OH SHENANDOAH I LONG TO SEE YOU!

BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY - SEPT. 9 & 10
Tuesday morning we hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Asheville, NC; the Parkway follows the Appalachian Mountain chain for 355 miles.  We were filled with great expectations of seeing magnificent scenic vistas along the way.  However, it wasn't long before the fog and clouds became so dense the only thing we concentrated on was avoiding deer and other vehicles.  Our average speed was 30 mph.  We dry-camped (no electric, water or sewer) at two of the National Parkway campgrounds, Doughton Park and Peaks of Otter, on our way to Shenandoah National Park.

We had our heads in the clouds along Blue Ridge Parkway.

SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK - SEPT. 11 - 15
Friday, Sept. 11th we saw the sun!  The scenic vistas along the Parkway to Shenandoah NP were stunning.  Now I know why they call this range of the Appalachians the Blue Ridge Mountains; there is a blue colored mist/haze surrounding the mountains. 

Looking west to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. 

The Blue Ridge Parkway ends and Skyway Highway begins at the south entrance of Shenandoah National Park.  Twenty miles into the Park, we stopped at Loft Mountain campground for 2 nights of dry-camping.

TAKE A HIKE ON THE A.T.
The 2,160 mile Appalachian Trail  traverses 101 miles through Shenandoah N. P.; every year 300 to 400 hikers take the challenging foot trail between Springer Mountain, GA and Mount Katahdin, ME.  Thru-hikers will hike the trail in one continuous grueling trek over a 4 to 5 month period, while others may hike sections of the trail a week or two a year, taking several years to complete the A.T.

A trail marker for the A.T.

The white blaze mark on the tree means you're on the A.T.

Looking at our camper at Loft Campground from the AT.

WEST VIRGINIA, MOUNTAIN MAMA
Having never been to West Virginia, we wanted to cross that State off our bucket list so we drove the Jeep about 60 miles west through the Shenandoah Valley, then through winding mountain roads to the sweet little town of Franklin, WV.  We dropped in at the Corner Cafe for lunch.  I'm still chuckling about the menu.  No kidding, this is what was literally listed on the menu for soups: "Campbell's out of the can: Chicken Noodle, Tomato, Vegetable Beef".  Underneath that was "Homemade Soup of the Day - ask waitress".  I asked the waitress what the homemade soup of today might be.  She said "chili".  I ordered the Homemade Chili with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.  The "homemade chili" was tomato soup (I'm certain it was Campbell's out of the can) with some ground beef, onion, pinto beans, and chili seasoning thrown in.

CSI (Crazy Stupid Idiot)
We left Loft Campground on Saturday, drove 30 miles north to dry-camp at Big Meadows Campground.  It took us an hour to wind our way on Skyway Highway through heavy rain and fog as thick as molasses on a cold January morning.  Along the way, a CSI driving a white car with NO lights on stopped right in front of us in the middle of the road to take pictures of deer.  Never mind that we couldn't see 2 car links in front of us and there are signs warning "Do Not Stop or Park on Road".  We made it safely to our campsite in spite of the CSI.

Looking across the street from our Big Meadows campsite, we could barely see the other campers.
The rain stopped, the sun came out later in the day and stayed out for the rest of our time at SNP.