De-stressing on Dickey Ridge

Shenandoah National Park

Yesterday I had a long session at the dentist. I had two teeth filled, but that involved five surfaces. It wasn’t terribly painful, but it took a long time and I left with sore gums and a big dent in my bank account.

Since I was in Front Royal on a beautiful day, I went to Skyline Drive, which is so close to town that people walk there. Four miles later, I was at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center.

A ranger was finishing up a talk about bears. I didn’t mind that I had missed it because I’ve heard it before. They do it almost every day. I chatted with the ranger and took a picture of a bear skull.

Inside the visitors center, another park ranger was helping visitors plan a hike.

I browsed through the gift shop. I liked this toy bird, which was identified as a peregrine falcon.

I haven’t seen one up close in the wild. Another visitor center has a model of one on display.

Usually I drive farther south through the park, but I decided to just relax there for a while. I strolled around outside, sat on a bench for a while and took pictures, even though I have hundreds of images of the views there from previous visits.

I overheard a woman tell her husband she saw an eagle, but it looked like a vulture to me. It’s hard to say for sure because it was soaring through the sky, too far away to see any details. I’m not an expert, but I have watched an awful lot of vultures, particularly when we lived next to a lake. They soar in a relaxed way on air currents, and appear to be enjoying a great time.

I’ll show you some pictures of vultures from previous posts.

Mosaic / Wild Birds