July 28, 2012 Hawksbill Mountain, Skyline Drive

The day before my birthday. We hiked to Hawksbill summit, the highest peak on Skyline Drive, 4,051 feet

Drinking fountain in the campground. All of them were in big rocks. A cruise America RV. They usually are rented by whole families of Europeans, including Grandma. They come to America for like 6 weeks and try to see all the National Parks. They say we are so lucky to have them, no where else does.

Hawksbill  peak.  On the summit this group of high school/ college kids arrived. They were saying, why do we always beat the grandparents up here?? John told them to remember that day 50 years from now. The grandparents arrived and grandma-younger than us probably was rounding up the kids for a photo. Lots of families, esp.  grandparents and grandkids together camping  together for family time.

Byrd's shelter, built for the Appalachian trail hikers to overnight in. John hiking on the CCC built wall along the road. The hiking guide said to  watch the signs on the trail carefully at the intersections or you would end up in the wrong parking lot and have to hike a mile on the road to the car. We parked in Hawksbill gap lot. The trail signs all said Upper or Lower Hawksbill lot. We didn’t know which we were in. We could not figure out if the upper was more north, or at the higher mile marker on the drive- which is south. So were not even sure which way to go once we came to the lot. . .So we went to the upper, and we were parked in the lower.  What a bunch of tourists we are, not checking where we left from. . .

Orange fungus on a log,  butterfly on a wild onion blossom, blue flowers and an orange bug on Queen annes lace. Sue with the black bear in the lobby of the historic Big Meadow Lodge.

Big meadow lodge, built in the 1940’s, right after the park was formed. The great room in the lodge. We went in to use the internet. But most people in there were doing manual entertainment, reading books, playing board games, the woman in the foreground by John is fast asleep and snoring.

The great room had a whole wall of windows, looking over a cliff, with rocking chairs in front of the window and chairs on the deck. The dining room, where John took me to dinner to celebrate my birthday.

Birthday girl on the deck having a glass of wine. John at our table by the windows in the dining room

after dinner we walked to the top of Blacktop mountain, a 10 minute walk from the lodge.  Evening light from Blacktop.

At the campground we walked on the Appalachian trail to a viewpoint to watch sunset. John has the birthday cigar.