Autumn Leaves

A couple of weekends ago Rich and I drove out to Shenandoah National Park to see the beautiful fall colors. I don't think we could have picked a better weekend. We drove along Skyline Drive, which rides the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, stopping here and there to take pictures.


We stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up information about the park and saw this long line of cute little sports cars. I counted 30 cars before the line disappeared around the corner so I have no idea how many there were. And, I don't know what they are either. I'm sure someone will tell me. Bob? JC?

It was a little cooler up in the mountains, but being such a beautiful day we thought we'd take in a hike. While it would be nice to just drive along and see the leaves, we thought it'd be even nicer to get out and hike along a trail and see them that way. We picked up a couple of booklets about hiking trails in the park. Hey! There are hikes that lead to waterfalls!

We followed a 2.3 mile trail to see the Whiteoak Canyon Falls. That's 2.3 miles one way. Going in wasn't too bad as it was mostly downhill. The 86 foot falls were absolutely awe-inspiring. There's a rocky ledge that makes a perfect spot to sit, relax and enjoy the superb view. I think the trail was longer on the way back. Not really. It just FELT longer being that it was mostly uphill. I'm not in the best of shape so 4.6 miles of walking along a trail was a little tough, but it was oh so worth it.

We only drove about halfway along Skyline Drive and then exited the park at a different place from where we came in. Just as we were leaving we saw a deer on the side of the road. I so wanted a picture, but there were cars behind us, no place to pull over and my camera was in a bag in the back seat. That was dumb. I vow to keep my camera in the console or glove compartment for quick access from now on.

I had a really hard time deciding which pictures I'd post as there are some absolutely beautiful ones. Not that I'm a good photographer or anything. And, not because I have a wonderful camera. It's a good one, but it's just a point and shoot type. The scenery was just so beautiful that if the pic was in focus it was hard to get a bad shot. You can see all of my pictures from Shenandoah here.