Mountain Weekend

Prepare for a picture overload - Ryan's work had a drawing a few months back and Ryan won the drawing! He could choose from six different options as his prize and he chose a weekend at Big Meadows Lodge in the Shenandoah National Park! Our weekend was planned for May 31 - June 2 and so this past weekend, we spent a wonderful weekend away in the national park! 

We had an awesome room at Big Meadows Lodge and we checked in shortly after 4 on Friday afternoon! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and so after getting everything settled in, we headed to the Spotswood Dining Room to have dinner out on their deck - with stunning views to go with our dinner: Peanut Soup (for me - Ryan says its nasty), Chicken & Waffles and Cavatappi Pasta! 

We returned to our room to change - as the sun started its descent, the temperature also started to plummet and so we needed to throw on some long sleeves! We popped up the short little hill to the great overlook spot at the lodge before heading back down to the Lodge to check out the musician at the Tap Room and watch the sun set off the balcony of Big Meadows Lodge. 

While we watched the sun make its descent, deer popped out of the woods - nibbling the ferns and grasses that grow in abundance all around the lodge. They were fascinating to watch and for the most part, not very skittish since they probably see people all the time up at the lodge!

Friday was a gorgeous day with not a cloud in the sky - so the sunset was clear and beautiful! There were people all along the balcony off the back of the deck, but as the sun sank lower, everyone also quieted their talking and everyone watched as the day came to a close with glorious oranges, yellows and pinks... it was a lovely sunset! Afterward, we grabbed some blankets and I was really glad I grabbed a knit hat - because we headed over to the meadow that Big Meadows is named for a star gazing session hosted by the National Park. 

Saturday dawned sunny and absolutely gorgeous! The sun was out, the sky was blue and the temperatures up in the mountains hovered in the low 70's - it was a perfect Spring day! After coffee and breakfast on the deck of our room, we headed to Bearfence Mountain Trail - the first of our two hikes for the day! We found this hike in a book called "Easy Day Hikes" and I don't know that the name was necessarily misleading - but I know plenty of people wouldn't call the hike "easy".

The hike itself was on .04 of a mile to the summit - but three of the four tenths were rock scramble! The guide book noted that while rock climbing wasn't a skill you needed, the rock scramble could be tough - and they weren't kidding! There were several places where I had to find hand holds and foot holds to haul myself up and across craggy rocks - but hey, I did it! 

I love the picture up above of me - I was sorting out the best way to scale the rocks in front of me so I could make it to the summit of the trail! Once we made it to the top, the views were incredible; the summit offered a 360-degree view of the mountains rolling outward in every direction! I'm so glad we chose to do this hike because being able to conquer the rock scrambles was really a moment of accomplishment for me - and the views weren't bad either, ha-ha! 

Isn't that panoramic picture lovely? Everything is SO green and alive - absolutely beautiful! 

The whole hike was 1.2 miles once you made your way over the summit and down to the trail to return to the parking lot. It was a great little hike that required not too much effort ... but really offered great views! Once we finished, we headed to Skyland Lodge to peruse the gift shop, take a bathroom break and sit on the deck to have our lunch! After we finished eating, we headed to the Milam Gap parking lot to take on our second hike of the day: Rapidan Camp Trail! 

This trail was much longer - it was a 4 mile loop trail; 2 miles in to the Rapidan Camp and then 2 miles back out! The trail wasn't "bad" so to speak, but it did go up and down, up and down, up and down... although going in, there was a lot more down - so I knew that meant that coming back would have a lot more up! *sigh* There were two stream crossings and with about .04 of a mile to go, we came to a gorgeous little waterfall! 

The hike wasn't so bad but I suppose with it being the end of the day and having already put in almost seven miles of hiking, the final .05 of a mile back to the car was rough! I was pretty hot and I ended up feeling a little sick. After some water and beef jerky and a short rest, I was feeling much better and we made our way back to the car - and then to the room to change and wash off the day's hikes - and finally to the Tap Room for dinner: pizza, nachos and the amazing Blackberry Ice Cream Pie! We ended the evening with a fire in our fireplace and slept like the dead! 

Sunday morning, after breakfast at the Lodge, we boarded a little van and headed out to the Rapidan Camp - the escape that President Herbert Hoover created in the National Park during his Presidency. The location was ideal because it was less than 100 miles from DC and provided plenty of opportunity for fishing - which was one of Herb's favorite things to do! 

Three of the buildings have been restored and are part of the exhibit - and they are really cool to take in! I imagine it would have been incredibly peaceful to be able to retreat to the quiet of the mountains and just read a book by the stream or poke around in the forests around the cabins. Of course, they spent a lot of time fishing - but that's not really my thing, ha-ha! It's so cool to see and learn about the history of a place... but then again, I've always been a big ol' history nerd! 

After our tour, we headed back to the Visitor Center, climbed in our car and made our way back home! It was such a great weekend and we were so lucky to be able to have the chance to do this! We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the mountains and we were able to have a really great weekend together - even though my legs are a little bit black and blue after all my rock scrambling, ha-ha!