View from our ‘again porch’ in Shenandoah River State Park
One week in on our journey to comply with 70 levels. After leaving NJ we drove for about 4 1/2 hours. Doug was fairly decided that we wanted to no less than get out of the Northeast Hall earlier than we might cease for the night time. He even tried to inform me that we wanted the go away the state earlier than we might take a potty break… That didn’t occur. Truthfully, I don’t even assume we had formally left our residence county earlier than I used to be complaining that I wanted to go. However we did in actual fact make it previous Washington DC and throughout the northern portion of Virginia earlier than we known as it an evening. So the place did we go? The Shenandoah River Valley.
We stayed within the Shenandoah Valley on the Shenandoah River State Park in Bentonville, Virginia. This place was excellent. In the beginning, it was hotter than the climate we left in NJ. So for two individuals looking for hotter days, this labored. Actually the day earlier than we left, the each of us have been out salting and plowing roads. Right here, there was barely any snow on the bottom and the temperature was above freezing. I’m not going to say that we have been heat but, or that it was even remotely near 70 levels, however it was positively higher. Temps have been within the 40’s and the solar was shining shiny once we began our first official day. Heat sufficient to take a pleasant hike down alongside the river with our canine Lagertha and discover the realm.
On high of the marginally hotter climate, Virginia has carried out a wonderful job making their state park a vacation spot for the RV neighborhood. Our web site was massive with a stupendous view of the mountains throughout. The bathhouse was clear with showers and a laundry room. We had water and electrical on the web site, with a dump station completely situated as you exited the tenting space, and it was all fairly priced.
Proper now we do our highway tripping in a fifth wheel camper. However it wasn’t that way back that every one our highway journeys have been carried out in our each day driver, largely our Suburban, however typically in a small sedan. State Parks are an distinctive possibility for one of these traveler as a lot of them provide primitive websites for tent tenting, or cabins for the much less outdoorsy. The bathhouses are cleaned and maintained by the park rangers repeatedly. And, like I mentioned earlier than, the worth is mostly proper.
Entrance to the Shenandoah Nationwide Park was a ten minute drive down the highway. Right here you will see the northern begin of Skyline Drive, a stupendous byway that actually permits you the chance to journey the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 105 miles of mountain high driving with breathtaking views of the valley’s beneath. The highway continues and ultimately turns into Virginia’s portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We didn’t drive the complete factor, however we did go for about an hour stopping at many of the scenic overlooks alongside the way in which.
In a brief driving distance there are a number of caverns (Skyline, Luray, Shenandoah, Grand and Limitless – simply to call a FEW!) within the space, all providing guided excursions for roughly $30 per individual. We’ve carried out just a few cavern excursions previously with Jayden when he was youthful. They’re definitely enchanting, and typically it’s exhausting to grasp that this panorama is just under our ft. Strolling by way of a few of them you’ll be able to really feel like you might be on a distant planet. However on this journey by way of the realm we opted to skip them in favor of getting misplaced down nation roads to see what else the realm needed to provide.
Luray Virginia didn’t disappoint. In our pursuit of getting misplaced we stumbled upon Cooter’s Place. Now, I do know the tv present Dukes of Hazzard went off the air again in 1985, however the present maintains an honest following of followers. Right here at Cooter’s Place in Luray Virginia you’ll be able to tour the museum of all issues Dukes of Hazzard free of charge. They’ve a reproduction of Cooter’s Storage with the unmistakable Normal Lee and several other different of the enduring autos from the present. There’s a eating space for some eats, and you’ll peruse an array of merchandise. Their webpage boasts a live performance by Cooter himself each Saturday, however it was a Monday once we have been there so no backstage passes for us this time.
We awakened Tuesday morning to a balmy 17 levels.. Which meant it was time for us to maneuver on. We had solely spent 2 nights right here within the mountains, however it was now approach too chilly for us, and we’ve approach too many different locations to go to and other people to see! That is definitely an space that we plan to return to in a hotter month to make the most of some extra mountaineering and fishing of this prestigious panorama. Maintain following our journey right here, and on our YouTube channel to take a look at among the cool video footage of the place we are and what we’re doing!