Life is Old There

Shenandoah National Park stretches along the 105 mile Skyway Drive. Its camping facilities are less rustic than those at Great Smokey Mountain (for example, you don't have to pay $6.00 to shower in a small town outside), but at the same time the sites are more secluded and wildlife is abundant. Our first night there, as we were sitting by the campfire thinking deep thoughts, three deer were grazing behind us, about 20 feet away. If we made a loud noise, they would look up, then go back to grazing. A ranger came by, warning everyone that bears had been spotted in the campsite, and to make sure our food and supplies were locked in the car at night. We had seen a bear running across the road the day before, but none came to visit.

Our second day in the park we went whitewater canoeing on the Shenandoah River. We have been stillwater canoeing together almost as long as we've been married, and we like to go once a year if we can, just to keep our oar in, so we signed up for the "Beginner Whitewater" run. This was 8 miles along the lazy South Fork, mostly soft ripples with the occasional category one rapid, and one strong category two for flavour. It was a great deal of fun, and next time we will step it up a bit and look for more cat 2 with maybe even a cat 3 for spice. No pictures of this, we kept the cameras safe and dry in the car.

I am going to leave the rest for Rob to show and tell...