We were up fairly early this morning to set out on a three-hour drive to the skyline drive in Shenandoah. The drive in from Ohiopyle was fairly easy and we were on the Skyline drive by noon or so. Will and I have just about driven the entire length of the Blueridge Parkway in NC and will be driving the portion of it in VA in a few days, but we’ve neither one been on the Skyline Drive before. It is really similar to the Blueridge, but there’s a lot more to do right off the Skyline and there are only four entrance/exit points along the 105 miles of it. There are tons of beautiful overlooks and lots and lots of trails.
There’s also lots of different dining areas and camping areas and even Skyland, which is a lodge you can stay the night in. We, of course, stopped at the visitor’s center about 4 miles into the drive, we started at the North entrance and are driving South, and then stopped at the first dining area for lunch. We were able to order burgers and fries and had them out at a picnic table with the dogs right by our side.
It’s been an absolutely beautiful day. The weather has been amazing and we’ve driven most of the day with the windows down and the warm breeze blowing all around us. We’re finally getting used to the sunshine and are really enjoying these warm mountain days.
Also, quick note just to share our fun adventure with Redbox. We knew that the night of 5/18 was gonna be rainy so we got a Redbox movie, Dragged Across Concrete (not recommended) when we stopped for gas at the Sheetz about 2 miles from the campground. Our plan was to simply put it back in the same Redbox on our way to the next site. But that same Redbox wouldn’t work. The screen was frozen and we couldn’t return the movie. So we thought we’d just turn it back in at the next one we saw. Well, that was three days ago and we just ran across another Redbox today. And this one didn’t work either. So we’ve still got this movie. I’m thinking we’re gonna have this movie forever (did I mention it’s terrible?). I might just try to sell it. $10 anyone?
We finished our drive along the Skyline today by stopping for the night at the Loft Mountain Campground. They had lots of warnings out for bears and even let us know that if a Park Ranger came by and found any food left out that we would be charged $80 per item. So, we decided to skip our regular dinner tonight for our dehydrated mountain meal. And then we played gin rummy again. So far, I’m beating Will. By a lot. We’ll start our day tomorrow by finishing the Skyline drive and then making our way towards West Virginia.
We’re playing Gin Rummy again. I’m still winning.
Life in the right lane,
Rachel
DMG Exploration 