Monticello and Shenandoah

After getting the Roadtrek repaired and arriving at Shenandoah in the fog, we spent a little more dark weather then finally sunshine. On our first dark day, we went to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, and a place I've always wanted to visit. It's about 30 miles from where we were based, but it took us a long time to get through the fog of the mountains. We spent a gray but dry day there. The obligatory tour of the interior of Monticello was interesting but very crowded. Sort of like South Station at rush hour ... after a long breakdown on the Red Line. Once that was done, however, you could spend as much time as you wanted on the grounds and in the gardens. We took a tour of the gardens and were in awe of how much Jefferson planted. Such an amazing man—write the Declaration of Independence and plant 330 varieties of vegetables. We spent all day then headed back to another campground at the National Park. Because we stopped to grocery shop and get gas, it was late by the time we got to Skyline Drive and, once again, into the fog. We picked our way along at 20 mph or so using the white fog line to tell where the pavement ended. When we got to the campground, I had to get out of the van and walk down the middle of the road so Steve could follow in the van. There was simply no way to tell where the edge of the road ended. We pulled into the first spot and collapsed in relief. Neither of us had ever seen fog so thick ... and we have seen a lot of fog in Cohasset.

Photos of Monticello

We've spent two days hiking, one in mist and one in sunshine. The hikes were amazing through a green springtime landscape with lots of wildflowers and the occasional deer crossing our paths. Sadly, we haven't seen any bear though we're told there are lots around here. Tomorrow we'll leave and stop at several of the Civil War battlefields before heading home. We hope to make it through the dreaded tri-state (New Jersey-New York-Connecticut) area sometime over the weekend, then back to home and family and friends.

Photos of Shenandoah hiking and Skyline Drive