April 9, 2016

This week we have been staying at a timeshare resort in McGaheysville, VA.  It is a very large resort that is advertised as a 4 season resort.  There is a ski area, 2 golf courses, pools, water slides and activity areas for kids.  It is west of the Shenandoah National Park that includes the Skyline Drive that was created by the National Park Service with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps. President FDR was instrumental in the building of the Parkas well as generating the economy.  Skyline Drive

Early in the week we went into Harrisonburg to scout the area.  Grammie had her ideas on what we should see.  The quilt museum was in an older house that survived the Civil War.

Featured were many quilts.  The ones below are the Chicken quilt and an I Spy quilt. 

 

Can you find the wishbone?

On Friday we went up to the Luray Caverns.  The deepest spot was 164 feet below the ground surface.

The next several pictures are from the caverns.

In this picture there is a pool of water that is only inches deep but the reflections on the lower part of the picture make the appearance of the water a lot deeper than it really is. 

 Growth of the stalactites is thought to be only about 1 inch per 100 years.

Yes, you can even get married down below. This is the location of only stalactite organ in the world.

If you look carefully you can see a familiar figure.

Also in the Luray Caverns location there is an automobile building featuring cars from the beginning of their development up to 1941.  A surrey with a fringe on top.  Grammie would have loved a ride but not allowed.

A 1910 Ford Model T Touring car

A 1927 Mecedes Benz.  With 220 HP it is capable of 110 miles per hour, the strongest of its day.

There was also a toy museum and a ropes course that seemed to be the attraction of the day.

Flowers are even in bloom: however, the trees really haven't started to bud yet.

Off in the distance is part of the Shenandoah mountains.  The Red Bud tree is very common in this area.

This is the 2nd Bell tower that we have seen on this trip. This one features 57 bells with the largest approaching 4 tons.  Again we missed the playing of the Carillons

On our drive through part of the Skyline Drive we were treated to some great sights but the colors weren't really rich yet.

We traveled about 30 miles from the Thornton Gap back down to Elkton VA

The mountains are generally in the 3000 to 4000 feet in height.

We stopped at the Byrds Visitor Center along the Skyline Drive and learned more about the history of the development of the park. Below is a real man beater.   Along many miles of the park is a rock wall similar to the one in the above picture.  Because a lot of the roads were made on the side of mountains, a lot of the construction was centered on erosion control.

While at the center we met 3 hikers that were headed for Mt. Katahdin.  I told them that they might meet Gary in Monson as they passed through.  They started early in February to beat the traffic.

Tomorrow we are headed to Washington D.C. for 3 days. Our plans for visiting the White House fell through as we were not selected for a tour due to many spring requests.

On our way back we hope to bring more sunshine.

Tom couldn't help taking this picture in a gift shop in Luray.  One of our daughters asked if we had any burial plans. Tom said no so she said good, we can have fun with that.  If any ideas are needed, here is one.