Shenadoah

The Shenadoah Valley  and Blue Ridge Mountains should be familiar names to anyone who was listened to John Denver’s song “Country Road”.   They are close to and popular destinations for all the city people in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia who want a taste of wilderness.  They can experience the grandeur without even getting out of their cars thanks to President Roosevelt’s vision that the views should available for anyone to see.

The Skyline Drive as it is now called is 105 miles of incredibly scenic winding road with a speed limit of 35mph (55kph for those too young to remember the days before metric.  The Appalachian Trail (AT) walking track also winds along the ridge. 

We made the mistake of staying in Front Royal, at the northern end of the valley.  To put it bluntly the town is a run-down hole of a place.  The highlight was finding the tattoo parlour, which proudly advertised a “family atmosphere” above the door.  Right next door, conveniently, were the pregnancy centre and the bail bond shop.

The weather was terrible the day after we arrived and this was a good excuse to drive the Skyline Drive with all the local grey power following behind in tour buses and house busses.  After 33 miles we gave up as the mist was too thick to see anything.  Another opportunity presented itself on the way back to Front Royal as we passed a vineyard ............ wine-tasting!  A fortuitous find which cheered us up considerably.  The wines were excellent, especially the cabernet franc and viognier.

Fortunately the following day was fine and we headed in to the Blue Ridge mountains to climb The Old Rag.  While only 3200 feet high the top part of the climb involved some tricky scrambling up bouldery cracks and slippery worn granite slabs.  Loads of fun and at the top, the usual endless view of disappearing ridges coated in colourful autumnal forest.  We were treated to the sight of three wild black bears running across the road in front of us on the way home.

Next stop a day later, Maryland, which was only an hour or two east. First we did tour through the amazing Luray Cavern which exceeded expectations.  The route then took us through historic Harpers Ferry, where we walked a bit more of the Appalachian Trail, and checked out the old town where John Brown made his famous stand against slavery in 1859.  He was executed for treason and his efforts were immortalised in the song “John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in his grave, but his soul goes marching on”.

 My dad had a working flintlock pistol that was a replica of an original made in the Harpers Ferry Armoury in the mid 1800’s and was fascinating to see the site. Scarily, this armoury was considered the birthplace of modern techniques for mass-production of military weapons.  Previously each gun was handmade.

Next stop, Poolesville, Maryland, home of Surefire Sherfy and the Herbinator.

Click here for photos of the Shenadoah Valley