Shenandoah

The name Shenandoah is of Native American Algonquin origin and means "spruce stream", "great plains", or "beautiful daughter of the stars".

Shenandoah National Park lies along the Blue Ridge Mountains in north-central Virginia. The park was authorized in 1926 and fully established on December 26, 1935. The park is best known for Skyline Drive, a 105 mile road that runs the entire length of the park along the ridge of the mountains. The drive is particularly popular in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail are also in the park.

It was the first National Park I visited--and it inspired me to make the goal of seeing them all. That was so long ago I took the pictures with a film camera! :-) This fall I went back for the first time in many years, for a backpacking trip with friends. We had a great time--saw a bear in a tree, beautiful mountain views, the start of fall colors, and covered ~15 miles of trail.

We visited Corbin Cabin (photo below) -- a log structure built by George T. Corbin in 1909 in the Nicholson Hollow area.

The views are amazing!