WEBVTT - Go Chasing Waterfalls at Shenandoah National Park 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.640 If you're looking for the perfect place to chase waterfalls 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:04.960 and run from black bears, then capital off with the 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:08.920 naple martini at a makeshift Speak easy. Shenandoah National Park 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:12.360 is the place just for you. That's right. This place 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:18.160 has it all. Bountiful forests, foggy mountaintops, scenic drives, intimidating wildlife, 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:21.640 and quaint Town's filled with chatty cab drivers and friendly 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:24.760 restaurant service. And it's also got a lot of history too. 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:28.000 We're excited to share all of our findings about this 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:34.320 wonderful Virginia park. Hi, I'm Matt and then Brad. This 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:36.559 is the park Landia Podcast from my Heart Radio. We 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:39.080 packed up our stuff in Chicago and moved into an 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:41.360 r V and now we're shopping the country full time 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:45.599 with our dog fin exploring America's national parks. They we're 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:58.280 talking about Shenandoah in Virginia. So, for some unfair reason, 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.200 a vast majority of national park in the US are 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.560 clustered out west, with only a few scattered along the 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:06.920 East coast. And as someone who grew up on the 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:09.800 East Coast, I am personally offended by this. But at 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.680 least you have gems like Shannon Doah to brag about. Yeah, 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:14.800 I mean, I do not even want to talk though, 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.760 because like most of the parks I visited growing up, 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.360 we're out west, or like all of them were out west, 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:22.679 even though I grew up like four hours from Acadius. 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:26.680 So I'm basically a total hypocrite complaining about this. And 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:30.120 in this case, I I've never been to Shenandoah when 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:33.600 I was a kid, so my gripeing is kind of unfounded. 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:37.360 But as an adult now, like why there there should 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.360 be more? Of the East Coast is beautiful and Shenandoah 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:42.560 perfectly exemplifies that. Yeah. And when you and I went 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:44.479 in the spring, it was the first time for both 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.600 of us, and it really just blew us away. I mean, 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:51.040 I was I wasn't expecting to see this like rich 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:55.240 Green Mountain, with these beautiful valleys and the in betweens 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:59.160 and the dotted with clouds and patches from this misty fog. 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.640 I mean, it just looked like something out of a movie. Yeah, 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.760 or this hauntingly beautiful dream, especially in the morning. Not 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:07.000 a sound cliche or anything, but shenan Doah is the 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:11.639 kind of place that really defies cliches. It's just that good. Yeah. 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:14.040 I was exciting to visit a national park together that 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:16.640 neither of us have experienced before or knew much about. 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:21.200 You know, we were going in completely fresh and open minded. Yeah, 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.079 that's true, like total blank slate. And we were at 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:26.639 this time fresh off a few days in Richmond, which 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:29.320 is one of my favorite cities ever. And we were 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:31.799 there because you were selling syrup in an event. Um, 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:33.440 do you want to talk a little bit about that 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:35.839 and then we can gush about Richmond maybe because I 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:39.520 can't resist. Yeah, No, I mean I really love those events. Um. 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:43.959 That one was the Bizarre Bizarre, And love the name yeah, 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:46.480 and it's spelt two different ways, just because it's that fancy. 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.799 They're so clever and so um. I really enjoyed going 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:52.560 to that event and selling Burns Maplewood Farm maple syrup, 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:56.440 and and it was just a really great time going 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:01.000 into Virginia. And I remember buying tickets for that baseball 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:04.840 game for the Long Day. I remember that was just 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:07.520 horrific because I was like, Oh, I'm so excited, we're 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:10.400 going Opening Day and then it's like, not, those are 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:14.400 for tomorrow. Yeah, and then yeah, that sucked. But we 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:16.640 wound up going to see the pet Cemetery movie at 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:20.200 this great movie theater nearby, and the movie theater had 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:24.000 a bar with hefty wine pores, so it probably worked 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:26.000 out for the best, to be honest. But Richmond is 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.640 so yeah, great, and it's a great place to spend 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:32.440 a few days visiting the wonderful restaurants there, neighborhoods, and 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:34.640 they have hiking trails in the city and around the 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:37.200 James River, so it's a good, little, good place to 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:41.560 pregame before making the drive, very doable drive to Shenandoah, 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:45.240 which we did. And this was all kind of in 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:48.280 the midst of a few months being on the East 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:50.840 Coast up and down for these different events that you 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.040 were working at, and we knew at some point we 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.120 wanted to make it to Shenandoah, but we needed to 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:00.360 be strategic about it because this was spring and is 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.960 notoriously fickle in terms of weather, so we needed to 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:07.720 wait until enough time had gone by where things were 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:10.800 warming up and the snowy mountains could thought out more. 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:15.080 And it needs to be drivable for our RV for sure, absolutely. 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:17.040 I mean for an East Coast park, this place has 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:20.960 a pretty impressive elevation. I mean things can get cold 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.400 and snow up there above the clouds. Yeah, this is 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.680 definitely an elevated place by East Coast standards for sure. 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:29.960 And I I loved it. I was really blown away. 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.840 And it's the main part of it that you're driving 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:37.200 through was this road called Skyline Drive. And I honestly, 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:38.719 I don't know if I told you this at the 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:40.599 time we're driving through, but I was definitely thinking it. 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:43.200 I feel like Skyline Drive should be a level on 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:47.240 the next Mario Mario Kart game, you know, right, definitely, 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.919 because it's like it's like Rainbow Road. It felt like 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:53.480 Rambow Road, but like safer but National Parks Edition National 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:58.760 Parks Rainbow Road, um, not in outer space. And so 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:02.080 Skyline Drive is this long hundred and five mile main 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.640 road that runs along the crest of the Blue Ridge 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.520 Mountains from the park's northern end to its southern end. Yeah, 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:11.200 it's definitely one of those, like the most ultimate scenic 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.159 drives in the entire National Park Service. I mean, it's 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.839 a must drive for any road trip. Yeah. But seriously, 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:20.799 that we drove the whole entire thing, didn't we um 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:24.040 or most of it? I think at least at least 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.800 seven percent. I think there was a section maybe towards 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:30.320 the far something end that was closed off for road 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:33.840 damn it or something, but we did drive a vast 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:38.040 majority of it. And skyline drive is iconic for good reason. 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.080 It takes you deep into dense forest and then up 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:45.200 along some high elevation mountain ridges with these panoramic valley 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.160 views on either side of the road along the way. 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.200 The overlooks are just killer, and there are so many 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.240 of them, and you're gonna want to stop at practically 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:56.080 all of them, I mean, because each viewpoint just gets 0:05:56.120 --> 0:06:01.320 better and better and higher and better. How you get 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:03.960 the better it gets. I mean, even though for us 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:06.680 in our V some of these overlooks were a little tricky. 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:08.960 It was kind of hard to park and get in 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.120 and out sometimes and we had to back up our V. 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.039 But and that's only because the trailer was attached. But 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.520 even then it was still wasn't that hard. Yeah, some 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:19.800 of them are really narrow and they didn't have like 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.120 loop type overlooks, So these are the ones you had 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.159 to kind of pull into then pull out of, and 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:27.839 with an RV, that how the trailer being towed behind it. 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:29.919 That was really tricky, and I don't know how you 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.360 do it, Honestly, I could never just thinking I get 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:35.040 I was just sitting the vac sat nervously by to 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.600 my nails and holding fin which is I'm sure very 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:40.640 helpful for you. I appreciate your emotional support. Yeah, that's 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:44.839 my pattern. But anyways, the Skyline Drive is so incredible 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:47.240 that it actually became the first road to east of 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:50.920 the Mississippi River to be named a National Historic Landmark 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:54.960 on the National Register of Historic Places. And it's also 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:58.480 a National Scenic Byway. That's amazing. It's this road has 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:02.080 more accolades than Meryl Street. Oh, it's the Meryl Streep 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:05.800 of scenic drives. That's yeah. Yeah, and it totally it 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:09.000 really is the leading lady of this park too. Genandoah 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:12.360 is um to give you a sense of the geography 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.960 of this place. It's a pretty long, narrow park, mostly 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:19.960 anchored by Skyline Drive. It's but not only is it 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.520 known as the scenic drive destination, it's a hiking paradise too, 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.000 with hundreds of my little trails that branch off either 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:29.120 side of Skyline Drive. Yeah, you can actually hike care 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.040 for months and so miles of trails to explore, including 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:34.720 about a hundred miles of the Appalachian Trail, which we're 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:37.800 right through the entire length of the park. Yeah, and 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:41.080 that was really cool. So now we can officially say 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.520 that we've hiked part of the Appalation Trail together, like 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:45.920 little snippets of it. Let's be honest, we were probably 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:47.640 weren't going to be hiking the rest of the trail 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.160 anytime soon. Yeah. I think we actually talked about this 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:52.400 while we're hiking here, like on the first trail, because 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:56.440 we did part of the Appalachian and me, I, I 0:07:56.560 --> 0:08:00.320 just started like thinking and ruminating, and I remember saying 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:03.160 to you how it'd be fun to do the entire 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:06.880 Appalation one day, but only on the condition that you 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:08.920 drive alongside me so that I don't have to carry 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:11.240 a backpacker campital and so I would do like the 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:14.120 glamping version of the Appalaian Trail. Like I said, we 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.960 probably won't be hiking rest this trail anytime soon, Okay, okay, 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:23.280 I mean one day, one day, you'll you'll understand. Until then, 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:25.560 I'll just wait patiently until you change your mind. And 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:28.400 in the meantime, there's plenty of trails to hike at 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.160 Shenandoah that don't include the appalation. On the west side 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.520 of the park is the Shenandoah Valley, and the east 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:38.640 has the Virginia Piedmont region, which has endless rolling hills 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:42.080 and mountains. The west felt more lush and kind of 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.120 rainforest like to me, at least once you hike down 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:46.840 into the woods. It's really like the best of both 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.240 worlds in one park. You have like these thick rainforesty 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:53.640 forests and then these like super kind of foggy, smoky 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:57.800 mountains on the other and these deep valleys. It's magnificent. 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:01.160 Speaking of valleys, I cannot to talk to you about 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:03.720 what's on the other side if some of these valleys 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:20.040 when we get back from this short break. Hi, I'm 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:22.640 Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia, and today 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:26.240 we're talking about Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. For us, 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.520 our entry point to Shanondo was from the front Royal 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:33.280 Virginia at the park's most northern entrance, and it's a 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.120 small town. We didn't really do anything here aside from 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:38.880 stock up on some groceries um, and then we set 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.000 up for the night at a r V park just 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:44.480 a few minutes from the entrance. Yeah, even though it's convenient, 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:46.600 that park was kind of shady. I feel bad for 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:49.760 making reservation there, but I don't really, you're much better 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:53.040 at like researching that stuff and making reservations. Yeah. I 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:54.920 remember driving into the r V park and there were 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.560 some random cows just running around and blocking our way. 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:00.599 I mean that was an omen I'm sure, yeah, and 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:02.600 probably should have been signed that we should turn around. 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.360 But luckily we only had one night here and then 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:07.040 we're able to wake up early the next day to 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:09.800 get started in the park. And the entrance was right there, 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:13.880 so that's fine. And Skyline Drive, I think, is even 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:15.960 prettier in the morning, Like the earlier you get up 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:18.160 and go, the better because it has all this missed 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:21.280 kind of billowing through and you're driving into it and 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.000 then all these chirping birds and some light that's starting 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:28.920 to flicker through the trees. It's all very storybook just enchanting. Yeah, 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:31.320 right away, it just amazes you, and it only gets 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:33.559 better as w you're further and further down the road. 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:37.800 Um and saw all those amazing views. Yeah, for sure. 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.520 Trill So after a few of these stops and overlooks, 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.160 which took a little bit of time. Our first order 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:47.760 of business was a waterfall hike that I had researched, 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:51.720 called the Overall Run Falls. It's about twenty one miles 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:56.000 down Skyline Drive, and Shenandoah is particularly known for its 0:10:56.120 --> 0:11:00.400 abundant waterfalls, especially of the tall cascading variety like this one. 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:05.080 So I picked this trail, which is moderately strenuous. It 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:08.079 goes down at first to lead to this waterfall valley 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.160 off Skyline Drive, and then you obviously turn around and 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:14.800 hype back up. Altogether, it's about six and a half 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:19.200 miles round trip with uh half tea amount of elevation game. 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:23.520 It's about eight hundred feet worth of elevation game, so 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:27.000 it's nothing to scoff at. Yeah, it's like deceiving at first, though, 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.080 because when you're going down, it makes you think that 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.559 the whole trail is going to be easy and relaxing. 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:36.360 But when then you remember then the farther down you go, 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.680 you're gonna have to go right back, and uh, I 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:42.080 don't think I was too happy about that. Yeah, I 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.560 don't think we're We thoroughly thought that through like we 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:47.880 had a very leisurely comfortable chat on the way down 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.920 about me wanting to do the appellation and like guilging 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:54.680 you into driving alongside me, right right, And then we 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:56.720 had a nice little lunch and then on the return 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.280 long I was like, oh, right, we have to go up, 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:04.800 like friendly reminder. And I'm also not that great at 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:08.200 being a motivational coach. I remember like we were hiking 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:10.560 up and I kept like speed hiking up ahead of 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:12.000 you and then waiting for you to catch up, and 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:15.439 then doing it again and repeating this process, and I 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:17.160 think it was really annoying. It was like the most 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:19.360 annoying way I could have hiked for you, Like it 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:24.000 wasn't I played the fifth Yeah, But we started chatting 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.600 with this other hiker who was obsessed with dashall parks 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:28.920 like we were. And I think he was from Minnesota. 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.160 Um that sounds right, Yeah, And he was in the 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:33.720 area to check out Shannondo as well. Yeah, he was. 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.600 He was very nice, very and it was a nice 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.760 pleasant distraction to to have someone to someone else to 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:43.160 chat with on the way up, especially towards the last 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:47.120 leg of this return trip. And he was clearly equally 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.840 as eager for the child to be over. And I 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:52.200 also think that's something you guys bonded over as I 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:55.280 like flitted around you like an annoying like a mosquito. Yeah, 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.480 you were basically just like running circles around us, and 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.360 we were like huffing and puffing and and but the 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:04.040 trail really was worthwhile. Yeah, any trail is, and it's 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:07.800 all about the journey, not the destination. So true. The 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:11.080 waterfall was beautiful. I mean it was quite tall with 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.840 like a drop, and it provided this great view of 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.559 the like super green forest in the Shantandoah Valley with 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:21.160 all these rocks ledges that ran up above the waterfall 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:26.000 for great foot opportunities. And yeah, really good. I know that. 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:29.000 I love the rocky ledges with like the waterfall. TiO 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:30.960 left and it's really tall, one of the tallest in 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.800 the park. And then the landscape just kind of opens 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:38.360 up and you have these unlike unmarred views of this 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:40.959 tree lined valley. It was so nice, great place to 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:45.400 such a vast valley, vast valley. Also, I remember this 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.679 was a perfect occasion for me to wear um one 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:50.760 of my favorite T shirts. It's the one that says 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:54.240 get outside worst case scenario, a bear kills you and 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:56.040 it's got this like little outline that's still ab out 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.360 of a bear on it. Yeah. You you actually um 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:00.520 got both of us will Yeah, you of one loved 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:04.320 it so much. Um. But that's super appropriate because Shanon 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:06.920 Doah has one of the largest concentrations of black bears 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.440 in the country. Yeah, so the shirt is either appropriate 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.760 and funny or tragically ironic. It could go either way. 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:17.560 It could go either way, right, you know, since once 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:19.760 we were done with this trail, we stopped at a 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:22.720 little general store for some like snacks and coffee and stuff, 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:26.520 and and uh surprisingly had a good amount of Virginia 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.440 wine bubbles. Yeah, there was a lot of Virginia wine there, 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:31.680 and I was definitely intrigued. I think I probably took 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.160 a few photos of them, but I wasn't intriguing enough 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:36.440 to actually purchase any. And I do that a lot. 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.000 I'm like, I did that in South Chocota recently too, 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.800 where like we're there's all these local wines and I'm like, oh, 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:45.480 how amazing we should get something. I'm just like, no, Um, 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:50.360 I'm just gonna point out because you're frugal, that's how 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:55.400 I'll say it cheap is another way, but yeah, no, no, no, 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:58.200 we just, um, I'm very picky. I guess I gotta budget. 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:00.840 I have this like explosion of excite meant an interest, 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:04.920 and then it like rapidly disappears. Yeah. No, In case 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:07.120 the first drout wasn't enough, we decided to hike to 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:10.440 the top of the highest peak in Jandote. Yeah, because 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:13.320 you know me, I'm a lunatic and I was eager 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:17.000 to do Hawksbill Mountain, which has an elevation of four 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:21.000 thousand and fifty one ft. This is it's actually pretty 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.120 low compared to the peaks out west, but by East 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:26.920 Coast standards, it's it's a behemoth. Yeah. Fortunately we didn't 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:30.320 hike the entire four thousand feet, just you know, the 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.400 top final stretches all we did. Um, because you're not 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.160 that much volunt Yeah, I mean I am, but like 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:39.840 we we didn't. It's just that's just where Skyline Drive 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.200 like started, and I thought it made it very doable. 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:45.560 It's cool that we're able to easily do the highest 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.440 peak in the park in like the span of an 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:50.440 hour and a half or whatever, and the trail is 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:52.920 actually much shorter than the waterfall hike. It's brief, but 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:55.040 you get a lot of elevation gain in a short distance. 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.720 So you have these like steep switch backs through the 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:00.480 woods again, like through the what 'sfortunately lots of tree 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:04.080 cover so the sun isn't beating down on you directly. 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:07.040 And this hike really pays off quickly though, because the 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:09.760 views from up there are really special. Yeah. There's this 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:12.200 little like open cabin structure at the top with some 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:15.440 like bench seating and a rocky edge with some like 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.400 show stopping views. I mean you just sit down there 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.240 and you know, you just see the we like the 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:24.720 Skyline Drive weaving along the mountain ridge, and you could 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:26.560 just see so much from up there that it's just 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:30.520 truly special. Like how many like small clouds you saw 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.000 floating over the road when we were there, and it 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.720 just felt like we were soaring now, Yeah, it really did. 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.760 I love being that high up above Skyline Drive, which 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:42.800 is a different angle, and it's a beautiful road just 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.000 to look at from afar. How it like kind of 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.520 wines and like we use lawn this mountain ridge. It 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:50.560 kind of felt like we're levitating about the park just 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.120 looking down at it. And this view really shows you 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:56.160 just how expansive and lush. All of Shenandoah is dense 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:59.040 green trees for days. I remember getting up to the 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:02.520 top of that and we um took a picture for 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:05.040 our friend Diana because it was her birth center, like 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.800 this birthday message, and you know, Um, that's the one 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.160 thing that's fun is like when we're on these journeys 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:12.320 that we can just stop for a second send a 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.960 picture to somebody just saying you're thinking of you. You know. 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:17.679 I think I joked that we hiked the highest mountain 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:20.520 in Shannondoah for you today, you know, and it was 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.320 just one of those fun moments. Just appreciated it. Yeah, 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:26.479 just to reconnect with people, so while we're doing this, 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:28.600 so that's actually a fun part of the National Parks 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:33.159 and what we love to do. Yeah, totally. But and 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:36.679 then after this, you did another hike. Yeah, I know, 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:40.199 I'm just kind of NonStop. But I wanted more like 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:43.280 waterfall stuff because like, there are so many waterfalls here 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:46.439 and they're so different in different environments. And it just 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:50.080 worked out well because shortly after the Hawk Fall Mountain, 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:52.159 we would just drive down Skyline drive I think enough 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.400 early twenty miles or so, and I did the Doyles 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:59.240 River Falls. It's about three miles round trip with upper 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.439 and lower alls, so you get these different segments of 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:06.320 this river and different looking waterfalls within the same river, 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.240 which is kind of crazy. It also goes down before 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.080 coming back up, similar to the previous waterfall hike, and 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:15.280 the waterfalls here are much broader and shorter, so you 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:19.680 have a completely different experience. I feel like these ones 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:23.639 personally were more impressive than they were than the first 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:26.280 high we did together, just because there's so much more water. 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:29.080 The river was wider, so you get more of this 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:33.320 like rushing, raging river vibe, and they're just deep down 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.000 in the heart of this thick forest, so it almost 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.520 had this like jungle effect, just how thick the woods 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:41.600 were and how green it was. Go ahead, just rub 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.119 it into my face. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm sorry. You 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.360 came back super exhausten sway though, and you never sweat, 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:49.600 so I knew that was a tough one. That's that's 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.280 a sure sign. But I think it's because I'm so 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:56.120 inherently competitive, even if it's just myself in my head, 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:58.119 it's a problem because I remember leaving the r V 0:18:58.359 --> 0:18:59.679 and I was like, oh, you back in like an 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.800 hour and half probably, And then so since I gave 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:06.879 myself unnecessarily like a timeline, then I'm like, well I 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.760 have to do that. So like I like speed hecked down, um, 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:14.440 got a bunch of waterfall views and photos, and then 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:17.919 hustled back up. And it's nothing but uphill and a 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:20.399 lot of its steep. So I was just like speed 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:26.800 hiking trail running out a few points like again, totally unnecessary. Yeah, 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:30.320 but I don't know, I just like I guess I 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:32.439 made good time because I was just raising myself against 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:35.880 the clock for no apparent reason, and I was so 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:38.800 thirsty and sweaty by the end of it. Yeah, I'd say, 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:41.400 now it is a good time to to applod Shannondoah 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:46.320 for being so dang awesome with its hiking markers. Um. 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:49.000 You know, not only the trailheads are really clear and 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:51.680 the overall layout of the park is really easy to navigate, 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:55.359 but there's also like organized trailblazes everywhere that make it 0:19:55.400 --> 0:19:59.080 super simple to follow and race against yourself exactly. Yeah, 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.080 thank thank you Generoah for that. Um. But everything is 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.360 very well marked and clear, very easy to follow, hard 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:10.160 to get lost. So the trail system works like blue 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:15.399 blazes indicate a hiking trail, white blazes indicate the Appalachian Trail, 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:18.200 and then yellow blazes are horse trails, but that beings 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:20.840 that hikers can go on any of them as they please. 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:23.320 So the whole park is really free rain for hikers 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:27.080 and I couldn't love that more. Obviously, even Skyline Drive 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:29.920 is well marked. I mean, while mile marker is along 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:34.600 the entire drive very apparent. It's also obvious to find 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:37.320 where you are in a GPS or a map and 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:39.720 to figure out where you want to go. Yeah, for sure. 0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:42.320 So like when you're reading about it, or look at 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:44.480 your visitor guy that you pick up and you want 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:46.640 to pick out a hiking trail, they're all denoted by 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:50.680 like what mile marker it is, so like this waterfall 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:53.560 hike is at mile sixty seven, or like this one's 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:56.760 at mile eight one, so you know exactly where you are, 0:20:56.880 --> 0:20:59.119 and they have all these my mile markers along the road, 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:02.960 and it's it's so easy and very refreshing, especially when 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:06.080 you compare it to some of the larger, more overwhelming 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.119 parks out West. Snada was really just a piece of 0:21:09.160 --> 0:21:15.280