Shenandoah

First of all, Michael tells me it is Packers, not Packards! Sorry, Acme Packing and fans.

We are on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is continuous to the Shenandoah National Park, and just as beautiful and less smoggy. It’s Monday, which might explain why it is just about deserted, but it could be hype and nearness to D.C. that makes the Shenandoah so popular. There are also dozens of trails to hike on which is another plus.
We started off with a night on a side street by a garage in Front Royal, Virginia and rolled into the park early on Fall Back Sunday. I picked up this cartoon at the Front Royal (Warren Co.) Library on Saturday. With elections coming and the world in a precarious mess I thought the cartoonist’s obvious preference an interesting and alarming view into the precipice of slippery slope thinking.
Speaking of views, the views into the Shenandoah Valley were marred by smoggy haze, caused by sharp increases in development, by late afternoon with more sun and being further south it was better but the situation of poor air quality is worsening overall.
We hiked up to Hawksbill summit, highest peak in the park at 4051 ft. and for a few miles on the Appalachian Trail. A determined Ruffed Grouse thrummed for all climbers right along the trail for over an hour.
We also saw dozens of deer, some tame, some crazy wild unpredictable.
It’s tempting to follow this route all the way to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina but we won’t. The North Carolina coast is tugging too hard at us.