we didn’t have much time after our giant acadia adventure before we would head back out into the wild. our second trip in october was to shenendoah national park, which isn’t all that far from our house (4-5 hours), but we have actually never been.
we arrived in the afternoon, scoped the visitor center, checked into our campsite, and then hit up a junior ranger program so the kids could start earning their junior ranger badges.
alway up for a photo booth even if she has to go it alone.
nature hike junior ranger activity.
then it was campfire time.
in the morning, we checked the forecast and it looked like it might be a little rainy/foggy/meh, so we decided to head back down the mountains into luray to check out the luray caverns. the drive through the park seemed to contradict the forecast, but who am i to question trained meteorologists?
slightly foggy. slightly spooky. 
pretty leaves. 
fall foliage documentation.
we arrived at the caverns with the rest of the tourists. having spent a lot of time at various national and state parks and preserves, we aren’t used to these commercial type places. also. the people who visit them. people were cutting across fenced areas for a shortcut and touching all the reachable cave formations. it was strange. and. there was even a wishing well. which i thought was bad for the ecosystem or whatever, but i guess raises a ton of money for charity, so i’m conflicted.
anyhow. enough ranting. here’s pictures.
perfectly clear water reflections. 
at first we didn’t realize it was a reflection. 
columns. 
photo fam. 
fallen column. 
weird and disappointing organ. 
decent shot of the lidkids in the weird lighting.
after the caverns, we went to a nearby restaurant, where we were able to catch enough of the bills game to know it wasn’t going too well, before heading back to camp.
later in the evening, we determined that we should take a quick mile hike out to see the sunset at a pretty overlook. isaac didn’t want to come, so derek, the girls, ruby and i set out without him. the hike was boring, and the overlook was windy and cold. but we settled in for the sunset.
boring hike. 
hiding from the wind. 
prettiest dog. right?
we climbed around and found the best spot for sunset viewing. and took lots of golden hour photos while we waited.
mom pose. 
golden hour doggo. 
golden family.
golden frolics. 
golden selfies.
finally, it was sunset time. i would say it was pretty good. anna agrees.
sunset photographer. 
and there it is. just before slipping away.
we stuck around for a few minutes after the sunset, but with a one mile hike ahead of us, we booked it out of there. we ended up hiking the last little bit in complete darkness (aside from some flashlights) which was nerve racking. we survived. and isaac survived the camper alone for a few hours. and day one (and a half) is over…