An early morning drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains. By the time we got to I-81 on the drive south to the Great Smokey Mountains the fog lifted.
We saw many deer and hundreds of squirrels. Marc had to keep braking for them. Squirrels often get scared then run in the wrong direction – towards the car.
“The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become Front Royal was annexed and claimed for hunting by the Iroquois Confederation during the later Beaver Wars, by 1672. Some bands of the Shawnee settled in the area as client groups to the Iroquois and alternately to the Cherokee after 1721. The Iroquois formally sold their entire claim east of the Alleghenies to the Virginia Colony at the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744. Front Royal, originally settled in 1754, had been known to European explorers as early as the 1670s, and the nearby settlement of Chester’s Ferry was in existence by 1736. The town also had a well-known nickname by the 1790s, “Helltown,” due to the many livestock wranglers and boatmen on the Shenandoah coming through the area, who came into town looking for alcohol. It was incorporated as “Front Royal” in 1788.” (Front Royal, Virginia – Wikipedia)
“A common theory is that the town was named for a giant oak tree – the “Royal” Tree of England – that stood in the public square during colonial days where Chester and Main Streets now join. It was there that the local militia were drilled. During drills, a frequent command given by the drill sergeant was, “front the Royal Oak!” The command was repeated and eventually shortened to simply “Front Royal”. This theory is supported by a bulletin published by the United States Geological Survey in 1905, which states that the town was first known as Royal Oak, with the current name being derived from the commands of a confused colonel.” (Front Royal, Virginia – Wikipedia)
We spent a nice afternoon there eating lunch at the Mains Street Mill Restaurant and taking a self guided tour of some of the historical buildings. Then we went to Eastham Park by the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. The town is charming and southerners are so polite and friendly.
Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Front Royal, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024
I asked Google Map for a scenic drive in the Shenandoah Valley. It did very well and the drive was lovely until the end when Google Map led us down a dead end dirt road in some woods. That was so funny. “Now what?” I said.
Huntly, Rappahannock Co, VA 4-18-2024Linden, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Linden, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Linden, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024Linden, Warren Co, VA 4-18-2024
A Smithsonian Institution report of July 13 and 14, 1880, concluded: “[I]t is safe to say that there is probably no other cave in the world more completely and profusely decorated with stalactite and stalagmite ornamentation than that of Luray.”
Luray Caverns is privately owned by the Graves family, who have lived in Luray for many years. Theodore Clay Northcott, great-grandfather to the owners, purchased the land on which the caverns is located in 1905. (From Wikipedia)
Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024Luray Caverns, VA 4/17/2024
The geologic story of Shenandoah National Park began 1 billion years ago. Molten magma, miles beneath the earth’s surface, slowly solidified to become the “basement rock,” or core, of what we know today as the Blue Ridge Mountains. For the next 500 million years, erosion and the uplifting of the earth’s crust exposed the granitic basement rock. You can see the granite component of this rock in Old Rag Mountain and its surroundings.
Over millions of years, the uplift of the earth’s crust formed deep cracks in the granite, which led to volcanic activity. For centuries, molten basaltic lava burst forth and poured over the land, forming a smooth, flat plain called the “Catoctin Formation.” (The bedrock underlying Big Meadows was formed by at least 12 of these lava flows which, collectively, are approximately 1,800 feet thick.) The cooling and contraction of the lava produced a network of polygonal cracks, or columnar jointing.
When continental drift (the separation of the Americas from the continents of Europe and Africa) began, about 600 million years ago, it formed a broad, shallow depression from Alabama to Newfoundland. Then, for 300 million years, an ancient sea flooded the area that is now the Appalachian Mountains. Layers of water-borne sediments accumulated on the ocean floor, followed by limestone sediments composed of fossilized marine animals and shells. The weight and resultant heat caused by the sediments eventually compressed the two layers into metamorphic rock.
As a result of the eons-old shifting of the earth’s tectonic (or crustal) plates, North America and Africa collided. This re-elevated and fractured the sea floor, causing the older, underlying layer of metamorphic rock to tilt upward and slide over the younger layer creating a towering mountain range that we call the Appalachians. The process occurred so slowly that even if geologists had been present, they would not have known that it was occurring. The new Appalachians probably looked more like the present Himalayas than the rounded mountains we see today.
The powerful forces of wind, water and frost have worn away the Appalachians for nearly 250 million years. These forces continue to create and refine the spectacular scenery of Shenandoah National Park. Water runoff, as demonstrated by the “500-year” rainstorm of June 1995, has carved the mountains’ distinctive alternating pattern of ridges and valleys. As you explore the park, look for signs of its geologic history and for how wind, water, frost and ice continue to sculpt the land. Reference: History of Shenandoah APA Citation: Formation of the Shenandoah Region. Retrieved from OhRanger.com In-Depth Geological Studies: USGS: New Geologic Map of the Shenandoah National Park Region Geologic mapping in the Shenandoah National Park region of Virginia was conducted from 1995 to 2008 as part of a cooperative investigation between the USGS, National Park Service, College of William and Mary, and George Washington University, through the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program’s Educational Mapping component. Available Downloads: Map PDF (37.8 MB) and Pamphlet PDF (103 pages; 1.7 MB). 2009, scale 1:100,000. USGS: A Hiker’s Guide to the Geology of Old Rag Mountain
Stony Man (U.S. National Park Service) was the only short almost level 1.6 mile round trip hike that we did. The drizzly mourning cleared up by the time we go to the summit. The views were worth it.