Sunday Drive on the Blue Ridge

I don't think I've ever really experimented with the idea of going for a leisurely Sunday drive.  After church today we drove to the mountains to witness the first stage of the changing colors. 

Much of the Skyline Drive winds motorists through the woods of Shenandoah National Park, but it was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corp as part of the New Deal with these amazing overlooks in mind.  Seventy-five of them in all are engineered for easy access to Sunday drivers like us.  Some of them allow you views to the west of the mountains, like this Sandy Bottom Overlook.  The name of it makes me think of trips home from the beach as a child, but we intentionally stopped there hoping to see the Shenandoah River which we did not see.

I'm driven to know which side of the mountains is prettier in the fall so we stopped multiple times, sometimes looking out the Shenandoah Valley to our west and sometimes looking out onto the Piedmont.  Today's favorite stop was at Loft Mountain Overlook, looking east onto the Piedmont.

Fish faces were naturally necessary for such moments.

But just for the little people.  I love it when J is there to be the photog for the big people.

Looking from North to East, this is how the panorama looked.

Join us (in probably two weeks) for the next installment of Virginia's fall colors.  We might get worried that we'll miss it and go sooner.