Back at it!

After a fun whirlwind of a week back in Minnesota visiting relatives and friends, attending 2 weddings, and finding an apartment in Minneapolis to live in, we found ourselves yearning to get back on the road and continue our exploration of America. Rocky did awesome on the flight there and back and the lady sitting next to us commented that she would sit next to him anytime.

We parked our RV at a storage facility in Charlotte for the week and came back to a foul stench. I cleaned out most of the food out of the fridge and freezer before we left for Minnesota in the event that the battery wouldn’t last the week to keep the fridge going but, alas, a warm drippy pound of hamburger and a package of Edgewood meat locker brats were there to remind me that I miscalculated.

Other than that mishap, everything else was in place and in working order. Our belongings were secure and the Ford Transit engine fired up again in anticipation of a new trail to blaze.

On our way to Shenandoah National Park we first made a stop in the town of Appomattox Court House which is the county seat that holds the Appomattox Courthouse (not confusing at all) and the serene location where General Lee met Grant to sign the first surrender of the American Civil War after his 30,000 men were surrounded. It was an incredibly peaceful spot and I didn’t get the eerie vibe that some say they get at former Civil War battlefields. Perhaps it was because Grant took Lincoln’s advice to “Let ’em up easy” in an effort to charitably unite the nation and avoid alienating the South. Things could have been so much worse if he had been vindictive.

Amazing that in 26 hrs, 30,000 parole passes were printed and the men were allowed to take their horses home to farm. It was also really neat to see the recreation of the house of a local where the terms of surrender were signed. I wish I was able to see all these historical things as I went through grade-school so that everything would be more tangible and interesting. Obviously that’s not always practical and at any rate, I’m so thankful I get to see them now.

This guy was part of the National Park Service living history program playing the character of New York reporter, John Dennett who toured the South for a year after the war and wrote a book on his post-war observances, “The South as it Is: 1865-1866.”

Maybe in the future we’ll attempt to see all of the 400+ historic sites, parks and monuments maintained by the National Park Service, but for now we’ll stick mostly with the 49 officially designated National Parks in the lower 48 though there are 61 in total (when you include Alaska, Hawaii, Virgin Islands and American Samoa) with the 2 newest ones being the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the Indiana Dunes.

After some interesting history lessons at Appomattox, we meandered north to Shenandoah National Park and on the way narrowly missed 2 terrible situations. The first came when we stopped to get our first oil change at a Ford dealership. I woke up just in time to see my husband just about to pull under this 10′ drive-though and saw by the reflection in the window that we were not going to clear it. We were able to back up and save face after we indicated that we didn’t see the warning sign.

Then, after passing through Charlottesville, Virginia, we were going over a bridge when we heard a big clang followed by the sound of dragging metal. We looked in our rear-view camera which was almost completely obscured by bright orange sparks. I saw the trailer with our scooters swing out to the left and narrowly miss oncoming traffic. We eased to a stop on a narrow back country highway and got out to inspect the damage. The trailer came unhooked and was being pulled along by the safety chains which almost wore thin. Some minor damage occurred to the wire harness for the trailer lights but after some wrapping with electrical tape it still works! Very grateful that we avoided a more serious outcome!

After an eventful road trip, we were finally rewarded by the sweeping views of the Shenandoah overlooks after we entered the Swift Run Gap entrance of the Skyline Drive which is the 105 mile road that cuts through the center of Shenandoah. This park wasn’t high on my bucket list but oh my goodness was it beautiful and I hope to go back. I loved the 1940s Boy Scoutsy feel with the lettering of the signage, the cabins and the “Don’t Feed the Bears” warnings.

You don’t see many of these signs in Iowa.

Rocky was a HUGE hit sporting his goggles and helmet as he road along in his front-facing carrier on my chest. So many people flashed grins at us, came up to talk to us and take his picture as we scootered along Skyline Drive and Skyland (an old playground for the wealthy from the city which now is a resort with cabins). Amidst the pupperazzi I was asked “How did you train him to do that?” and told, “That is the most wonderful thing I’ve seen all day.”

We also loved the hiking, especially since most of the trails here are open to pets. We hiked the 4 mile Rose River Loop and were accompanied by the most peaceful sounding babbling brook along the way before we reached a lovely 67-foot waterfall. I even ventured off the trail to slide down some slippery moss-covered rocks on a natural waterslide to cool off.

We stayed at the Big Meadows campground which, even though it had over 100 campsites, felt remote and secluded. We boondocked there for a couple of nights which means we didn’t have electric or water hookups and could only run the generator at limited hours during the day. We were careful to conserve battery power by eating by candle or firelight and took short showers.

One evening, we went to a ranger-led talk on the history of the camp at a cute little amphitheater. I did not like to hear that the government led by FDR pushed out over 100 families against their will because the East was jealous of the all the parks in the west. I’m torn because I am so thankful that I can enjoy the beauty of this place but a little sickened that this was land rightfully owned by someone else. Preserve our parks, but please, don’t force people off their land to make any more.

The last morning we got up bright and early to drive up to Thorofare Mountain Overlook at milepost 40.5 to watch the sunrise at 5:48 am. It was a little cloudy but the bright pinks were gorgeous and the sun brilliant once it peaked through. The Blue Ridge Mountains were swimming through the silky clouds.

Before we broke camp we decided to get a little hike in since we were already up. We went down to the Milam Gap overlook and hiked the Mill Prong Trail to Camp Rapidan, the hideaway of Iowan president Herbert Hoover. Here he retreated from the stress of his job and hosted meetings with his cabinet and foreign dignitaries. It was near a stream as he enjoyed trout fishing. It was very peaceful and reminded me a lot of the camp I grew up going to in northern Minnesota, Story Book Lodge. We hiked 2 miles there and 2 miles back and were hoping to finally spot a black bear but to no avail.

Part of the trail was the Appalachian Trail and while walking along it, we had a good discussion about how we would go about hiking the whole thing if we were ever to get around to it.

We packed up the scooters and with happy memories made our way back to the Swift Run Gap entrance because there was a tunnel with a low clearance if we went further north on the Skyline drive. This added a bit of time to our drive but not as much as a ripped-up roof would. Now we make our way up the eastern seaboard to Acadia with a couple stops first in New York City and Boston.