Shenandoah National Park

We spent four nights at Shenandoah's Big Meadows campground in Virginia. As soon as we arrived and had the RV set up, we stopped at the ranger station for info and junior ranger books before going on a hike thru the meadow across the street. As I helped Asher put on his vest, he said, "I have such great memories with this vest!" It brought tears to my eyes. This is the reason we travel with our children!

I love that they still willingly share with each other, and this is how they choose to do it.

Walking thru Big Meadows.

The next morning we attended a ranger talk about birds of prey. 

The ranger even brought along this cute Eastern Screech Owl for us to see. Permanent brain and eye damage resulting from a vehicle collision has left him unreleasable. Now the park service cares for him while he helps educate the public on these amazing creatures.

We learned how owls' feathers were designed with frayed edges allowing them to fly silently to sneak up on their prey. We also learned that the Screech Owl has four talons, one of which can rotate to be used in any direction. 

Owls are equipped with much larger eyes than other birds. So large that they cannot move them, instead they must move their heads to see. Here's an owl skull vs a hawk skull.

After the ranger talk, we set off on our longest hike in the park, 

a four mile hike along the Rose River Loop Trail to Dark Hollow Falls. 

It's a bit difficult to see in photos as it was so bright and shadowy from the trees.

We found a salamander and a crawfish in a pool of water.

Just before reaching the biggest waterfall, I was ahead of everyone with a large tree down ahead of me. As I got closer I could see a mama bear with two cubs was on the other side of the tree! I immediately stopped and backed everyone up. We spoke in calm voices so she would know we were there. (You don't want to startle a bear!) She paid us no attention as we watched from a safe distance as she and her cubs climbed over another downed tree. Once they had moved off to the other side of the river we were able to continue on our trail.

This is a bit blurry as I wasn't even looking thru my lens. As I passed, I just pressed the shutter a few times not wanting to make eye contact with her. Again, she appeared to not be concerned about us at all. This was an amazing experience, the closest we've ever been to a bear on foot. While a special memory, I hope to never be quite this close to a wild bear again.

Finally, Dark Hollow Falls where we sat to enjoy a hot MRE lunch of chili with noodles.

The next morning we headed for the peak of Hawksbill Mountain. 

The views from the top were fantastic!

Another great spot for lunch!

Asher identified two turkey vultures hanging out on the peak. (Left side)

Hard to pull ourselves away from this view!

The kids were ready to relax, but I wanted to look for birds, so they played cards with daddy while I birded the Limberlost Trail. It was really enjoyable. 

We waited for the rain to stop the next morning before moving on.

 It was neat to see the thick clouds covering the mountain tops along the Skyline Drive.