Geographer, Will Travel: Adventures in Shenandoah National Park

Kyle and I spent the weekend camping in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Here are the details:

The Campground: It was a big campground, but did not feel crowded, which was nice. Most of the sites were shaded and not on top of one another. The bathrooms were clean with flush toilets, sinks, and electricity! (I will not camp without some kind of bathroom - wimpy, I know). Also, there were coin showers nearby that were clean with hot water (I could care less about showering while camping, but Kyle disagrees), and two stores that were a bit over priced but had everything you could possibly need. Our only issues were with the rain. It rained overnight, which is not normally a big deal, but then stayed cloudy and misty all day Saturday. It was like we were in a cloud for most of the day - neat looking, but not ideal for camping.

The Trails: Since we only ended up hiking about 3/4 a mile, I cannot talk too much about the trails. It was too wet and I got very tired, very fast, so we did not take advantage of all the trails that are available in the park. We walked a lot around the campground, but put my pregnant self on an uneven path going up and downhill, and I ran out of gas quick. I was also scared of the bears.

The Park: We only explored the southern section of the park and we really did not get to see much. There were lots of overlooks and scenic outlooks, but with all the clouds, there was not a lot to see. The park is $15 for 7 days and we were both surprised at how good the roads were.

The Wildlife: Oh, the wildlife. Usually I cannot wait to see the animals (when in Jackson Hole, WY I made Kyle drive around and around FOREVER so I could see a moose - never saw one), but I feel like our experience with wildlife this time around was enough to last me a while. First, there were the bees. There were bumble bees everywhere! Normally I would not be too worried about bumble bees because I have read that they do not usually sting (?), but we were over taken at our first campsite. (I found out that my husband has a huge fear of bees!) We set up our screen room and within seconds there were at least 50 bees inside. I am guessing we put our screen room over their hive by mistake. So, we switched campsites.

Next, there were the bears. I guess there was a bear rummaging through a campers cooler the night before we got there, so they set up a trap in the middle of the campsite so it could be caught and moved away from the campground. I have so many questions... Why did the campers leave food out?? Why did they put the trap in the middle of the campsite?? Who takes care of the bear, the camp hosts or the National Park Service?? Kyle and I were very good about packing everything food related in our car at night, but I still did not sleep since I kept thinking I could hear something outside our tent. On the way out of the park, we did end up seeing two black bears. Each time they were crossing the road and each time we were in our car, so I felt nothing but excitement. They were really cute. (sidenote: Kyle has been camping his whole life and this is the first time he has seen a bear!).

We also saw a lot of deer, which I always enjoy.

Finally, back to the bees... Saturday afternoon, one ended up getting stuck in my shirt and I got stung twice! I was not happy. (sidenote: several years ago I was stung by a bee (or African Killer Bee that had migrated to Texas, I'm still not sure) and ended up getting really sick. My ankle swelled up and I felt like I had the flu for days. I was really nervous after getting stung twice this time, but I seem to be fine.)

All in all it was a good weekend out of the heat and out of the city. But with the rain and two sore arms, we packed up early and headed home Saturday night. We left right before a big storm came through, which made driving home really tough, but would have made for a tougher night in the tent.