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Shenandoah: Valley of history

Written by Dave Errickson

Photos courtesy of National Park Service

Autumn. There’s something about the season, a quality in the air, a fragrance in the sunlight, that draws us to the mountains. Maybe it’s the vantage point of height showcasing nature’s arboreal palette. Maybe it’s the chance to stop at roadside stands and taste the great American harvest, and imagine the savor of a simpler past. Maybe it’s the conspicuous lack of high rise buildings, eight lane interchanges, traffic reports, and cell phone reception. Maybe it’s all these things, considered and enjoyed in the last precious days before the inevitable frosty grip of winter binds us for weeks to the near, the safe, and familiar.

If you find yourself looking west, away from the beaches, and trying to remember the color of ten thousand oak trees or the smell of burning maple leaves on a crisp fall breeze, get in the car and head for the Shenandoah Valley. Yes, there will be others there just like you. Yes, during peak foliage weekends you will crawl along Skyline Drive behind cars from every state, looking left and right for the vista that will spark a gentle “Wow”, a secret smile. And no, not a moment of this magic opportunity will you waste. For you are blessed to have, “in your own backyard” as they say, the country’s most dramatic seasonal example of the rainbow brush of nature. And, thanks to the US Park Service, a sinuous road on the top of the world from which to wonder at its splendor.

Shenandoah National Park forms the eastern rampart of the river valley of the same name. Long one of the young nation’s most fertile areas, the valley that fed the colonies endures as the breadbasket of Virginia. Established in 1935, the 200,000 acre park was largely built by workers in Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Here they wound 105 miles of Skyline Drive through gaps and valleys and capped the peaks of rounded Blue Ridge mountains worn by millennia of rain and wind. On two lanes of cautious 35 mph blacktop with 75 overlooks, the adventurous are afforded the longest views in the east, sudden encounters with abundant wildlife, and the privilege of a kaleidoscopic Allegheny Mountain sunset with more colors than the biggest box of Crayolas.

Nearby are many familiar attractions to enjoy as time permits. The homes of presidents, Monticello and Montpelier, are on the way, as are the Universities of Virginia and James Madison. Mysterious Luray Caverns lurk beneath the surface just a few miles west. Small ski resorts adorn the slopes and await the snows. At the northern end lies historic Front Royal, to the south bustle Harrisonburg and Charlottesville. And if you are fortunate enough to find your way to New Market, you can spend a moment or two on a field of honor.

In May of 1864, with the Union army making yet another attempt to occupy these vital fields, 4500 Confederates met 6000 Union troops among the neat rows of a farmer’s wheatfield.

Held in reserve to be used only in the direst circumstances, 257 teenage cadets from the Virginia Military Institute shuffled nervously in the rear until, after asking God’s forgiveness, General Breckenridge ordered them into a widening gap at the center of the grey line. With ten of their number falling to Federal fire, it’s said that those boys turned the tide and sent the Yankees running. Today there is a visitor center from which to view and walk the battlefield and consider the valor that marked that day. In rail-fenced meadows preserved just as they were then, touch the cannon, picture the struggle, and imagine children marching to war.

If you go
Pick up Skyline Drive west of Charlottesville from I-64 near Waynesboro, about 200 miles from Virginia Beach. Figure at least 3 hours to drive the full length of the park, probably more depending on stops. Lodging and dining opportunities are plentiful in the neighboring towns and along I-81 in the valley. Take Rt. 211 west from mile marker 31 to get to Luray and New Market. More info can be found at: http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm and http://www.visitshenandoah.com/ .