The Skyline Drive & Shenandoah Valley, VA

Sept. 27, 2007 - Oct. 2, 2007
Skyline Drive runs the entire length of the National Park Service's Shenandoah Valley National Park, which is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a winding road along the mountaintops of the Blue Ridge, east of the Shenandoah River, and was started during the great depression and Roosevelt's administration.

There are visitors' centers, many pulloffs for viewing, a cozy restaurant at Skyline Lodge which gives diners (we were among them) a spectacular vista, waterfalls, hiking & biking trails, etc. There are also bears, deer and other wildlife. Oh, nooo!

We first camped in Front Royal, VA, the northern terminus of Skyline Drive. The drive is 105 miles long and is very tortuous, with speed limits of 35 miles/hr. - believe me, we didn't want to go any faster! This will be our first high-altitude drive with our 40' coach and pulling our car --- total weight of the coach and car, loaded, is over 28,000 lbs.

We next camped at Big Meadows Campground at milepost 51, a National Park Service campground, where we could use our national Golden Age Passport for a 50% discount. It has no hookups (drycamping) and is at an altitude of over 3000 ft. To get there, we also had to go through Marys Rock Tunnel, 670 ft. long and only 12.8' high in the center, at mile post 31. Our rig is over 11.6' high.