A Trip to the Shenandoah National Park, Part I

We have always loved the nature and the mountains, and Shenandoah is one of our favorite places for hiking and camping in the summer time. Back in May this year, my husband had planned to introduce camping to our 1.5-year-old daughter Kyleigh. We were concerned that she might not be acceptable to the dramatic changes between civilization and wilderness, so we booked a cabin that had a private bathroom and beds. These cabins were so popular that we couldn't get a vacancy until late August.

It turned out that Kyleigh went back to Taiwan with my mom in early August. My husband considered canceling the reservation, but I decided to keep it. There had been numerous arguments between us since Kyleigh was born, and I thought it was a nice break for us to refresh our relationship.

We both got off work a bit early on Friday, August 22, 2008, and headed out around 2:30 PM. Unlike taking Interstate Highway 66 in the past, we picked a new local route and entered through the Thornton Gap Entrance, instead of the North (Front Royal) Entrance. We believe this cut our trip by at least an hour, even though we enjoyed less of the beautiful Skyline Drive. Another advantage of taking a local route was that we saw some interesting road-side culture. There was a guy grilling BBQ right off the road, next to a shed with a "Joe's BBQ" sign. Hum. I think I will pass the dust-coated BBQ ribs.

Our first stop inside the Shenandoah National Park was the Byrd Visitor Center at the Big Meadows. My husband had previously read about the history of Shenandoah, but I didn't. I was upset to learn that the beautiful Shenandoah was created under a series of lies and greed. I felt really bad for the original residents who were forced to move out of their homes.

I obtained two official cancellations of the National Park. It's hard to believe we had not visited in over 6 years.

I took a quick picture of my husband with the Big Meadows in the background. It's getting dark.

I found this funny looking tree next to the Visitor Center. It reminded me of Bart Simpson. There were also a row of people hiking in the Big Meadows in the background.