May 18, 2008

May 18, 2008

We left earlier than normal this morning to get across Virginia following the Shenandoah Valley northeast. It is a pretty pastoral countryside. Along the way we stop at Cyrus McCormick’s Farm. In 1831 Cyrus demonstrated the world’s first mechanical reaper. Little more than a simple mechanical mower made mostly of wood with some forged iron gears and teeth, it revolutionized farming and life in the US. The reaper sped harvests by five times using a fraction of the manpower and led to the population shift off the farm. Cyrus moved the operation to Chicago to the serve the vast grain fields of the Midwest. His company eventually became International Harvester. The story has some relevance for us because we believe that one of Aimee’s deceased uncles was a McCormick descendent. This interesting farm and workshop has a replica of the original and miniatures of many of the early reapers.

Continuing along the valley we arrive at Shenandoah National Park. This long, narrow park sits on the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its main feature is the 105-mile Skyline Drive that traverses the park. Just past the south entrance we stop at Beagle Gap for a short hike to some meadows we are told have wildflowers. We saw nothing but a handful of small yellow weeds. Our old yard in Lombard had more. Skyline Drive has 75 overlooks. We stop at the first few but they are all starting to look alike. Shenandoah Park is pretty but for me not dramatically different from the southern Illinois area I grew up in, albeit with taller hills. Great Smoky and Shenandoah were both conceived in the 1920’s, pieced together from private lands, with the goal of having an eastern National Park for the new automobile-driving middle class. The Shenandoah site was picked because of its proximity to DC.

The next two hours of our journey down Skyline Drive is in rain, making the views poor. The highlight is an overlook pullout where we see a motorcycle rider proposing on one knee to a very wet and cold lady. She said yes! By the time we reach the center of the park at Big Meadow, it starts to clear up. We stop at the Visitor Center and then take a short hike to Dark Hollow waterfall. It is a nice walk (and a better way to see the park) and I get some good photos. We spend the evening at the nearby campground.