When we see the sign in the above photo, we always know we are getting close to the Thornton Gap entrance. There are several entrances, but this is the one we usually take getting there. Our route took us through Sperryville.
We followed the mail truck for a while.
You can read about the history of Skyline Drive at this link. It also has a map showing its length, which is 105 miles north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park. We drive to Big Meadows and then carry on to the next exit at Swift Run Gap near Elkton, heading towards Stanardsville.
The road going through the mountain is called Mary's Rock. No one knows with any certainty how it got its name, who was Mary? The story that seems to be more popular than most is that of a young girl by that name, who was lost in the mountains, and was later discovered walking down from this peak with two bear cubs. Whether or not as to its truth, the 360 degree view from the top is one of the most spectacular in the park. The first overlook as you get out of the tunnel is the one we stopped at.
The tunnel is 670 feet long and was bored through solid granite in 1932. Below is an information board with a few details.
I cropped my photo above for an easier read. If you enlarge the photos it will be even easier.
Unfortunately. the character's shovel is right in the middle of the photo below.
The tunnel was partially lined with concrete in 1958, to alleviate the formation of icicles in winter and water seepage in summer - a partially successful effort.
The building of the road was put into motion by President Herbert Hoover (31st US President from 1929 to 1933). He had a fishing camp that is still in the park apparently. President Hoover was already very familiar with the area, and it was he who proposed the building of the road. There were national parks out in the western part of the United States at that time, but none here. The Government was looking to build a park somewhere in the East and Virginia advocated very strongly for it to be built in this State.
3,000,000 young men were hired by the The Civilian Conservation Corps during The Great Depression. They did jobs like plant trees, maintain trails, control mosquitos and infrastructural projects like building Skyline Drive.
All had to be in their early 20s and unmarried, so that part of the money that they earned would also help support their families back home. They lived in the park and were paid $30 a month, $5 of which they were allowed to keep, and $25 dollars was sent home to their families.
There is an interesting YouTube here, telling in brief about the people who were displaced. They had lived their whole lives before it was made a National Park, and subsequently removed from their land without a choice. (I did read somewhere that elderly people were allowed to stay.)
Some were happy to go but others were not.
More history of the park can be read at this link.
Here are 15 of the best things you can do in the park.
At the time of this post, there is a $30 entrance fee per vehicle, and you can read other information at this website. We bought a lifetime pass several years ago. Wherever we go in the United States, we can use it to get into every National Park. You can read about them here. Inpart it reads:
“The National Park System encompasses 429 national park sites in the United States. They span across 84 million acres, with parks in each state and extending into the territories, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam.”
There is free entry on special days of the year.
Monday, January 16th - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Saturday, April 22nd - First Day of National Park Week
Friday, August 4th - Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
Saturday, September 23rd - National Public Lands Day
Saturday, November 11th - Veteran's Day
This post is only a very tiny view into how beautiful this area is. We have been coming here off and on, depending on where we have lived at the time, for well over 40 years.
A clearer picture of doggy fix, and the telephone lines didn't bother me a bit.
Thanks for visiting everyone, and I wish you all a very happy Thursday.
