Our last blog from Beijing was called "Goodbye Beijing," so it's only natural that at this end of the enormous change in our lives we call our first blog "Hello Virginia."
After being at home in Virginia for nearly two months, we finally had a free Saturday, so we decided to do one of our favorite things--drive west into Loudoun County and enjoy some of the beautiful backroads there.
We drove west on Route 50 past Aldie to Snickersville Pike. If ever a name spoke Americana, that one does. This road is so named because in the time of Thomas Jefferson it was a toll road taking people from Alexandria to Winchester, on the other side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The pass through the mountains was owned by Edward Snicker who also ran a ferry over the Shenandoah River. A nearby town was called Snickersville, so the road was called Snickersville Turnpike. We were curious about where the word "turnpike" came from, and we discovered that a turn pike is a pike stuck into the ground with a long horizontal board on it. After people paid their toll, the toll collector would turn the pike sideways so that the person could pass.
This beautiful little road winds through the hilly backcountry of Loudoun County until it reaches Route Seven. We took a detour down a gravel road called Yellow Schoolhouse Road where we took in this lovely view.
If we'd been there a week before the trees would have been filled with colorful autumn leaves. However, look at that blue sky! We still find ourselves stunned by the clear blue skies by day and the starry nights. We almost never saw stars in Beijing.
We took Route 7 west until we went through Snickers Gap. As we drove through we saw a gravel parking lot filled with cars but no buildings around. What were all those people doing?
We turned around and went back where we met a nice couple with a really big camera on a tripod. They explained that it was about a 20 minute hike to a lookout point on the Appalachian Trail. We were in!
As we hiked we were happy to see that some of the trees still had their colorful leaves. The weather was cool and the breeze fresh--a perfect autumn day!
Some turns and a few inclines and there we were! Right on the Appalachian Trail. A sign posted by the students and staff of Blue Ridge Middle School explained that "the Appalachian Trail is a 2,175 mile footpath traversing through 14 states from Georgia to Maine." Imagine a trail that long! We had for so long heard about this famous trail that we were delighted to set foot on it. It is, at least at this spot, very rocky and crossed with innumerable tree roots, so we had to be careful so as not to take home a twisted ankle as a souvenir. What wimps we are even after hiking the Great Wall so many times!
ANYWAY, after a few more minutes we reached a place where giant boulders kept the view of the Shenandoah Valley clear. Several groups of people were enjoying the view, and we did as well.
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| Brilliant leaves in the Shenandoah Valley viewed from the Appalachian Trail |
On the way back we took a few more photos--KISSIE PICTURE ALERT! If you don't want to see it, avert your eyes now. Don't scroll down. We're warning you.
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| Nature inspires us... |
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| Proof we were there--the initials mean "South, Appalachian Trail, North" |
Lovely day. The best companionship.
Hello Virginia.
