Saturday, October 22, 2011

Day 2 in Shenandoah National Park

What better way to start out my second day in Shenandoah National Park than to see this sweet mother and baby deer?




The baby was doing a little Yoga!  Namaste


They became bored with my camera clicking and wandered off!

I love to see lots of  bike riders in the park. 
Going up the mountains is very challenging - to say the least!



The Appalachian Trail runs  the entire 100 miles of the park.  Some of the trails are much easier than others - as I soon discovered!


When you seen this symbol, you know you are on
a portion of the Appalachian Trail.

This particular trail looked relatively easy. The sign said it 0.9 mile and "easy", so I decided to do it.  How hard could "easy" be?

 There was a moderate incline, but nothing too bad - just yet.




I eventually reached a part  that was all loose rocks and straight uphill!  The pictures don't depict it too well - but it was REALLY hard!  (I turned around and went back!)

So, here's another portion.  This one was more suitable for me - short, sweet and pretty-much on flat ground!



In some parts of the park, the fall colors were still
very vibrant. But, in other parts, it was well past their peak.







This is really a beautiful National Park.


 Appalachian Mountain Range





I enjoyed my days here!  Life is good!

 At the southern end of the park, Skyline Drive turns into the Blue Ridge Parkway -- which runs all the way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.