I would have never knew that there were patches and patches of blueberries in the Big Meadows. These are food for the birds, deer, and even bears. Can you imagine how many blueberries the bears would need to eat to gain their winter weight? A LOT!
Normally, the rule of the National Park is that we need to leave anything we find behind (i.e., do not take any stones, plants, or animals home). But the blueberries are an exception. Every visitor is allowed to bring 1 gallon worth of blueberries home. The ranger offered us small plastic cups to collect the blueberries after the tour, if we were interested. Of course, I got a cup.
A tiny bug on the plant. When I took the picture, the ranger was telling a story about the spit bug or something, but I am not sure whether this was it.
The ranger then took us to a historical site where some of the original residents lived. The family had 12 children, and 11 of them survived till adulthood. The house was long gone, and this was the stone foundation of their basement and wine cellar. It was hard to imagine a family of 13 lived in this tiny site. The total length looked like about 20 feet long.
The lady of the house was supposedly the most popular person back in the days, because she would prepare home-baked goodies and drinks for travelers between the towns, before Shenandoah became a National Park. Also the National Park's research team found the same tulips and lilacs around the nearby CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) Camp as those by her house. So they believed that the lady brought those flowers over to give the camp a little feminine touch. She passed away before the government made the residents leave their homes. I am glad she didn't have to go through that.
To be continued...
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