Travels with haRVy

A few years ago we missed traveling through Shenandoah National Park due to the government shutdown. Since we did not want to drive up the eastern seaboard again, we headed across the State of Virginia to enter the park at Swift Run Gap. Our visit was during the busy Easter weekend so we made sure to arrive fairly early in the morning to snag a site at the Lewis Mountain Campground.

Lewis Mountain is the smallest campground in the park with just 31 sites. It was mostly populated by tent campers during our visit, so the atmosphere was quite laid back. A group of camping musicians provided a delightful impromptu concert before a wild thunderstorm struck the area.

We learned that this area was originally established “for colored visitors.”If you want to know more about segregation in the park click here.

Skyline Drive runs the entire 105-mile length of the park.

The vast Shenandoah Valley with a bit of rain falling in the distance.

Click on the panoramic photos to see larger images.

You can see that we were not there at the most picturesque time of year, but there were some refreshing hints of Spring present. I especially enjoyed the brilliant Eastern Redbud trees.

Other evidence of Spring required closer observation.

One of our hikes took us to Dark Hallow Falls. Not terribly exciting, but it felt good to get on a trail again.

Lunch on our convertible table with a spectacular view.

Not much clearance above haRVy’s 12-foot height on this tunnel!

But we made it through without a problem.

Onward!