April 22, 2010 [LINK / comment]
Last Sunday, Jacqueline and I took advantage of a free-entry promotion courtesy of the National Park Service, and drove up to the Shenandoah National Park. It was nice to get up in the mountains and experience the exhilaration of fresh air, greening trees, and great views. It started out mild and sunny, but turned cloudy and chilly by the time we got to the midway point around Loft Mountain. At one point I got a glimpse of a Black bear not far from the road, down a slope, but it was gone by the time we had stopped so that I could take a look. Hardly any birds were to be seen, unfortunately. It was too hazy for good scenic views from the mountain tops, but the sun came back out by the time we headed back south through the Shenandoah Valley:
Massanutten "Mountain," from the south side, a few miles east of Harrisonburg. (That's actually the terminal point of a very long ridge, but they call it a mountain.) Roll over to see a deer grazing by Skyline Drive; both of those photos are on the Spring 2010 photo gallery page.