Luray, VA

We were excited to get back into the mountains to visit another National Park. Shenandoah NP is a long narrow park that runs along the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia. We started off our visit by doing a few short hikes to some of the peaks to enjoy the amazing views of the valleys below. On our second hike we came across a large black bear just a few feet off the trail. Luckily for us he was more interested in foraging than in us and we were able to continue moving along the trail. After having hiked thousands of miles in the northwest, I never came across anything other than bear signs, so this was an interesting encounter. Little did we know that it would not the last. Our next day was spent visiting the Luray caverns and The Dukes of Hazzard museum at Cooter's. The caverns were surprisingly impressive. I had no idea this area of Virginia is known for the large underground caverns. Cooter's was a fun stop and I would recommend it to anyone who watched the show. We then went to Monticello to visit the historic home of Thomas Jefferson. I was impressed with the house and the estate grounds, but disappointed with how little they mentioned Jefferson's accomplishments for our country. Our last day was another killer hike in Shenandoah along the White Oak Canyon trail. The trail is known for its many waterfalls and swimming pools. We enjoyed our time in the country setting in central Virginia and will be coming back to the area. Off to DC!!!