Day 49-51, April 20–22: Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive is a 105 mile long scenic roadway that follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and runs north to south through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and connects to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will spend three nights in the upper section of Shenandoah National Park to visit the park and explore Luray Caverns in Luray, Virginia (about 10 miles west of the National Park.)

It was a short, uneventful drive from Harpers Ferry to our destination of Luray. After 2.75 hours and 86 miles we arrived at Country Waye RV Resort

COUNTRY WAYE RV RESORT
This RV park is deep into the farm country. In fact there were two farms on either side of this park. Our site was up on a hill and we had a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. During our stay here we got to experience farm life with the sound of bleating sheep, mooing cows, and we also heard donkeys braying. These sounds are so much more peaceful then traffic, plane, and train noise. This place was so quiet and peaceful. It is the best place we have stayed at so far..






Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under Virginia to see a review and more pictures of this RV Park. http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/

SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK
Shenandoah, an American Indian name, is thought to mean “daughter of the stars”. This National Park covers 197,412 acres and was established in 1935. The park was formed from over 1,000 privately owned tracts of land. Shenandoah started as a patchwork of forests, fields, orchards, and homesites. By the 1970’s Congress was able to designate over 40 percent of the park as Wilderness. During our stay in Luray, we drove along Skyline Drive exploring the upper half of the national park.


We stopped at several view points, had a nice dinner the first night and a nice lunch the second day at Skyland Lodge, and did a short hike on Limberlost Trail. Spring in Shenandoah National Park is spectacular. Everything is lush and green and wildflowers are everywhere!


LURAY CAVERNS
Luray Caverns is awesome. These caverns are one of the best we have ever seen. It is a ‘wet’ cavern that has several lakes and ponds and it is very much alive where stalactites are dripping water and still ‘growing’. The caverns were discovered in 1878 by a tinsmith and a local photographer. It is about 4,000,000 years old and contains cathedral-size rooms with ceilings 10 stories high, enormous chambers filled with towering columns, draperies, crystal clear pools, and many other types of formations. One interesting formation is called ‘fried eggs’. The tour was an hour long and we saw many wondrous formations. This is a ‘must see’ if you are ever in Luray or Shenandoah National Park. There are other caverns in the area, but we only had time to visit this one.

A great reflection in this underground lake.
This is called FRIED EGGS.








On the third day we returned to Skyline Drive and continued our scenic drive along Skyline Drive through the last 50 miles of Shenandoah National Park. At the end of the park we connected with the Blue Ridge Parkway. Over the next two weeks we will be driving the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway (over 400 miles), making overnight stops and visiting sights along the Parkway.