Tuesday at Shenandoah National Park

There is definitely beauty all about us here in Northern Virginia. Its taken me several months to start seeking it out and making it a regular part of our routine, though. Perhaps I was just spoiled by having the natural beauty right in our own backyard and just around the corner in our picturesque little village in England. Ok, so maybe more than perhaps. I was definitely spoiled and have done my share of "complaining", oh so subtly, about living in the heart of the suburbs and in the snarl of commuter traffic and with all the faceless commercialization of restaurants and stores. But, I am remembering that you can create beauty and/or see what He has already provided wherever God plants you - He wants all of us to do this. He wants our home to be a place of creative and peaceful beauty. Scotty has indeed provided us a beautiful home with a "forest" of trees behind us which are just now starting to turn a variety of colors. Having Shenandoah just a bit over an hour from our home doesn't hurt either! Enjoy the beauty which we were able to experience yesterday...

Look Mama, a leaf bug! I took one look at the "bug" Jonnie had found on a tree and now held before me in his hand. I can't think of a better way to describe it either. We laughed about how we figured that summer is this insects's friend but probably not the autumn when the oranges and yellows, etc come out in the leaves.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL

We hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail to end our visit. We "hiked" for about 2 hours. This includes hiking, stopping to take pictures, picking up leaves to save (Christy carried the leaf backpack), looking for various items along the way so the girls could complete their national parks junior ranger notebooks, stopping to listen for one minute with our eyes closed and recording what we hear, sketching leaves and acorns, and turning fallen logs into trains, boats and airplanes.

SKYLINE DRIVE

Shenandoah National Park's most famous feature is its' Skyline Drive which is a 2 lane highway that traverses the length of the park - a bit over 100 miles long. Awesome views of the Shenandoah Valley and the layers of the Blue Ridge Mountains are around every corner - most often shrouded in mist. Christy gets a bit anxious on the drive as she looks over the edge - she prefers the terra firma of the Appalachian Trail hikes.