2017-13
Front Royal Virginia
View of the north fork of the Shenandoah River |
Campground: North Fork Resort. $21
PPA ½ off rate. $43 for one night at full price. Most I've paid
this season. This is a Coast to Coast community and one can purchase
a membership in the resort. Members who stay the season must move to
a different campsite every two weeks.
I have full hookups, 30/50 amp at
different prices. My campsite backs up the the Shenandoah River.
Sweet. The only issue here is that the speed limit is 5 mph. Hard to
stay at that speed limit and I don't particularly like being
chastised for going a few miles over the speed limit. With that, I
would probably avoid coming here again.
I've arrived in Front Royal, on the
edge of the Shenandoah National Park and the entrance to the Skyline
Drive. The campground has lots of amenities, especially if you have
kids. Tennis courts, baseball courts, miniature golf, swimming pools
and a couple of clubhouses for both kids and adults. Many of the
sites appear to be seasonal campers, leaving their campers here and
arriving on weekends to enjoy a bit of time away from work and
household chores.
Since arriving in Virginia, I'm
beginning to get paranoid about ticks and Lyme disease. I've already
been attached by two ticks and have had to remove them, after they
had lodged in my skin for who knows how long. Hopefully, I've not
been infected and I'm watching carefully. Years ago after I had my
spleen removed, my doctor said not to get infected as without the
spleen I would not have a good chance of survival. I think he put it
a bit stronger, but needless to say, I'm very concerned, to the point
I many eventually change my summer travel plans. I was at a
restaurant in town and when I sat down, a tick fell off of my shirt
and onto the table. Ekkk! I'm assuming it was on me anyway, but
needless to say, my heightened awareness of the little critters is at
maximum levels of concern. All indications are that the north
eastern U.S. Is heavily infected with ticks.
Front Royal
Front Royal, typical shops, free parking is a plus |
reminds me of the Harry Potter stories and Dygon Alley |
next to a bench in the downtown park I did go to their library to get free wi-fi as I had lousy Verizon reception at the campground |
a couple of interesting bldgs |
this is a starting point or ending point for many Appalachian hikers |
The historical town has a walking and
driving tour of Civil War battles as well as a museum dedicated to
such things as that. It's not on the top of my list of things to
explore, so if you have an interest in stuff like that you may enjoy
those activities. The visitors center is nicely situated in the
center of town and next to a nice park that gets lots of use
throughout the summer months with weekly outdoor movies and music on
Friday nights. Something I'll be sure to check out. While in the
visitors center a hiker arrived, getting ready to go on the
Appalachian Trail, heading south to Georgia.
I like the older theaters in town and
went to see the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2”. A light
sci-fl movie with the usual action and some humor throughout the
galaxy. The theater has 3 movie screens and the one my movie was in
is the smallest room I've been in with a large screen. Only about 8
rows with maybe 8 seats in each row. I sat off to one side and even
though the theater was completely empty, a family of 6 with children,
sat directly behind me. Don't you love having a kid kick the back of
your seat throughout a movie. And the rest of the theater empty.
I drove the 40 minute drive to the
Luray Caverns. There are a number of cave tours in the area, but the
Luray caverns are the largest. For my $23 entrance fee though the
tour guide was not top notch, the hour long tour was breath taking.
Some of the largest and most impressive stalagmites and stalactites,
wavy curtain forms, reflective pools of water and 10 story ceilings.
Created 4 million years ago and discovered in 1878 by a local
tinsmith and photographer. The land would go through a couple of
legal battles after the original owner didn't pay taxes on the place.
After winning it back the original owner would once again not pay
his bills and it eventually was sold. The current owners have had it
handed down over 4 generations. A Few other attractions are included
with the entrance fee including a tour of cars and carriages and a
grouping of historic buildings. Overall a really fun experience and
so close to the northern terminus of the Skyline Drive.
formed over 4 million years ago |
many stories high, it's much larger than this picture can show |
this one is called bacon because it's so thin and light shines right through it |
Skyline Drive
the fog was just burning off when I arrived views below showed I was above the clouds |
walking above the clouds |
A drive up the skyline drive the next day started out with lots of mist and clouds shrouding the mountain vistas initially. A stop off at the visitor center, which looked empty except for a deck on one side and a small gift shop behind one of the stone fireplaces where I'd get a few directions. It appears the visitor center in there mainly to provide information on hiking as that is what many people do up on the mountain. I took a short hike along a trail recommended by the Ranger at the visitor center, though I didn't go a great distance. There was supposed to be a Ranger led hike, but no one showed up. The other reason I didn't go too far is that I ended up hiking alone and this is bear country along with the fact that the trail became much more rugged as I ascended it. Lots of loose rocks and exposed roots. At least I was able to get to a nice overlook with a rock outcropping on top.
Skyline Drive, 35 mph posted |
would you camp up here? |
not the tallest mountains, but they are the oldest on planet earth |
Later at one of the pull-off viewing
areas, I had the nicest chat with a pair of British visitors. They
are pensioners as they call themselves and told how they lived on the
outskirts of London. As pensioners they are able to use the
trainer/subways and buses for free. We had a great discussion about
their and our political situation and the fact that many Brits would
love to just see the Royals go away. As it consumes so much of the
papers and it's not just the main Royal family we see on the news
occasionally, they said you would not believe how many Royal
relatives there are, they seem to be everywhere. One of the tabloids
caught a great picture of little 3 year old George stomping on the
brides wedding train and almost caused her to fall.
the kids were more fun to watch than the entertainer |
nice town square, outdoor movies and music throughout the summer |
a perfect evening |
I drove into town in the evening around
7 pm to hear a local singer/guitar player. In the center of town is a
nice gazebo and park. The musician is an English teacher/sometime
local actor/singer. He had a clear voice and played the guitar
perfectly. The only disconnect was that his voice didn't really go
with any of the country, folk or pop tunes he sang. Oh well, it was
an interesting performance along with some story telling. The main
attraction ended up being the myriad of kids dancing, holding hands
in circles then twirling individually to the delight of all the
parents and spectators. There must be something in the water up here
as their were lots of families with small children. I'd be cautious
if I were you drinking the water.
Saturday morning and I'm sitting at a
local tire company. One of my trailer tires has a valve stem leak.
They really should have installed metal valve stems originally
especially since I have tire monitors attached to each valve stem
adding stress to the valve stems. It'll be done right this time and
I'll be on my way heading through a corner of Maryland and into
Pennsylvania to Lebanon.
And that's where the next story will
continue. Until then, have a super great day.
more photos:
3 comments:
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful drive!! Yes, be careful of those ticks!!
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