Day 20 - August 25 Shenandoah and east bound

We started the day at our usual 8am start time and it was in the mid-60's as we headed out of Stephens City.  It was just a short jaunt to Front Royal, VA where we found our way to Skyline Drive that leads through the Shenandoah National Park.  We had properly prepared for the approach to the park gate by having our National Park Passes ready.  Much to Tim's chagrin it was Free Fee Day at the park (and at all National Parks) in honor of the Parks 100th birthday.  It might seem odd that Tim wouldn't be happy to find it was free day, but this is the third National Park in nearly as many days that we didn't need our pass for entrance.  The Statue of Liberty doesn't charge a fee to get in, however there is a fee to ride the ferry over to Ellis Island that isn't covered by the card.  Gettysburg didn't charge a fee at the visitor's center either, but there were fees to enter the special exhibits that are operated by the Gettysburg Foundation.  Then today it happened to be free entry to Shenandoah.  He wondered aloud why he purchased the card.  We assured him it will be worth it in the long run. 

The road is a beautiful winding meander through the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was immediately apparent why these mountains are called the Blue Ridge Mountains.  There are so many layers of blue as you look out across the vast expanses.  We stopped in at Dickey's  Ridge Visitor's Center to check out the view from the overlook.  Alan commented that the elevation is deceiving. At this point it is 1940ft, but it seems much higher than that.  While we were there we talked to the rangers about what animals we might see.  We were cautioned to keep an eye out for deer, black bear and wild turkey.

The road winds it's way for just over 100 miles and there were several turnouts.  We stopped at a few to get a closer, longer look at the scenery.  At one in particular we met a fellow cyclist from New Hampshire that asked Shannon to take his picture after she finished taking ours.  We were all surprised when he explained that she should take the shot after he was completely vertical in a handstand!

We did see some wildlife.  For the second time on this trip we've had 3 deer cross in front of us.  Both times there was a truck in front of us between us and the deer.  This gave us plenty of time to see them and avoid them.  For as much forest and wooded area as we traveled through, we've counted our selves lucky to only have seen two set of deer cross our path.  It's note worthy to say that we haven't seen too many others on the roadsides either. I noticed a number of butterflies along the road as we rode.  I haven't seen those any other place we've been yet.  It was fun to watch them dance along side us as we passed by.  At the next turn out Shannon reported seeing black bear mosey-ing through the woods.  No one else could confirm the sighting but Shannon thought she might have caught it on the camera.  We were all disappointed to find no bear pics.  There were even some accusations that she didn't see a bear, but instead a stump.  Shannon stands by her account and is certain it was a bear. 

We exited the Blue Ridge Mountains at the end of Skyline Drive just prior to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  That road is also on our bucket list, but it will have to be for another day.  For this trip it is time to head east towards the coast.  But first, we hit the Shenandoah HD in Staunton, VA.

As we now do fairly routinely, we asked for a lunch recommendation and were told to try Peck's BBQ.  Being that we were now in the south, BBQ seemed fitting.  It was pretty darn good. Torrey and Alan had to try the hushpuppies as they were the first we'd seen of them on this trip. Following lunch, we realized we still had plenty of miles ahead of us and chose I-64 to Midlothian, VA as our next rest stop.  By now the heat and humidity were cranking up.  The temps were in the upper 80's as we began our after lunch run.  Our timing wasn't too great as we hit Richmond about 4:30pm when the traffic was heavy with people leaving work.  Steel Horse HD was a welcomed sight as we needed a chance to cool off and get out of the traffic for a bit. 

With 160 miles to go and the clock showing it was 5 o'clock, we opted for I-95 for the North Carolina line.

 

 From here we made a quick stop at Roanoake Rapids and then got back I-95. I noticed it was 90 degrees on the bank clock when we moved on.  It was as we neared Rocky Mount, VA that Torrey saw an exit sign that he had to have a pic of.  We got on Hwy 64 beyond Rocky Mount and Hwy 13 into Greenville for the night. 

 

It was nearly 8pm as we pulled into Greenville.  It was hot.  It was humid. And, it was the first night I heard the sound of the forest a-buzz at night.  As Shannon and I stopped to listen to it, the desk clerk noted how annoying it was.  I thought it was great to listen to the cicada symphony and other critters that accompanied them out there.  Sadly, I didn't see any lightning bugs as I had to go order pizza for dinner, and do the nightly unpacking routine.

Total Miles today: 437;
Time to travel that distance: 12 hours
Total Cumulative miles: 7369.5
Tomorrow: Back to the coast