If I Were Going...: Shenandoah National Park

A pretty vista

As I was researching the trip, I tried and tried to figure out how long it would take to drive to our accommodations via the Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive. GPS just won’t tell you. But, from past experience, I know it would take a long time.

Map: NPS

We planned to take the interstate to Virginia and then hop on Skyline Drive, which runs the length of Shenandoah. But, there was a forest fire and a third of the highway (and part of the Appalachian Trail) were closed. It seems that every time Caty and I try to go to a National Park, there’s a fire. So, we figured out how to get into the Park at the first possible opportunity, south of Big Meadows and the Byrd Visitor Center. That still gave us plenty to explore.

Shenandoah National Park stretches 105 miles, but averages only about five miles wide. The Appalachian Trail traverses the entire park, generally following the road.

Shenandoah was authorized as a national park in 1926 and established in 1935. Prior to being a park, much of the area was farmland and there are still remnants of old farms and orchards. When the park was formed many people were removed against their will from their farms.

The park is similar in appearance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but the main access is on the ridge, so you see only vistas and not tall mountains.

Sunlight breaking through the clouds

We didn’t leave the house in North Carolina until after 9:00 a.m., quite late for us, and it rained most of the way. We arrived at 4:22 p.m., so we just barely made it to the Visitor Center before it closed. We were pleased to see many Bears and Qwls listed in the log of sightings, so we headed out to find some animals.

And, we did!

First on the list were some Downy Woodpeckers – Caty got a picture, but I didn’t ...

Cute little guy; Photo: Caty Stevens

... and an adorable Northern Gray Squirrel.

Posing

Not too exciting, so we moved on. We saw a number of White-tailed Deer, including a piebald yearling. I’ve seen pictures of Deer with this rare genetic defect before, but I hadn't ever actually seen one.

I’ve seen pictures of Deer with this genetic defect before, but I hadn't ever seen one

Unlike albino Deer, which have pink eyes, a pink nose and pinkish hooves, piebald Deer have normal brown eyes and black nose and hooves like a normal whitetail. Their coloration is due to a rare inherited genetic variation that affects less than one percent of the white-tailed deer population. Later, I saw a picture of another piebald Deer in the hotel lobby, leading me to believe it might be a bit more common there.

There was a pretty Eastern Towhee jumping around in the grass near the deer. I got one picture, but all the Towhees I saw were just too quick for me.

Scratching in the leaves (as they do)

Then, after we had driven to the top of the park and turned around, we encountered a mama Black Bear on the right side of the road and a one year-old cub looking over a depression on the left.

Surprise!

There was one other car stopped (the park was so empty that that was a big bear jam). One of the cubs was standing and teetering. I should have videotaped it, but I was too intent on getting good still shots.

Balancing

Then, a second baby joined the first one, Shortly after we arrived, the mama gave an almost imperceptible nod that sent the babies running deeper in the woods, although they seemed to want to remain and investigate the strange humans watching them.

Twins

Mama then ran across the street and urged them farther away.

I'm outta here; Photo: Caty Stevens

It was getting dark, but we kept searching and were rewarded with a Broad-winged Hawk. I was lucky to get a semi-usable shot in the dusk. We were pretty excited because we don’t have these Hawks where we live.

Also posing

By now, it was getting too dark to photograph animals, so we headed to our accommodations, the Skyland Lodge. We were staying in a two-bedroom cabin that looked like part of it was one of the original cabins from the 30’s. It had a small kitchen and a fireplace, but we were way too tired to use either. We had dinner at the Lodge Dining Room.

Skyline Lodge; Photo: NPS

It was full dark when we finally dragged out stuff into the cabin (which had a burned-out porch light). We had to take it all in because we were leaving the next afternoon and we needed to repack. Fun in the dark.

This is what the cabin looks like in daylight; Photo: NPS

I slept really well that night and we got up early, had bagels in the room and headed out to look for critters.

Almost immediately, we saw another Bear. This one was rather small and extremely wary. Most Bears will either ignore you or take a look and then go back to their business. This one looked at us the entire time we were there.

A bit timid

I probably should mention that the Bears in both Great Smoky Mountain and Shenandoah National Parks are black bears. Although some Black Bears are cinnamon-colored, I have seen almost exclusively black Black Bears in the east.

Hiding (?); Photo: Caty Stevens

We also saw a couple of Woodchucks (basically, low altitude Marmots), which seem to like to sit in the road and then run away when you try to photograph them.

How much wood could he chuck?

Striking!

As I was driving along, I saw what I thought was an orange ribbon tied high up in a tree.

I slowed down and realized that it was gorgeous male Scarlet Tanager that very obligingly posed for us as we snapped away from our just-barely-off-the-road car (Shenandoah doesn't have lots of wide shoulders).

It was the only Tanager we saw on this trip and he was a beauty.

Just like the Smokies, Shenandoah National Park seemed to be just entering spring. There were buds and emerging green leaves on teh trees and bushes at lower elevations and a small amount of flowers were popping out here and there. But, higher elevations were still brown and bare.

Dogwoods

We stopped for lunch at a little store at the Elkwallow area (I doubt any Elk have wallowed there in years). The store had a grill, so the food was pretty good. And, that area was full of birds -- the most we saw anywhere.

Eastern Phoebe

Willow Flycatcher

Chipping Sparrow

Female and male Brown-Headed Cowbirds

The males were first walking around in the grass and then flew up into a tree to pose for us.

Pretty bird

We chased Eastern Bluebirds all over the place, but I never got a picture. Caty did.

This one finally sat still; Photo: Caty Stevens

And, I finally got a butterfly to hold still. I never got one of the Smokies’ ubiquitous Yellow Swallowtails to hold still, but I did get this Spicebush Swallowtail in the parking lot.

I took way too long trying to get this

After lunch, we headed north for some more scouting before heading to the airport. We saw a Black Rat Snake on the road.

We had to stop for this; Photo: Caty Stevens

At first, we thought it was dead, but, as we walked up to it, it slithered off the road and up over a stone wall.

Pretty snake

A little bit later, as I was taking a picture at an overlook, we saw a beautiful black spiky caterpillar with orange underneath. It is called a Giant Woolly Bear.

Seems to be an apt description

Speaking of caterpillars, throughout the park we saw numerous Eastern Tent Caterpillar webs. These sacks, which can measure up to a foot across, are filled with various sizes of decoratively marked caterpillars with spiky undersides. The tents are everywhere.

Lots and lots of these guys

One of our best sightings of the trip wasn’t caught on film at all. As we were leaving the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, we came upon a bicyclist and, as I was slowing to go around him, a Barred Owl flew out of a tree right between the cyclist and our car. It was beautiful. But, obviously, we didn’t have cameras at the ready. We pulled over and searched the trees, seeing nothing. Just as we were leaving, we saw it swoop out of a tree (it had probably been right in front of us) and fly down the slope away from us. We went back later and searched the area, but we never saw it again. I would have loved to get a picture, but the vision is cemented in my mind. Owls are so quiet that we don't think the bicyclist even knew an owl had practically brushed the back of his head.

We missed the shot; Photo: danasrfh.top

Obviously, our trip to Shenandoah was a quick one. I had been there once before, also briefly, and Caty had never been. So, we were taking advantage of proximity with very limited time. Shenandoah has lots of hiking trails and lots of waterfalls, so it would be a great to go back.

I'd like to spend more time there

It was blissfully empty when we were there, probably because spring hadn’t really hit yet (and there was a fire that had closed a third of the park). I imagine it gets very crazy in the summer because this gorgeous wilderness is so close to the Washington, D.C., metro area, which is where we were headed.

Iris

Manassas National Battlefield
As we drove toward Dulles Airport, the traffic started to multiply and the temperature kept going up. It had been in the 60s in the park and now it was 84 degrees. We had a very small amount of time before our flight, so we quickly (very quickly) drove through parts of Manassas National Battlefield, which preserves the sites of the First and Second Battle of Bull Run, both of which were won by the Confederacy. It’s where Maj. Gen. Thomas Jackson got his nickname, “Stonewall.”

Quick stop

Once we checked in at the Visitors Center, it turned out we had less time than we thought, so we just drove part of the “loop road,” which is actually just a route utilizing existing roads.

Some historic sights

The trip home was interrupted by bad weather in Texas. We were diverted from DFW to Austin and then back to DFW, causing us to miss our connections. We found a hotel, so we could shower, sleep and put our dirty clothes back on before flying to our respective homes. Despite the last minute inconvenience, it was a lovely trip, with lots of chances to enjoy nature …