What an amazing time of year to witness the beauty of Skyline Drive in Virginia!  The leaves were gorgeous even with an overcast day.  I had no idea just how curvy and steep the drive would be…good thing I didn’t!!!  LOL  Flashbacks of the trip to Alaska through British Columbia, the Yukon and the Al-Can rushed through my mind’s eye…accompanied by butterflies in my stomach! That sure made an impression!  Nonetheless, I made it and it was well worth the mild angst.
     The .75 mile hike to Dark Hollow Falls was pretty good.  All downhill.  What I didn’t bother myself with ahead of time was that coming back would surely be …ALL UPHILL…LOL  These legs got a serious workout that day.  I did learn something about my body’s tolerance for incline…just gotta take it slow and when it’s time to take a break…take a break.  Again, a sight well worth the effort to get to it.  The falls were spectacular.  Quite a crowd was gathered around the base taking pictures.  I sat along the side and watched all the excited faces of children and adults alike.  There were a few folks who were experiencing their first ever waterfall…it was great!  I was amazed at how still I was able to feel inside with all the commotion going on around me.  There is something magical for me about the sound of naturally moving water…falls, lively rivers, the ocean.  It resonates with some deep part of me and I’m sure that is why I can tune out extraneous noises.  For that I am very grateful.

There was a display of mini quilts at the Visitor’s Center…I’ve included just a sampling here They depicted the many national parks The National Park Service celebrated its centennial on August 25, 2016

Pic of tree with sun behind me

Pic of tree with sun in front of me

Cool sightings along the path

Dark Hollow Falls

Down, down, down

Up, up, up!!!

The PERFECT pizza!  85% toppings and 15% crust…thank you Pizza Hut! Yum…I got three meals out of this one!