shenandoah valley | Friendly City Lens

It was Labor Day weekend and one look at Skyline Drive would lead you to believe that everyone in the Valley had hiking on the brain. Rightfully so. It was a gorgeous day and somehow between my August hike and this one, Fall started. The top of the mountain beamed with yellows and fading greens. Still lush but whispering change. We settled on a hike with only two cars in the lot: Miller’s Head, a short little number with a trail that leads up and down through the woods to a stone-built overlook. When we finished our hike we craved more so we tossed in a hike to Stony Man Mountain. A numbered trail with a corresponding booklet that shares a bit of information about each spot along the way. The view at the top does not disappoint…even when my eyes are fixed on my kids, through a lens.

Miller’s Head

Stony Man

Cell phone summary:

When August rolled around, it came and went. I was forced to part ways with the summer of pool-side fun, sunshine-on-the-mountain-top memories and accept the return of the daily hustle as the school year begins again: early mornings, long afternoons and night that comes too quickly. It all happened so fast I almost forgot about the hike Ben and I did to Hightop Mountain. Here are the bullets…

-Ben brought my Nikon along and got it to work long enough to shoot a roll of film
-the narrow, lush trail made me feel like I was walking through a fairy tale
-day-old pizza, bugs, wind, amazing views, a new friend: Lucky Lucy
–Kilaurwen Winery and some Harrisonburg goodies I packed
-a pitstop at Brothers Craft Brewery on the way home. <slurp>