A Quick Stop at Big Meadows, Shenandoah Nat'l Park

Fall colors along Lumberlost trail.

After the rain kinda, sorta, maybe, mostly quit, we continued on down to Shenandoah Nat'l Park with overnight stops at Streetsboro, OH & Bedford, PA.   Shenandoah was our weekend get-aways when we lived in Virginia, and it was great to go back.  Even nicer to go back with a 5.5 KW generator on board!  And that auto-level feature comes in real handy when you're in a campground where "level" is just a concept!

Beth came over to spend a couple of nights with us, and we got a really nice surprise visit from Howard (the 2nd), Howard (the 4th), Robin & Jessica.  We even got in an extremely close bear encounter on Lumberlost trail (in the old hemlock tree area).  Young bear which seemed to see us as no issue, but it was close.  It kinda went down like this:

Beth: There's a bear.
Me:  Really?
Beth:  Yep - right there?
Me:  WOW! (as I turn around) That is a bear.  It looks just like the stuffed ones you can buy.

So I try to get a picture.  As I get the camera up to my face, it decides it's prudent to walk off the trail.  So sorry, no picture.  I never thought we'd see a bear there with all the activity in the area at Lumberlost & White Oak Canyon trails.  Unlike our quick wolf encounter, at least Donna got to see this bear.

Always good to see what's changed.  The trees are really filling in at the old hemlock area of the Lumberlost trail.  The park is putting up new information boards throughout the park.  The menus at the Big Meadows Wayside & Lodge have slimmed down.  The blackberry cobbler is still great, but it doesn't looked homemade any more.  (I call it the "institutional look" pastry.)   Skyland, to us, had a better menu selection.  And they've updated their lobby at Skyland, too.  Now there's a table area ( in the lobby) dedicated to computer use with built in power outlets.  Good cell phone service (Luray, VA tower) at both the Big Meadows & Skyland lodges.  Fudge is still great, too!

But our time was short as we bumped up against the Columbus Day weekend.  We've moved on down to the Fredericksburg KOA today.  Doc appointments start tomorrow.  So we're gettin' busy fast.

Later, David

Colors along Loop A in Big Meadows Campground