Autumn Splendor

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Ever since I found out we were moving to Virginia, I have been excited to see the Fall Foliage! Heck, even before moving here I had longed to visit in the Fall to see all the wonderful colors! We live within a few hours drive of Shenandoah National Park, which is absolutely gorgeous in the fall! The weather here has been cloudy and rainy, and not the best for photos, and the Government shutdown had the park closed. This weekend was the first it was open. Unfortunately, the leaves didn't get the memo and they changed anyway. They are a bit past their prime, but there is still gorgeous sights to behold! We got lucky with a sunny day on Sunday, so I got J out of bed and we headed for a day trip to the park! It was freezing! We had a cold front move in...it cleared the skies and lowered the temperatures! It didn't get over 50 degrees all day! And there was a cold wind. Brrr! I should have brought a heavier jacket....and some gloves!

We started from the south of the park at the Rockfish Gap entrance. The road is called Skyline Drive, and is a continuation of the blue Ridge Parkway. It's 105 miles through beautiful Shenandoah National Park! We didn't drive the whole thing this trip though. We exited at the Thornton Gap Station, which is about 3/4 through the park. The road is called Skyline Drive because it traverses the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are tons of pull-outs offering spectacular views of the valleys below! The park offers lodging, camping, fishing, wildlife viewing, and the old vacation cabin of President and Mrs. Hoover! It's so beautiful and we picked the perfect day to go!

I took over 200 photos! Insane! Even after I took out the blurry ones (because I like to shoot while we drive), and the repetitive ones, I still have over 100! I would narrow it down even further, but I think they are just too wonderful to not share! Make sure you click to the next pages! Enjoy! 😊

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