Shenandoah National Park, First Visit

Yesterday Emelie and I made our first official visit to the Shenandoah National Park. I purchased an Annual Pass for all National Parks. Emelie and I didn't want to venture to far into the park so we stopped 6 miles down Skyline Drive at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center. The Visitor's Center was closed, but we took in the beautiful view and went hiking on a 1.3 mile trail.

The view from the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center is of the Massanutten Mountain, we also have a view of this Mountain from our house. It is a large mountain that had a big effect on battles fought during the Civil War. Signal Knob is a high tip of this Mountain. Seeing the Massanutten
Mountain from the higher elevation of the Shenandoah was really beautiful.

As we first approached the viewing area, Emelie was running ahead of me, we saw 2 men and a woman. As I approached I noticed that the woman was holding flowers and one man was holding a small book. It was a couple getting married. I apologized for interrupting their ceremony. The couple informed us that they hadn't begun yet and invited us to stay and watch the ceremony. Emelie was invited to hold the brides flowers while they exchanged rings. Emelie was official a flower girl yesterday. It was a beautiful ceremony and a nice spot to get married. Who would of thought that we would see a wedding on our first visit to the park! It was extremely exciting for Emelie.

After the ceremony we met 3 girls that had 2 dogs with them. The dogs were training well and loved kids, so Emelie had a nice time playing with them. One was a Golden Lab and the other a Chocolate Lab. The women where from Arkansas and 2 of them were on Spring Break from the University of Arkansas. The owner of the dogs is from Richmond, Virginia, but grew-up in Arkansas. We also met a group of guys that are celebrating their graduation from College with a 6 month trip traveling around the US and Canada. They recently received their PhD. We met many interesting people yesterday.

Emelie and I went on our 1.3 hike down a trail that was a loop. Emelie ran almost 70% of it. The up hill parts were a little difficult for her. We didn't see any wildlife other than birds. The trees have budded and some of them even had blossoms. The fresh air during the hike was very energizing for both of us. We went home after the hike to eat lunch.

We had such a nice time that we returned after Susie came home from school. We took a brown bag dinner with us. We went back to the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center parking area. Susie at the young age of 6 was impressed by the view. We went hiking on a different trail it is part of the Dickey Ridge Trail and it takes you out near Snead Farm. I don't know anything about Snead Farm, but I'm sure when the visitor center is open it will have a display about the farm. We didn't make it to the Snead Farm, because Susie was getting tired. We hiked around 2 1/2 miles. We ate our dinner after we returned to the Dickey Ridge Center and watched the sun starting to set. The Massanutten Mountain was in a glow of Orange.

As we drove the 6 mile up Skyline Drive we saw a few deer on the side of the road eating the nice green grass. When we got home we were all very tired and ready for a good nights rest. It was a very eventful visit for our first visit, so I can't image what our future visits will have in store for us. I'm looking forward to taking my family and friends for a visit to the Shenandoah National Forest.