SNP Sun 10-11-09

I sadly rolled out of Shenandoah National Park around 8:30am and was on my way home. I stopped at a few overlooks on the way out of the park to relish the views one last time. My Shennie adventure was over :( As I hopped on 81 south, I started thinking..... I've got ALL day to get home. Why not find an adventure? I remember seeing something about a Natural Bridge on the way up, so I decided to find the exit and check it out. The exit is after Lexington VA and as I zoomed down the little two lane road, a surprising sign catches my eye. FOAMHENGE!!!

Now you KNOW I had to stop. This place was in the middle of nowhere and it was FREE. I pulled into the dirt parking lot and there wasn't a soul around. I grabbed my camera and climbed up the hill to get my first, up close and personal, view of Foamhenge. I had it all to myself. It's supposed to be an exact replica of Stonehenge, but made out of Styrofoam. Even though it's super cheesy, I loved it. An undiscovered little adventure. I took tons of photos and admired the view. There was even a foam figure of Merlin that was kind of neat. Smiling, at finding this little kernel of corniness, I hopped back into my car and headed down towards the natural bridge. I must of arrived early, b/c I had only a 5 minute wait in line. While I was waiting, I see another corny (literally) adventure I've always wanted to do. A Corn Maze!! It was only $5 so I said, what the hell. I told the ticket lady to hook me up with a natural bridge ticket and corn maze ticket. I'll pass on the wax museum ticket this time. hahhaa! So off I go, through some double doors, down a flight of stairs and instead of taking the shuttle down with all the tourists, I opted to walk down all 130 some odd steps. After all, I've hiked over 60 miles and climbed countless mountains, what's a set of stairs and a 2 mile walk to see the sights? At the bottom of the stairs, I see a shuttle unloading a group of clean looking tourists. It isn't til this moment that I become aware that I haven't showered since last Tuesday Morning! WOW, I must totally look like a homeless person. I don't even want to know what I reek like. Oh well.... these Sunday morning tourists are in for a surprise if they step too close. hahaha! Not to mention my classy, colorful, outfit might make me look a bit crazy like. Red pants, pink top, powder blue down vest, and my old college hat. Yea, I wore my camp clothes that I'd been wearing for a week, BUT they were the cleanest thing I had with me. It was either the camp clothes that I slept in for 5 days or the hiking clothes that I sweated in for 5 days. So with my hat pulled down low (Way to rep ECU huh?) my grimy self was self aware of my situation. Aaaaahhhh, who cares, it's not like I'll run into my old Junior League girlfriends up in VA. So on I walked amongst the clean and bathed to enjoy what my $18 ticket paid for.

I was surprised to see how close the Natural bridge was. Within .1 mile of walking and within that the .1 mile there were several bench seats available. FULL of tourists. I took some pictures and decided to see what the rest of the mile down, mile back walking path had to offer. The bridge was actually pretty awesome to see. It was just striking in the sheer size of it. I walk on and decide to pass the little Indian village set up. I'll save that for on the way back. Too many people crowding around it. So I continue on, cross a cool bridge and head out to this cave. So it's just me and this little rug rat, whose about 7 or 8 years old. Without even thinking, I step over the small rope and enter the cave to explore in more detail. Well the little kid follows my lead and the next thing I hear is his mother screeching in what sounded like Russian. We both look at her and both bolt for the rope and jump back on the other side. Seriously, I had no idea I did that. Normally, I'm the stickler for following rules and being safe. I think being out in the wilderness for so long, changed my perception on where I was allowed to wander. I mean it didn't even compute that I had to stay behind the rope! I just wanted to be inside the cave to see what was in there. Red faced, I apologize to the mom and scurry away. I continue down the gravel path to see the waterfall. I power thru an easy graded incline that lasts probably 1/2 a mile, but it amazes me how many people have to stop to catch their breath or sit down on the rock wall. I guess b/c I've hiked around really talented in shape people this past week, that I forget what "normal" everyday people in the world can do. Then it hits me, I worked hard to be able to hike up mountains! And where were these people when I was struggling up Hightop mountain? Could of used the ego boost then! hahha! In all seriousness, I know I'm lucky to be able to hike on the weekends, and for that, I'm grateful.

So I get to the end of the path and check out the waterfall. Honestly, I thought it was going to be more to it than what I saw, but whatever. I'm outdoors! On the way back, I spot an egret just chillin' in the water, so I snap a pic of him and continue on to the Indian village. The village actually turned out to be pretty cool. There were actual people in costume at each little station, explaining how the people back in the day used to live. One lady was weaving baskets from strips of bark they peeled off of trees, another was drying out her corn so they can grind it down to use to make corn cakes. It was pretty interesting. I entered the little huts they had all around to check out the inside and I was surprised at how hot the living quarters got with just a small fire. I mean after a couple of minutes it felt like a sweat lodge, so I bowed out in the middle of her explanation on where everyone slept and ducked into the storing hut. Where they stored their valuables, like tools, furs, and food. After snapping some photos, I hopped back on the gravel pathway and walked under the natural bridge again for the last time. I climbed the 130 some odd steps and slid back into my car. Off to find the Corn Maze!

The short drive to the maze was beautiful. Wow! These corns have some bank real estate. Talk about views. I had to stop the car just to look at the views of the mountains in the distance. Spectacular. Finally, I pull into the parking area and guess what? I've got the maze all to myself. I glance over at corn field and visions of that movie "Children of the Corn" start flipping through my head. I had to stop myself before I got to carried away. The corn field was plowed on a hill so it's got some nice climbs, but hey, I've climbed bigger hills. :) I walk up to the two teens, who look so thrilled to be there, and say hello. Seriously, only one gets up to greet me, the other continues to play with the piece of hay she's got in her hand. The guy robotically tells me the rules of the maze, and hands me a piece of paper and a pencil. Basically, this corn maze has an incentive. If I find 10 of the 30 scarecrows hiding in the maze, and write down their names (scarecrows will be wearing name tags) on this piece of paper. When I've found my 10, I turn it in to one of the teens and claim a prize! Whoo hoo! A prize! Sweet! I look at my watch, It's 12:43pm, and I squiggle it on the top of the paper. It's now a race to see how fast I can find me some scarecrows! I dive into the corn field at the lower edge of the field and start my climb up. I figured the higher I go, the better of a view I'll get. The maze takes me on a couple of turns and by 12:54pm I've found 10 scarecrows (Ty COBB, HAY-lee Mills, John STALKton, General CORNwallace, etc.. you get the jist). I figured I haven't gotten my $5 worth, so I continue walking around the maze to see if I can find more. I know there's no extra points for finding more scarecrows, but what can I say? I've got overachiever tendencies. I actually hike up to the top of the field, only to discover I still can't see the views b/c the corn stalks are taller then I am. So I walk over to the edge and try to get a good picture. 10 minutes and 6 scarecrows later, I go to collect my prize. The same teen who explained the rules gets up to meet me. He tells me my prize is either a day or night time poster of the Natural Bridge. Since I've got plenty of day time photos of the bridge, I opt for the night time poster. I thank him, roll it up, keep my score card, and head back to my car. From here on out it's a long ride home.

I can't tell you enough how awesome today was. Even though I did alot of corny (no pun intended and I love corny by the way) stuff, I loved how my day turned out. It was a totally unplanned day and full of spontaneous adventures. I asked for a thru hikers experience and I feel like I got one. I've read so many trailjournals, heard so many stories of other hikers talking about the crazy twists and turns along their journey, and here I was having a crazy turn of events. Who would of thought I would be on top of a hill, in the middle of a corn field today? If you looked at all my planning, I should of been summiting some mountain right about now. Well, this was a perfect end to my week in the Shenandoah's. It was all about tossing the "plan" out the window and just being open and free to experience life as it happens. I had no way of knowing what crazy places I would of visited today if I hadn't be open to opportunities during my hike. Except for timing myself to see how fast I could find the scarecrows, (I know, I know, I'm working on it) I let myself be free from my usual schedules and time lines, and man did it feel good. I'm so used planning everything before it happens and then getting upset if it didn't happen the way I planned it that I think I need to work on not holding onto the reins so tight. I need to ease back and just..... Flow..... I like that word. FLOW. I can feel that this trip has already changed me a bit and for that, I am most grateful. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!