MORE PHOTOS FROM SKYLINE DRIVE IN THE SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK

 I mentioned that we went for a short drive along the Skyline at the Shenandoah National Park a few days ago. I am always thankful that we don't live that far from it as on a sunny day it is a beautiful drive. 

The trees are still bare compared to where we are. I can't remember what elevation it is right now. 

We used to go on the trails up there but am content these days to stop at the overlooks. One of these days I hope to get some trail walking in again. 

On the way there we pass a lot of orchards. These are apple trees as I see the shape of one on the side of the truck. Way past picking time. Fall will be when we go back for that.

We entered the park near the town of Front Royal. Normally we go to the Thornton Gap entrance. 

This is where we entered. I had it in mind to visit the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, but it was all closed up. It looked like they were having a new roof put on as I could just make out the tarpaulin. From what I read they will be opening soon. 

This is the Front Royal sign we passed not too long before.

The following photo shows a young man with a slow-down sign. It is still early enough to do maintenance before the tourist season starts. Second photo is of the contraption we were both interested in. We had to come to a halt for several minutes. I had to look this one up after dear other half expressed an interest in me looking for the information when I showed him the picture. The contraption attached to the John Deere tractor is called a Tiger Bengal boom mower and is a heavy-duty, mid-mounted hydraulic mowing attachment. It is designed for thick brush, clearing overhanging branches and maintaining steep roadside ditches or embankments, using interchangeable rotary or flail heads. 

It can reach up to 24 feet to cut thick brush, trees up to 6" in diameter and grass in hard-to reach areas like over guard rails and steep ditches or hillsides, like those along Skyline Drive. Out of more curiosity from the dear man, I found the cost of these two together was anywhere from $180,000 and over $278,000. Finding out this kind of information is just so easy and not every one will be interested but my curiosity kicked in once I started looking, and the dear man's curiosity was appeased as well. I didn't know I was going to find all this out when we came across this interesting scene. 

More curiosity when we came across several bicycle riders and I noticed they all had the same shirt design on the back. Next curiosity search revealed that the cyclists we saw were most likely participants in Bike MS, a premier fundraising cycling series for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Since April 1st falls within the MS Awareness Month, riders often use scenic routes like Skyline Drive for training or informal group rides ahead of the official event season. You can read about the organization here. 

It is the largest charity cycling series in the world, dedicated to raising funds for research and support programs to end multiple sclerosis. There are 50 rides held annually across the United States, ranging from one-day loops to multi-day journeys of 15 to 150 miles. The events are fully supported with rest stops, bike mechanics and medical teams to ensure safety for cyclists of all skill levels. We passed these people all along our drive.  

We also stopped at several of the overlooks.

The skies were gorgeous as you can see, along with those views.

Photos never do these views the justice they deserve.

No birds, no deer, no bears, though I thought I read somewhere that the bears are starting to wake up; I could be wrong as it seems early and I'm wondering if the chilly weather will keep them slumbering. It is estimated that several hundred American Black Bears live in Shenandoah National Park, with estimates generally ranging from 200 to 1,000 within the 300-square mile park. This density, so I read, equals approximately one to four bears per square mile, offering visitors a high chance of spotting them. It's been a few years since we saw any.

It was time to leave and we drove down out of the park going through pretty farmland.

Still in the foothills making our way home.

We didn't expect to see Longhorn Cattle...

They were some distance away and this is about as close as I could get to them. I only had my cell phone ready as we were driving along. No stopping on this road as cars were behind us and none of us were moving very fast but nowhere to pull in for a look-see.

That's all from our trip this time. 

Thanks for taking a look and I hope your day is a great one.

        

FIRST TRIP TO GREEN SPRINGS...

 A couple of days ago, on the 28th, Gregg and I went to Green Spring Gardens. The weather was just too good to waste. It was in the low 50's and warm enough to get outside without a coat.  

The top left of the collage you can see a sign for Annandale Village. Annandale is not where the garden is but an area we pass through on our way home. I had never seen, or maybe more appropriate to say, never noticed the sign before. The design of the cardinal in the tree made me take note. We passed several of them. Gregg reminded me that we had taken a different route home this time.

That's me in the collage. You may notice that my cell phone is on a lanyard that I keep permanently wrapped around my wrist. Gregg bought it for me as I once almost lost my phone out the window while taking pictures, and it was almost buffeted out of my hands. I am always taking photos out the passenger side window. The lanyard is always attached to my phone. It's been saved a few times as I have also dropped it while walking. It gives me an awful start as if it hit the pavement, well I don't like to think about it. But that good old lanyard saved the day yet again.

The house that I love always greets us as we walk up one of the paths from the parking lot. The berries are still keeping the birds happy, and part of the Moon Gate can be seen behind me. 

I didn't get very far as my knee is just not cooperating. We made our way back to the car, disappointed I could go no further even with my cane. I made it 300 yards along the pathway and could not go any further as knee started to give way. The important thing is I made a start and hopefully each time we come here, I will be able to walk a little further. 

My goal is still to get back to Huntley Meadows in the Spring, or even Meadowlark Gardens. Huntley Meadows is a long, long walk to get to the marshy area where all the bird life is, and Meadowlark has a very big hill to walk up and down.  

However, baby steps and I am eager to go for another walk. We will definitely wait for another nice day like this one, after all the bitterly cold days we have had. The sun was shining and it felt wonderful, a real tonic.  

Have a great day everyone and 

thank you for stopping by. 

POSITIVITY POST - SIGNS

I have had these for quite a while, photos I took of signs over several years. Some were found in restaurants or gift shops. Others I added favorite quotes to photos taken in gardens or parks. I thought it a good time to reshare.  

 

May your week, and weekend be…

Thank you for stopping by. 

HOPE THIS GIVES YOU A SMILE

A chuckle found online recently.

Thanks for dropping by and don’t forget to tell your human to behave the next time a hotel is in your future. We will try to do the same 😎.  Have a very enjoyable day!  

NATIONAL HARBOR CONTINUED...LAST POST FROM THIS TRIP

 

A restaurant I wouldn't mind trying next time we are in town.

Buddha and the Soldier/Warrior/Guard were near the entrance, a very nice welcome for customers. 

As it grew dark we came across the statue of Marilyn Monroe. In my previous post I mentioned all the heights of the statues that we saw, as they were kept true to life. She was 5 ft. 5 in. in height. This scene is from a very famous photo taken by photographer Sam Shaw. I read that it made him better known to a larger audience and plaid a roll in making Marilyn even more famous. It has been reprinted millions of times, making it one of the best known in the world. Shaw had been friends with Marilyn for quite a while before this picture was taken. Before she had her own breakthrough as an actress, she was actually Shaw's driver, since he did not have a driver's license. You can read the whole story at this website. Her sculpture is called Forever Marilyn.

After we crossed the street on our way back to our car before driving home, I looked back and saw this scene. Marilyn's real name was Norma Jean Baker and she was born in Los Angeles on June 1st, 1926. We all probably know that rather sad ending to her life and I won't go into it.  However, if you're curious you can read her biography telling about the rest of her story here. There were other much larger replicas of this statue that stood 26 feet high, and as reported, they were in Chicago-Illinois, Hamilton Township-New Jersey, Stamford-Connecticut, Palm Springs-California and Bendigo, Australia.  I am not sure whether they are still there.  The dates seemed to be long ago. Placement in Palm Springs apparently caused quite an uproar. If it is a permanent placement or a temporary one at National Harbor, I don't know.

The lady across the street certainly didn't seem to approve. You can barely see her underneath the shop light towards the right. She is to the left of the red traffic light, a few feet down on the sidewalk, standing next to the building. 

I certainly didn't notice her and she was so life-like, until you got up really close.

I remember seeing exhibits of sculptures on a trip to Florida several years ago. I'll have to share the posts as they were fantastic, life-like statues by the same man, J. Seward Johnson Jr. This lady with the groceries is called Holding Out. And of course I had a nosy inside her shopping bag.

The Capital Ferris Wheel can be seen in this photo.

More window shopping. 

We are almost back at the car having had a wonderful time walking around.

Last one driving across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge as we cross back into Virginia from Maryland. A bit blurry but it's the first half-way decent shot I have managed to get in years. 

This is the second and last part of our trip to National Harbor. We will be back again in a few months.

Thanks for looking and I hope the beginning of your week is going great.

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!

 

This sign tickled my funny bone.  And it's not a dig at the people who knock on the door trying to sell something. We've all got to make a living and there are interesting chats to be had at times. My dear other half once invited a young man in who stayed for an hour-and-a-half. Shocker, he got us started on having our old bathroom on the main level refurbished. It was way overdue, and we were happy to get it done (this is going back a few years). Afterwards, over a cup of tea, we had a great conversation on what he wanted to do in life. He talked about knocking on doors and how challenging it could be, he appreciated us he said, and yes I am smiling. But my dear young man, if you ever come again, consider bringing a bottle of wine! 

All joking aside, I am putting together a post on our latest walk but it's taking me longer than I expected. We drove into Occoquan (Virginia). Walking down the main road full of interesting eateries and shops, I found the sign in front of one of them and decided to do a simple collage of the storefront goodies.

More to follow!