The Second Day - Big Meadows

I had hoped to reach Big Meadows about halfway through Skyline Drive on the first day. I didn't make it that far. I did get there about 10 in the morning on the second day though. I went for a interpretive tour with a ranger and then wandered around the meadow for a bit. After that, I took a walk through the woods.


The visitor center at Big Meadows from the meadow.

Shots from the meadow.

They burn 1/3 of the meadow every year to keep it from becoming overgrown with brambles. This is a section that was burned about a month before I got there.

The path leading from the campground and lodge to the visitor center.

The Second Day, part 2

After a bit the weather started to clear.

At one of the many turnouts along the road.

Random stops along the way

The Second Day

The next day started off pretty overcast. The clouds were low and you couldn't see the tops of the mountains.

Starting up Skyline Drive.

A couple of miles up the road at a visitor center.

Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive

Along Skyline Drive

Day 1

Most of the first day of my trip was spent driving to Front Royal. By the time I got there, it was later in the day. I'd hoped to hit the soaring club there, but the airport was closed down and there was no activity there.


This was located at the entrance to the airport. The weather was crummy so I didn't stick around.

I did however, drive a few miles into the park. It was getting dark and the road was in the clouds so I didn't spend much time there before turning around and heading back to Front Royal for the night. The entrance to Shenandoah National Park and the start of Skyline Drive.

Ohio Electric Railroad Bridge

This is an old railroad bridge over the Maumee River in Ohio. It was built in 1907 and at the time was the longest concrete reinforced earth filled bridge. The bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is in fairly poor repair. On of the piers is on an island called Roche de Boeuf which was a meeting place for Indians. It is the site of the meeting place before the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1734. About a third of the island was destroyed when the pier was placed. It seems that when the water is down in the summer, you can wade out to the island.









The east side of the bridge.

As you can see, the bridge is in pretty poor shape.

This is the west side of the bridge, including a shot of the Roche de Boeuf. The picture is pretty poor due to the position of the sun and my lack of willingness to stay there for better light. You can see where part of the upper portions of the bridge have collapsed revealing the earth fill material. It is still an impressive structure and must have been even more so when it was constructed.

St. Joseph Lighthouse

This is the St. Joseph, Michigan lighthouse on Lake Michigan. There is a very nice beach and you can walk along the pier out to the light.

Kitch-iti-kipi

Kitch-iti-kipi is a large spring located in the Upper Pennisula. The water is very clear allowing you to see the bottom about 40 feet below. There is a raft that can be pulled by line across the surface of the spring. There is a hole in the center of the raft allowing you to view the bottom from the center of the spring. Water wells up from the below churning the bottom and creating ever changing clouds sand. You can often see large fish swimming below you. This is also the largest freshwater spring in Michigan and is located in Palms Brook State Park.

A view of the surface of the spring.

A view of fallen trees near the edge of the water.

This is taken from the raft. You can see the clouds of sand that are creatd from the upwelling water along with a few of the fish. The wooden structure at the sides of the photograph are the raft.

Another shot of the bottom as the raft moved further across the surface.