So it's September, we are (almost) all squared away with our living situation, K and I have been going strong with work/school for two weeks now, and I think I'm ready to start the process of sharing our adventures!
We left Vermont on May 17, much later than planned, and crashed overnight in a hotel outside of Boston so that we would be nearby for my brother's graduation the next day. After a ceremony that looked suspiciously like mine (same school), we had drinks and dinner with family and were off! Our first official night was booked in Danbury, CT, just to cut our driving time the next day by a few hours. We were on the road bright and early on Sunday, crossing through Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania (where I had to mail my car keys home so that my parents could move my car from the park and ride in Montpelier), Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia on our way to Shenandoah, where we saw a black bear right at the entrance! There was an incredible dense fog over the road for most of the day, and by the time we arrived at the park it was so thick we could barely see to navigate the winding mountain roads.
We set up our tent, collected wood for a roaring fire, and made dinner in the dark, but as soon as we finished eating the rain came, heavily, and we had to heave everything into the car and retreat into our tent for the night. We slept until 9 AM the next morning and hiked the 3.3-mile circuit trail to Lewis Falls, where we were treated to a pretty spectacular view of the valley below an 80-foot waterfall. That night we had the best camp food of the entire trip (before we became unmotivated, I guess)--burritos with fajita veggies, corn, and spicy refried beans cooked on the fire. So. Good.
K woke up at sunrise the next morning and when I caught a glimpse of the massive red sun through the tent flap I decided to get up as well and we sat and had instant coffee looking out over the Blue Ridge Mountains (it was still early in the season so we had one of the best sites in the campground). We ended up doing a very short hike (1.6 miles) to the Stony Man summit, which was lined with lovely wildflowers and ended in yet another magnificent valley view, before reading and relaxing for the rest of the day and taking in the sunset over some local (Albemarle) rosé on the opposite side of the park that night.
The next morning we were off to Charlottesville to visit my friend Bonnie!
We left Vermont on May 17, much later than planned, and crashed overnight in a hotel outside of Boston so that we would be nearby for my brother's graduation the next day. After a ceremony that looked suspiciously like mine (same school), we had drinks and dinner with family and were off! Our first official night was booked in Danbury, CT, just to cut our driving time the next day by a few hours. We were on the road bright and early on Sunday, crossing through Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania (where I had to mail my car keys home so that my parents could move my car from the park and ride in Montpelier), Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia on our way to Shenandoah, where we saw a black bear right at the entrance! There was an incredible dense fog over the road for most of the day, and by the time we arrived at the park it was so thick we could barely see to navigate the winding mountain roads.
We set up our tent, collected wood for a roaring fire, and made dinner in the dark, but as soon as we finished eating the rain came, heavily, and we had to heave everything into the car and retreat into our tent for the night. We slept until 9 AM the next morning and hiked the 3.3-mile circuit trail to Lewis Falls, where we were treated to a pretty spectacular view of the valley below an 80-foot waterfall. That night we had the best camp food of the entire trip (before we became unmotivated, I guess)--burritos with fajita veggies, corn, and spicy refried beans cooked on the fire. So. Good.
K woke up at sunrise the next morning and when I caught a glimpse of the massive red sun through the tent flap I decided to get up as well and we sat and had instant coffee looking out over the Blue Ridge Mountains (it was still early in the season so we had one of the best sites in the campground). We ended up doing a very short hike (1.6 miles) to the Stony Man summit, which was lined with lovely wildflowers and ended in yet another magnificent valley view, before reading and relaxing for the rest of the day and taking in the sunset over some local (Albemarle) rosé on the opposite side of the park that night.
The next morning we were off to Charlottesville to visit my friend Bonnie!
Ah! I was so happy to see your post in my feed!These are some great pictures, the waterfall you saw sounds beautiful. Can't wait to read more about your trip :)
ReplyDeleteAmia
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