Our trip to Shenandoah

Our first stop at one of the dozens of overlooks on skyline drive.  This amazing road is nearly 100 miles long through the blue ridge mountains.  It was made by the Civilian Conservation Corp during the 1930's. 

Our campsite at Big Meadows Campground.  We borrowed the pop-up trailer from my parents.  It brought back so many memories of my childhood, triggered by the sights and sounds of that camper.  Everything from the smell of the plastic plates and bowls we used, to the sound of the first footstep as you step in, or the door swinging shut, or the sound of the zippers on the windows.  It filled my senses with sounds I haven't heard for 20 years and filled me with gratitude for the experiences of my childhood.

Here are a couple of the foil dinners I prepared and froze ahead of time cooking on the hot coals.

The boys cooking breakfast on our first morning.

Luca and Libby at the summit of Hawksbill, the highest peak in the park.  We did 5 different hikes over 3 days.  The amazing thing about this park is that skyline drive takes you within a miles hike of most of the peaks.

Jer and I in the big meadow.  This was the site of the CCC camp.

Libby and I at the summit of Bear Fence Mountain.

Yep, those are bears.  A black bear momma with 2 cubs.  We saw them just off the side of the road on two different occasions.  The park has very strict food storage policies to keep the bears away from the campers.

Luca and I at the summit of Blackrock.  This was our first time on this trail, and it might be our new favorite.  Scrambling over the rocks was fun and the view was spectacular.

The trail back down was a portion of the Appalachian trail.  It was an awesome trail, and we saw a couple through hikers who had started in Georgia on March 1st.

Here is a deer and fawn just roaming through the campground.

I'm already daydreaming about our next trip back.