Monday, December 17, 2012

Expanding Traditions: Shenandoah by Convertible


As referenced in my Last Entry, our stay at the Perennial Inn also included a visit to Culpepper and exploration of Shenandoah National Park. We actually took two trips into the park, one each day that we were there. The first was cold and rainy, but the second was nice enough that we decided to drive with the top down on the convertible. It was quite chilly as we drove, but well worth bundling up and suffering through the cold to gain the experience of driving through a tunnel of beautiful color.

















































We stopped at a lot of overlooks along the way in order to better appreciate the wonder around us. 



Virginia Creeper changing from green to red


We ate lunch in Big Meadows, where I worked as a ranger in 2011. It was fun to come back as a visitor. We even recreated a picture of my sister Callie kissing the statue of “Iron Mike” when my family visited me while I was working there. 





After lunch in Big Meadows we did a quick tour of the Museum of Culpepper History, which you may remember from a post this spring when Alison and I visited the first time. We found the dress up clothes once again and couldn't help but take a few silly pictures while we were there! 






I got put in the stocks for bad behavior and this is how my loving wife reacted…



When we went back to the park the second day we were able to do a bit more hiking through the trees to a lovely overlook of the Shenandoah Valley. 



























































We carried up apples from the National Apple Festival to enjoy at the top.




















It was a splendid way to end our fall expeditions and enjoy the wonders around us with my Mom.

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