The last leg of Skyline Drive and moving on…

To wrap up our last few days here in Harrisonburg VA we decided to drive the only segment of the Shenandoah National Park’s drive along Skyline Drive. We had driven the northern 1/3 and the middle third but had never driven the bottom third of the 105 miles (35 mile per road) scenic byway. So we packed a lunch and got an early start.

This is really quite a scenic and relaxing drive in the high country on the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park. We drove to our north a bit and entered the park at the Rockfish Gap on Route 64. Our plan was to drive slowly and check out each and every one of the pull outs. The day we picked was mostly an overcast and we had one small rain shower at the beginning where we stopped for lunch to wait it out but the weather cleared enough for us to continue our quest.

 

The fall color was barely beginning causing us to imagine the splendor to come.  Because it was overcast there were some amazing views of clouds hugging the hills and valleys below.  One couple from New York we met at one of the pullouts and chatted with was really annoyed since they were on limited time and wished for a clearer day. Although we felt for them we were kind of mesmerized by the shifting cloud cover and with trying to capture it with photos.

I would love to drive this road in our RV as there is plenty of camping (mostly dry) available but besides all the hills the only real hurdle for us would be the Marys Rock Tunnel (just south of Thornton Gap entrance from Route 211). This tunnel is only 12' 8" which happens to be our exact height. For those shorter than 12’ 8”  we think you would really enjoy this wonderful drive.

We also hoped to finally be able to meet up with Sherry and David of Direction of Our Dreams blog as they are camping in the park.  Our paths have come close on several occasions. I knew I had the information in my phone through an email of where they were but did not think about cell coverage in these mountains (or the lack thereof).  We drove through one of the campgrounds hoping for a chance encounter but as we discovered later it would not have mattered anyway because they would be away from camp.  Sorry to have missed them but hopefully we will meet up  with those two one of these days.

The beautiful scenery in this part of the country along with the great weather we experienced this time of year has us knowing that the Shenandoah Valley will definitely draw us back again.  It affirms once again that this lifestyle certainly suits us as we would never otherwise be able to experience such amazing places like these. 

This scenic drive was a great way to wrap up our stay here but we also look forward to packing up and moving on down the road south to experience some American History by exploring Williamsburg, Richmond and Jamestown Virginia.