rock scramble” hike would entail. The initial part of the hike was just a normal trail. As we approached the rocky area, I was relieved to see that the path for the rock scramble portion of the hike was actually painted on the rocks (note the white blazes in the photos below).

This hike ended up being one of our favorites from the entire trip. Check out the panoramic views of the surrounding area from the top!

Our trip took place during the middle of October, so there weren’t many wildflowers left by then, but there were a few still hanging on.

Shenandoah National Park – Lewis Falls Trail

March 24, 2017May 12, 2017Leave a comment

Our second (and final) day in Shenandoah National Park started at sun-up. We set out early on the Lewis Falls Trail (the trailhead is at the Big Meadows Lodge) so that we could complete the hike before checking out of our room at the lodge. The sun was just rising and starting to peak through the trees as we started our hike. We ate peanut butter and crackers for breakfast while we were hiking in order to make the most of our time.

We came across this doe somewhat close to the lodge. She didn’t mind us one bit.

I’ve never seen trailmarkers like the ones used at Shenandoah. The design is actually pretty smart, as the metal holds up much better over time than painted wooden signs. There were quite a few trails in the area. It was TOO COOL to see the Appalachian Trail labeled on this particular marker. Maybe one of these days I’ll get to hike the whole Appalachian Trail, rather than just a teeny, tiny part of it (you can see that the Lewis Falls trail heads south on the Appalachian Trail).

We don’t have much of a fall or many trees where we live, so we were constantly keeping a look out for pretty leaves. I really love the color variations in these maple leaves.

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Shenandoah National Park – Part 3

December 9, 2016May 12, 2017Leave a comment

Our first day in Shenandoah National Park ended with a lovely sunset. I had hoped to get to watch the sun setting over the Blue Ridge Mountains at some point during our trip but hadn’t anticipated getting to mark if off the list on the first day. We even got to watch a few deer grazing, to boot!

White Tail Deer

Great Place to Watch the Sunset

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Shenandoah National Park – Part 1

October 24, 2016May 12, 2017Leave a comment

After a wonderful day in Pennsylvania’s Somerset Country, we got up early the next morning and headed out to Shenandoah National Park. It was about a 2.5 hour long drive, so we were able to spend most of the day in Shenandoah. Our route took us from Pennsylvania, through Maryland and West Virginia, and into Virginia. I always get a bit of a kick when I cross a state-line, because, being from south Texas, it’s not something that I ever did on any regular basis while growing up. Taking photographs from a moving vehicle (especially when you don’t have a good feel for when you’re going to pass the signs) is easier said than done, but I managed to get a photograph of each of the “welcome to…” signs as we crossed the state-lines that morning.

State-Line Signs

Shenandoah National Park was established on December 26, 1935, though the park was authorized back in 1926. According to Wikipedia, 500 families were forced to give up their homes for the creation of the 105-mile-long Skyline Drive. We started our journey through Shenandoah at the northeast entrance in Front Royal and drove south along Skyline Drive towards Waynesboro. We received a map when we paid our entry fee and entered through the north entrance. Once we made it into the national park, we stopped at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center to stamp our National Parks Passport book and to pick up a few souvenirs (including the vintage-looking vinyl cling in the following collage) before making our way further into the park.

If you’re planning a visit to Shenandoah, be sure to check the park website beforehand to check for road closures, trail closures, ongoing forest fires, burn bans, etc.

Shenandoah National Park Signs

It didn’t take us very long to make our first friend in the park. While we were driving along, this leaf fell and got stuck on our windshield. For some reason, we were both very amused by this…maybe it’s the lack of trees where we live.

Our Shenandoah Friend Continue reading →