11/6/17

Luray, Virginia

If you thought you were going to get a break from me, then you thought wrong. Here I am...still in Internet Land...still yammering away with my tippy-typing. Geez. I'm here in Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Luray, Virginia. And if you think I'm kidding with that name, don't. There's an actual statue of Yogi Bear at the entrance to the park. If I'd been thinking, I'd have taken a picture...and I will, just to prove a point. But that will have to wait until later today. So here's what happened.

It was a relatively short drive from the RV park in Lanexa, VA, to Shanendoah National Park. We drove through some beautiful country in Northern Virginia, and the autumn leaves are in full swing here now. We passed by some lovely farms with interesting barns, but I only thought to take a picture of one.


As we climbed the hill that would take us to the park entrance, we drove into fog.


By the time we reached the park entrance, the fog was so dense that we missed it and drove right by. As we crested the hill...oh my goodness! The fog cleared and the autumn leaves were just gorgeous!


We had to drive about five miles before we found a place wide enough to turn ourselves around, and then headed back up the hill and into the fog again, making sure we didn't miss the entrance this time.


And this turned into a bit of a fiasco. The map will provide a helpful demonstration of our problem.


We drove in on US Hwy 211, marked with a blue arrow in the map above. We were headed to the Big Meadows campground, marked with a red arrow toward the bottom. But do you see what I've circled in red there near the entrance? It's the dreaded "TUN." That's "tunnel" to you. I'd noticed the tunnel before we left our previous destination, and checked my app for anything less than 13 feet. There were a few tunnels, but not along our route. I checked again, just to be sure, and found nothing to indicate that the clearance was too low for us. Nevertheless, when we entered the park, a big warning sign told us the maximum clearance was 12' 8". Oy boy. Too low for us.

Since then, I've read an article claiming the clearance is 13' 7" but I checked with my friend Google this morning and read this article about Mary's Rock Tunnel on Skyline Drive. Google agrees with the sign in the park, but the tunnel is kind of interesting anyway. I encourage you to click on that link and read about how and when it was built.

So...the only way to reach the campground would have been to head back down the hill and take another route south...either that, or find a campground in the nearby town of Luray. Yogi Bear, here we come. And here we are! We have electricity and internet, so how bad can it be? And don't think I won't take a picture of Yogi Bear. You just wait and see.

After all that excitement, what could I do but bake a Blue-Cherry Pie for Two. You might remember that I canned some cherry pie filling last summer...only I didn't have enough cherries, and so I supplemented with blueberries, and the Blue-Cherry moniker was born. There's no good place to roll out a homemade pie crust in the RV, so I just used Pillsbury...we're camping, right? Besides...Pillsbury is good. They come two crusts to a box, but I figured I could get away with using just one crust for my little 6-inch pie. (That leaves an extra crust for another pie!)


I figured out that my largest round Tupperware lid cuts the perfect size circle for the bottom crust. Then I used the top of a medicine bottle to cut out circles from the scraps to make the top crust. It's a pie crust only a quilter can appreciate. We do know our way around some scraps, don't we?

While I was baking the pie, the sun started shining on the hillside beside the park. Look how pretty it is out there.


Later on in the evening, I did some more stitching on Thelma...she's getting pretty darned close to finished.


I'm going to leave her buttons unstitched because I'll use tiny buttons or hot fix nailheads there. Besides, if I have to stitch one more tiny circle, I'll probably go crazy...or maybe it's already too late. But now, only the hair and hat are left, so I'll probably get her finished up today.

There's rain in the forecast, but so far nothing. If the weather doesn't discourage us, we'll drive back up to the park and drive north on Skyline Drive to do some sight-seeing. If not, we'll just sit here stubbornly until the weather improves, even if it means staying an extra few days. We've been on something of a schedule up to this point, worrying about cold winter weather setting in. We're probably far enough south that we don't have to worry quite as much, but we'll continue to keep an eye on the forecast just the same.

17 comments:

Debbie said...

You did get to see some beautiful color. When we would run thru fog there usually was a surprise on the other side:) Your pie looks yummy. If you feel adventurous there are always the caverns to explore.

Ray and Jeanne said...

I love your adventures! Glad it all worked out with the tunnel and you found Yogi Bear's. We have a few of Yogi's campgrounds near us in the Midwest. That pie looks delicious! Enjoy the Shenandoah Valley - it looks like the fall colors are awesome right now. You are very close to the Luray Caverns if you want to do a little underground exploring. ~Jeanne

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Of course you should make a pie being in a Yogi Bear Park (just don't keep it in a picnic basket). So much nicer color than we got to see in this area.

Quilting Babcia said...

You've hit the park at peak colors! Fabulous. I hope blue skies return and your time there can be spent hiking and exploring, and maybe even seeing a real yogi, er black bear - way better photo-op!

Linda M @ Pieceful Kingdom said...

The fall color there is gorgeous! We stayed at a Jellystone/Yogi Bear campground in the Smoky Mountains a number of years ago. It is gone now, but we happened to be there on Father's Day weekend so they had a lot of activities for the kids in the playground area, which happened to be right across from our campsite. They had a guy in a Yogi costume riding around on a golf cart for the kids. Even though we didn't have little ones, we enjoyed our stay - we even played ping pong in the arcade building!

WoolenSails said...

The foliage is gorgeous down there, I keep missing it, lol.
I have never stayed at one of their parks, they do have a few up north.
Great idea to have ready pie shells for camping, much easier than trying to roll dough.
I always make my food ahead since i have no counter space, but on long trips, I need to get creative.

Debbie

Charlotte M. said...

You're getting close to my old home state of NC. Smokey Mountain National Park is one of my favorites. Can't wait until I see it through your eyes and lens. And yes, you are probably far enough south that you have no winter worries. We never got much winter in central NC until January. Enjoy those pretty leaves.

QuiltShopGal said...

It sounds like a good opportunity to relax, sew, read, and enjoy being inside in a beautiful RV & park if it rains. But what a beautiful place you are in. That tunnel is amazing. Looks like there is an amazing hike at a waterfalls nearby too! And I'm thoroughly enjoying following along your trip and sewing adventures, so please don't stop sharing.

QuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com

Lynette said...

Scrappy or not, that pie looks wonderful, and I bet the Blue-Cherry is delicious! I need to get me a 6" pie dish. . .

Sandra W said...

Wow. Some beautiful spots.
But no quilt stores for a while. Bummer.

Kristin said...

I worked at a Jellystone in Illinois in high school; I even had to dress up as Yogi! I'll give you extra points if you get a pic with Yogi himself!
When we visited the Luray Caverns in Dec 1981, we were in a pretty bad auto accident due to heavy fog. A tourist van pulled out from a stop sign in front of us and we hit the side (almost went under it with our little Datsun).
Hopefully the fog stays away for the rest of your stay there!

Anonymous said...

Hi Barabara,wow what a pretty place you are staying at and that Blue-Cherry pie looks Delicious,enjoy xx

Kate said...

Wow, those hillsides are lovely! Looks like a very nice place to hang out and sight see.

piecefulwendy said...

You know I have Yogi's voice saying "Hey Boo-Boo" in my head now! Haha. I think a stay with Yogi is far better than getting stuck in a tunnel. That Blue-Cherry pie looks yummy. I think I'm going to go on the hunt for a 6" pie dish too! The fall colors are amazing, enjoy! I've never been to Shenandoah National Park, but it looks beautiful.

Brown Family said...

The Tunnel construction was interesting. Amazing hot long it took ans how much dynamite was used!

The pie looks yummy! I remember my Mom took the scraps of dough and put sugar and cinnamon on them. After they were baked, we had a snack! I had not thought of that for years!

I hope the weather has cleared up so you can have a great day in the park!

UplayOnline said...

If you feel adventurous there are always the caverns to explore.


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quiltzyx said...

What a spectacular view coming out of the fog! Plus the view from Yogi's is glorious too.
I just noticed that Roth Phallyka's icon is a gif - shades of Harry Potter's moving photos! :)
Gotta hand it to those tunnel makers - working nearly 24/7 to make through to the other side. Whew! Thanks for the link!