November Evening, Skyline Drive

Yesterday started out rainy but became sunny and warm by the afternoon. Temperatures were in the 70's (Fahrenheit), which felt hot for November. We went to Luray and drove up to Skyline Drive from there. The park was closing early, at 5 PM, to reduce illegal hunting. A ranger told us we had time to drive north to the Front Royal exit before they closed the gates. We did stop briefly to capture some irresistible photos.

We saw at least a dozen deer. It's their mating season so we had to drive carefully as they get distracted and forget about the dangers of the road.

We drove through some clouds, which is not unusual in the mountains. One minute you're on a clear road and the next minute you're in deep fog! When the clouds parted, we saw some lovely views.

I have over 60 blog entries tagged deer, many of them with pictures taken from Skyline Drive. If you've never been here, well, you should come! The Drive runs the length of Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. It was designed to be scenic and it certainly succeeded!

Sharing with Orange You Glad It's Friday

and Skywatch Friday and Scenic Weekends

Flash Visits the Dog Park

In Front Royal, VA

Sharing with Thoughtless Thursday

and Good Fences
and Camera Critters

November at Lake Frederick

Lake Frederick is open to the public for boating and fishing although it is surrounded by a subdivision. It is in the Shenandoah Valley between Front Royal and Winchester.

Sharing with Water World Wednesday and Wednesday Waters
and Through My Lens and Wild Bird Wednesday
 

Signs of Dragons

Sharing with Signs, Signs and Wordless Wednesday

and Black and White Wednesday

Front Royal Visitors Center

Sharing with NF Trees and Bushes

and Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Random-osity Cell Phone Photos

My cell phone is an old Android model and its pictures are not the best. But there are times that I don't carry my camera with me — not too many, but there are times, like on doctor's visits, on museum tours, and in restaurants (unless it's a special occasion). So today, I'm sharing a few of these pictures in the Good, Random and Fun format and also for the Our World Tuesday linkup.

The Good: Winchester Medical Center is a modern facility providing health care in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. I was attracted to the shadows and lines in this corridor.

The Random: I was pleased to see that this sculpture was on view again on the Rappahannock Studio Tour. I cannot speak for the artist, but to me it speaks of the tragedy of war, a soldier killed as he tries to surrender.

The next image shows a different type of sculpture also relating to war, but in this case it's fantasy war. I believe these were crafted as props for a movie (or possibly a game). I'm not a fan of war movies. They creep me out! They remind me that humans are basically animals, worse than predators because some of us glory in killing. We are not as civilized as we would like to think!

Today we live in frightening times! I suppose this is not unique; my parents lived through World War II; my grandparents lived through both World Wars; my great-grandparents lived through the American Civil War; and so on.

Have you noticed how fear brings out the worst in people? After years of espousing love and forgiveness, suddenly they are ready to deny help to families in need, refugees who seeking safety. Suddenly I see how an earlier generation of "decent" people allowed a holocaust to happen! They felt fear, they pulled back into primitive survival mode, they were manipulated by people who knew how to exploit their fear. And sadly, we see people who are not in our own group as "others," if not enemies, at least not as family, and instinctively it is our own families that we seek to protect.  Two thousand years of hearing we should love our neighbor are quickly forgotten. It is all too depressing!

I will change the subject and try to address the third topic without sounding cynical. Because only by denying reality are we able to thrive!

The Fun: Eating out can be fun. I like it best when the restaurant has something tasty that I can eat without getting sick, of course, and with food allergies that doesn't happen every time. I took this picture with my phone at a nice place in Rippon that serves home-cooked food. Although I took a more traditional picture too, this one appeals to me because it is different. Notice that my husband appears in the mirror behind the lamp.

Art Gallery with Barn

It was a good weekend for art studio tours — we had three to choose from. Two were in West Virginia and one was in the Lovettsville, Virginia area. I decided to skip the Hampshire Highlands Studio Tour because we've done it before and had not done the other two. I always like exploring a new area as long as it's fairly convenient.

Saturday we took the Over the Mountain tour near Charles Town. We've been to Charles Town a number of times and knew that the countryside around it is hilly and scenic. Our first stop was barely in West Virginia, a short drive from Berryville. It turned out to be a community gallery called Craftworks, in a new energy-efficient building located in a park-like setting.

There is an attractive barn on the property.

I was delighted to see a cute mural painted on the side of the barn. It is signed by Mia and Autumn.

Sharing with Monday Murals
and The Barn Collective 

St. John's Episcopal Church in Rippon

This charming church sits alongside Route 340 in Rippon, WV. The shadows were so long that the only way I could capture this angle without getting my shadow in the frame was to kneel down in front of our car!

The older part of the building dates to 1890.

Sharing with InSPIREd Sunday 

and Shadow Shot Sunday

Rippon is a small town but it saw action at least three times during the Civil War. In 1864, there was a disastrous attack made upon Mosby's Rangers not far from here — disastrous for the Union cavalry troops that attempted the attack, that is. (See my 2010 post about a marker in nearby Myerstown.)

Next to this church is a marker for a skirmish that took place here in 1863 as The obelisk is one of a series of similar markers erected in Jefferson County in 1910 in time for the 50th anniversary of the war. The obelisks are numbered but do not contain descriptions of the events, which were described in a booklet. This one was #14.

I took the final picture because I was intrigued by how the shape of the tree was echoed in the portico supports. I see that I got my shadow in this image, but that's okay because it adds another elbow shape to the composition.

You can read more about Rippon in Wikipedia. 

FCW in B and W

Sharing with Black and White Weekend

A Dog Named Beau

...Or perhaps it's Bo, I don't know.

Sharing with Sepia Saturday and Saturday's Critters

Front Royal's Greatest Parks

The city of Front Royal is known for its recreational opportunities. Situated between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the confluence of the two branches of the Shenandoah River, it offers scenic beauty and outdoor activities. Today I'm sharing fresh photos of the best public parks in the city and close by.

The northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park is actually within walking distance from town, but we drive up.  Skyline Drive runs the length of the park and has numerous scenic overlooks. We have a National Parks Senior Pass so we go up there fairly often.

Often we see deer or even a bear!

The second park I want to show you is Shenandoah River State Park, also known as Andy Guest State Park. It is near the small town of Limeton along Route 340. We were there on Veterans Day to walk along the river and view dusk from Cullers Overlook.

The Carson Trail runs from Front Royal Country Club to Rockland Park. It offers lovely views of the Shenandoah River.

I'm linking up to My Town Shoot Out, Skywatch Friday, Weekend Reflections, Scenic Weekends, and Orange You Glad It's Friday.

But keep reading! There's more! 

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Eastham Park is in the city of Front Royal at the point where Luray Avenue reaches the South Fork. It has soccer fields, a paved trail, a dog park, and access to a boat ramp.

The picture of the kayaker is from last month; the rest of them are very recent.

There are other parks within the city limits, including a couple of nice playgrounds and a small park in the historic district that has a gazebo where concerts are held.

Trees and Fences Near Flint Hill

When we did a portion of the Artists of Rappahannock Studio Tour on Sunday, we were blessed with a beautiful day. Most of Rappahannock County is rural with rolling hills.

Sharing with Good Fences 

and Through My Lens

and NF Trees and Bushes

Postscript: An article says the cabins were slave cabins.