OH, SHENENDOAH

In planning out the next stages of my trip in my safe haven in Maryland, I decided I needed a break from cities for awhile. I decided to get as far away from killer crosswalks and pricey street snacks as I could--and head for the largest swatch of green on my roadmap, which turned out to be Shenendoah National Park. I did eventually come to realize that perhaps Shenendoah isn't quite as remote as I had thought (it is home to "Skyline Drive"; you can actually motor through the whole park, stay in swank lodgings, and pretty much forgo the wilderness experience if you like) but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

I camped in Matthew's Arm campgrounds the first night, although I never did find out why it was called that. Due to the positive feedback to my renaming the Yellowstone spot Elk Butt, I renamed this particular site "Quickmunk", for my speedy little striped friends who made frequent laps around the car and picnic table at will. I went for an uneventful hike upon establishing my set up, wandering down one trail head that later linked to a fire road. Although there were plenty of cars and people at the campsite, I didn't see a single soul on the trail. When I hiked back into the campsite the back way, I turned and realized the 4 foot wide, cleared and maintained trail was labeled "backcountry". Hmm.

I had some mealtime entertainment back at camp, as a rowdy family of four set up a temporary picnic at the site next to Quickmunk. It was something out of a cartoon, with two hyperactive boys, a dad in an old tank top undershirt, a mom with a serious mullet, and a well-fed rottweiler, who was promptly tied to the nearest tree as mom passed out buckets of fried chicken. They first caught my attention when one of the boys yelled "duuuuuuuuuurrng, lookit THIS one!" and triumphantly held up an apparently interestingly-shaped chicken nugget. The other boy wasted no time in knocking it out of his hand and the doomed nugget was then chucked under the table. Mom witnessed this and began to cuss the boys out for attracting bears (my ears perked up at this and I realized this family fun may indeed result in attracting danger to Quickmunk. I began to ponder whether the rottweiler was a plus after all?) The boys then turned their attention to the dog, narrating its bodily functions: "Maaaaaam, Brandy's whizzing on the leash! Brandy's whizzing on the tree! Brandy's whizzing again!" I settled into my dinner, preparing for a long night of Brandy-whizzing and chicken-flinging, but luckily once the food was gone, the family packed up and drove on.