Skyline Drive and The Blue Ridge Parkway

November 2021

We started our jaunt on Skyline Drive at Thornton Gap on an overcast day. Clouds with tentacles like an octopus rolled in and out of the Shenandoah, pulling themselves onto the road. Their hazy spirals obstructed our view of the blasting colors and brought a calmness to the drive. As the wispy mist swirled over the mountain top, the telescoping view went from miles to feet. A bit of snow appeared, so we slowed down our twists and turns.The clouds peeked in and out, eventually vanishing. The mountains wore a mottled cloak of red, yellow, and orange. We marveled at the foliage. Autumn blasted her colors across the Shenandoah as we listened to Old Crow Medicine Show songs. The road lightened our souls.

Entering the Blue Ridge Parkway, we were greeted by a lone maple tree showing off a brilliant red updo, challenging other trees with a “whaddaya got!” We found farms and fawns, silos and steeples. The parkway provided expansive overlooks of the mountains, valleys, and towns. Enveloped in the vastness of the viewscape, I was overwhelmed and brought to tears. There is so much beauty in the world - in life. I absorb my surroundings, I reflect upon the beauty in my family, the love that surrounds me. I am grateful and grounded.