Street Scene at 1390 Feet Elevation

 Shenandoah National Park

These visitors appear to represent three generations. Grandmother is in traditional dress, mother has a modern yet modest outfit, and the youngest member of the family wears summer clothing typical of American children.

The view shows part of Front Royal with two mountain ranges in the distance. This is the first overlook you reach on Skyline Drive if you enter at the north end.  Most of the other viewpoints are from a higher elevation.

Today I Welcomed the Rain

You know how they dilate your pupils when you go to the ophthalmologist? That leaves your eyes extra sensitive to bright light, and it takes hours to wear off. Well, I had an eye exam this morning, so I was glad that it was a cloudy day. That makes the drive home much more comfortable. 

I was still in the parking lot after the exam, eating a snack, when the rain started. I took some pictures with my cell phone. 

The glass on the sunroof is tinted, so pictures I took through it have a pale aquamarine color.

The rain actually stopped when I reached the supermarket, so I was able to do some quick shopping without getting wet. It started again as I began to drive home. 

At one point, the downpour got so heavy that I took the next exit and left the interstate for a slower road where there were places to pull off if needed. I made it home and the rain stopped again. My timing was lucky today!

Also, the news from the eye exam was good. My left eye has completely recovered from the cataract surgery, although it took almost two years. Dr. Viti agrees with me that we don’t need to have the right eye done yet. 

More Views of Stony Creek

Near the Edinburg Mill 

Wordless Wednesday

Mallards Near the Mill

Edinburg, VA

This afternoon, I wound up in Edinburg after Charlie got restless and campaigned to go out. I wanted to stop at the recycling center because I had a bunch of glass bottles. (Our town’s recycling contractor does not take glass. I’m just happy that they pick up our other recycling because until last week, we did not have any recycling pickup at all here. This will decrease my trips to the recycling center a great deal.)  I also took some large boxes because I don’t want to fill up my recycling container with cardboard. 

A rainstorm was in the forecast, so I felt it was best not to drive very far. I decided to go to nearby Stony Creek by Edinburg Mill. I snapped a few pictures of mallard ducks before I got Charlie out of the car, and then took him a short distance upstream to walk where he would not scare the ducks. We found a narrow trail down to the water.

I was pleased to find a new spot for viewing the water.

The final picture shows the old railroad bridge in the distance. Trains no longer run through here, and there are hopes that the right-of-way will become a trail for walking and biking.

A JMU Mural with Mountains

Harrisonburg

I spotted this mural yesterday while driving through Harrisonburg. I was there to show Marie the campus for James Madison University, and also to introduce her to the juicy burgers at Five Guys. Years ago she shopped in the sprawling big box store district of the town, which of course, left her with the impression that the place was ugly. The historic district, however, has charm.

We drove past the new buildings of JMU on the southeast side of the interstate highway, and after passing the Arboretum, I saw the mural at a hotel parking lot. The script says James Madison University and there’s a logo of the school mascot on the left. 

Monday Murals

After crossing over I-81, we drove past a slightly older part of the campus, turned onto Main Street, and saw the historic district with the dignified old campus buildings. This school was founded in 1908 as a teacher’s college. It became James Madison University in 1977, and now serves more than 23,000 students.

From there I headed east to Shenandoah National Park (see yesterday’s post). But first we had to stop on Charlie‘s behalf, for a walk in Rockingham Park.

Oops! The sign says “No Dogs Allowed!” Too late, we were already there! I made a joke about “Snoopy, Come Home,” but then had to explain the movie reference. 

Views with Charlie and Marie

My younger daughter visited today. Marie has to go home early tomorrow because of something called a job.

We went to Harrisonburg for lunch and then drove up to Skyline Drive. We stopped in Rockingham Park to walk Charlie and there we had a view of the Massanutten Mountains. 

The views from Skyline Drive were very hazy. I didn’t bother to take pictures of them. I already have hundreds of photos from there that I took on clear days.

We stopped at Byrd Visitor Center, and I remembered to take some pictures of Marie and Charlie.

Mosaic Monday

I wanted Marie and Charlie to pose by the statue of a CCC worker, but Charlie did not want to get close to it.

Charlie’s July 4th Post

Happy Indogpendence Day! I am a free dog and I refuse to live in a cage! I had to live in one for a long time when I was a puppy. It was a bad place with mean people, and the government closed it down. There is a dog farm in Wisconsin that is closing now, and I am glad that those beagles will be free. 

At first, it’s scary being free because everything is new, but if you are lucky, you get to live with a nice person or a family and they treat you right!

This was a hot week and we only went to one park. We walked in the shade and went to the picnic shelter.

Here is a fancy picture for Caturday.

Today was very hot until a storm came through. The rain missed us, but we got wind and dark clouds and thunder. Since it was not a good time to go to the park, we went to visit Sadie. She has some fun toys.

Tonight there was some boom boom noise so I howled and made it go away.

A West Virginia Town, Reflected

This is Thomas, West Virginia. I took this picture some time ago and just came across it in my ridiculously large collection of digital photos.

Evening Sky Over Rooftops

We have passed the longest day of the year, which is sad in a way because I love long days. On the other hand, today was so hot that I was glad when the sun went down because it is unpleasant walking Charlie when the temperatures are in the nineties. 

A Slow Week for Birding

Although I don't actually go birdwatching like Stewart and David, I enjoy taking pictures of birds when I get a chance. Right now, my feeders are down except for the hummingbird feeder, and I haven't seen one yet, so I didn't get any bird photos in my backyard. The only one I took this week was this snapshot that I took while walking the dog.

I felt this post needed a more colorful picture, so I went back to my pictures from this time of year in 2020 and found this one of mallard ducks and a killdeer. 
 

Today the heat wave reached us. The temperature reached 97°F (36°), and it’s predicted to get even hotter. I did a small amount of yardwork before 10 AM, and by that time it was already getting uncomfortably warm and humid. Fortunately, my home has central air-conditioning, but even that is not as cool as it normally is. I’ve got the ceiling fan on. I just hope the power stays on and the AC doesn’t break down.