Skyline Drive: Front Royal, Virginia
Visitors Center at the North end of Skyline Drive
Later Trips to Skyline Drive
Skyline Drive is the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a National Park that was built during the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Core. It was one of the first big projects of the New Deal. President Franklin Roosevelt actually started the planning for this project months before he took office. Construction started in May after his inaguration. More than 6000 people worked on the project for about $30 per week, $25 of which was sent home to their families. Since the average family income at the time was $17 per week, this wasn't a bad income.
One of the first overlooks
We visited Skyline Drive on a foggy, but beautiful day in October. The colors were great, but they didn't photograph that well because there wasn't much sunshine on them.
Looking south on Skyline Drive
Another look south
The coulds were amazing on the east side of the mountains.
Mom and Laura
Cool beamer that I saw at Skyland Lodge
Don't jump off the falls. It hurts.
Dark Hollow Falls
We hiked down to Dark Hollow Falls in the afternoon. It is just short of the Big Meadows visitor's center and lodge. The hike was beautiful, though a bit longer than the guide book says. The park literature says it is a 3/4 mile walk to the falls. That is sort of true. It is 3/4 mile to the top of the falls. To the bottom where you get the really cool views, it is more like 1.5 miles. We were happy for the extra mileage. I imagine some folks are a bit surprised by the distance though. It is an easy, downhill hike to get to the falls. The hike back up seems like it is twice as long though.
Lower falls
Top of the falls... As the sign says, don't jump.
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