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 would have liked to at the least get out of the Northeast Hall earlier than we may cease for the evening. He even tried to inform me that we would have liked the depart the state earlier than we may take a potty break… That didn’t occur. Truthfully, I don’t even suppose we had formally left our residence county earlier than I used to be complaining that I wanted to go. However we did in reality 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. At first, it was hotter than the climate we left in NJ. So for two folks looking for hotter days, this labored. Actually the day earlier than we left, the each of us had 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 had been heat but, or that it was even remotely near 70 levels, but it surely was positively higher. Temps had been within the 40’s and the solar was shining shiny after 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 prime of the marginally hotter climate, Virginia has achieved a wonderful job making their state park a vacation spot for the RV group. Our web site was massive with a ravishing 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. But it surely wasn’t that way back that each one our highway journeys had been achieved in our day by day driver, largely our Suburban, however typically in a small sedan. State Parks are an distinctive possibility for the sort of traveler as a lot of them supply primitive websites for tent tenting, or cabins for the much less outdoorsy. The bathhouses are cleaned and maintained by the park rangers commonly. And, like I stated 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 discover the northern begin of Skyline Drive, a ravishing byway that really permits you the chance to journey the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 105 miles of mountain prime driving with breathtaking views of the valley’s beneath. The highway continues and finally turns into Virginia’s portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We didn’t drive your entire factor, however we did go for about an hour stopping at a lot 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 Countless – simply to call a FEW!) within the space, all providing guided excursions for about $30 per individual. We’ve achieved a number of cavern excursions prior to now with Jayden when he was youthful. They’re definitely enchanting, and typically it’s onerous to grasp that this panorama is just under our ft. Strolling via a few of them you’ll be able to really feel like you’re on a distant planet. However on this journey via the realm we opted to skip them in favor of getting misplaced down nation roads to see what else the realm needed to supply.
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 a good 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 at no cost. They’ve a reproduction of Cooter’s Storage with the unmistakable Common Lee and several other different of the enduring automobiles from the present. There’s a eating space for some eats, and you may peruse an array of merchandise. Their webpage boasts a live performance by Cooter himself each Saturday, but it surely was a Monday after we had been there so no backstage passes for us this time.
We wakened 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, but it surely was now means too chilly for us, and we now have means 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 reap the benefits of some extra mountaineering and fishing of this prestigious panorama. Hold following our journey right here, and on our YouTube channel to take a look at a few of the cool video footage of the place we are and what we’re doing!