The Lure of the Mountaintop

Shenandoah National Park on a cloud covered day looked like this. Who needed sunshine?

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It was a late start to our day on Saturday. We used the GPS on my phone to find what we thought was a good route to Skyline Drive which is the road that was built explicitly to drive the 105 miles of the park. After almost 30 minutes of driving we came to this sign about 3 tenths of a mile from access to Skyline Drive.

Why didn’t they put this sign at the bottom where we started? Well we were burning (mad) but we still weren’t going to get through on that fire road. So we regrouped and finally made it to the Swift Run Gap entrance to the drive.

Because of our late start there was no way we were going to make it all 105 miles and be off that mountain before dusk. So we chose to visit Rose River falls. The hike was just strenuous enough to give us a little challenge. We passed a family cemetery that had civil war dead buried in it. We climbed to the top of the falls, enjoyed the view, talked with some fellow hikers and then went back down and drove to the Visitors Center.

There, Flat Nathan, met Iron Mike. He represents the many men who helped build Skyline Drive in the 1930’s as part of President Roosevelt’s depression era CCC. We learned the history of the park and took a couple funny pictures together. Our last stop for the day was at the Appalachian Trail. Flat Nathan really needed to be able to say he had stood there. Who knows, perhaps someday, Nathan Watson will aspire to walk the trail. For me and Ed…just standing on it is probably the best we can hope for.

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All Men Are Created Equal

We left Front Royal and drove on to Louisa, Virginia. On Monday we were ready to start our day at Monticello. Flat Nathan is going to visit the home of the third President and the author of the Declaration of Independence.

The home sits atop a mountain with a panoramic view of the valleys below. The sad part is that Jefferson had little time in his home until he retired after his presidency was over. We toured the house with a guide, another guide walked us through the life and times of slavery on the plantation, and we were free to explore the rest of the grounds on our own. The history of the home, the man, his family, and his slaves was educational and thought provoking. His quotes were everywhere and many times we took pause just to consider the depth of his intellect. But he was a man of contradictions in several areas of his life. As a result of Jefferson’s meticulous record keeping, Monticello is among the most documented and studied plantations in North America.

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