Shenandoah in the snow

On Friday, November 2nd we packed up to go to Shenandoah for the day.  We were hoping for the remnants of fall color, and a great day with our little family, hiking in the mountains.  As has become tradition in our family, on at least one fall trip to Shenandoah, we stop at Lee's, the apple orchard on the way to Skyline Drive.  We got some apples, and the man there gave Jovie one to hold onto in the car.  It didn't take her long to decide to go ahead and eat it.  She loved it!

Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy had dumped some snow in the mountains around, but we didn't realize how much.  When we got closer, we could see - there was snow in the higher elevations!  We were pumped.  We hadn't seen Shenandoah snow since Mike and I went to Shenandoah on vacation before we moved here.

We weren't totally prepared for the snow, so we had to do some improvising, but we managed, and it was so great!  We've always been hoping to get back when there was snow.  And with some bits of color left in the lower elevations, it was gorgeous.

At the Pinnacles overlook

 

 Jovie fell asleep in the car when we got there, so Mike and I ate lunch in the car, then drove to Big Meadows.  She woke up, so we took her for a little walk at Big Meadows.

 Big Meadows is opened and exposed to wind, and we weren't ideally dressed, so we kept it short, then went to the little cafe there to grab a snack and let Jovie eat.  Then we drove back to Stony Man so we could take a hike in the snow!

Here we are, starting up Stony Man.  Jovie had a lot of fun!

 Beauty along the trail

 Coming up to the Summit

 Views from the summit

 The summit was colder than the trail since we were so exposed to the wind, but we stopped to take some cute pictures.

 It's tricky to walk in the snow, so Daddy helped.

 Jovie hitched a ride with Daddy on the way back down.

Once we got back to the car, we sat inside to warm up Jovie's hands and give her a snack.

 Then we drove back out with some stops for lovely views along the way.  Here's a picture of Old Rag from an overlook.

Pictures of Mike while he's taking pictures from the overlook

It was a great gift to get to be there in the snow, and we had so much fun!  Shenandoah is a great place, and provides a different experience and memories every time we go.  I hope Jovie eventually remembers these adventures as warmly as we do!