#59in59
Shenandoah National Park is a special place to me and my family…
I suppose our relationship with the park started on the day that it was established on July 3rd, 1936, nearly 84-years ago. My grandfather was 5-years old and lived in Luray, Virginia at the time. He still remembers his dad, cousin and uncle heading up to Big Meadows to hear the President give a long talk. He saw Franklin D. Roosevelt drive by in his ‘big black car’, and that’s about as far as the memory extends. Fast forward 50-years to 1986, I was a baby and my grandfather was at Shenandoah National Park’s 50th anniversary and a VIP (Volunteer in Parks) member at Shenandoah. Fourteen years later my dad got a job at James Madison University, and we moved from my hometown in Fort Collins, Colorado to live out east. I was not excited to leave the mountains of Colorado, but I discovered some new mountains in the process. In 16-years, on July 3rd, 2036 I will stand in Big Meadows, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the park. Until then I see it both as my duty, and a part of fulfilling my family’s heritage to support this park as best I can.
For National Park Week I have created seven different virtual tours of Shenandoah National Park. The tours will take you down Skyline Drive, and on hikes to visit some of the parks most popular peaks and summits, as well as its most popular waterfalls. I hope that you enjoy these tours, and that they inspire you to visit this wonderful place in person!
In addition to the tours, we will be selling ‘Virtual Ranger - Shenandoah National Park’ stickers. Proceeds from the sale will go to support the Shenandoah National Park Trust and help rebuild trails, provide educational programs for kids, and generally improve the park. Please consider purchasing one of these stickers to help support Shenandoah and the work that the National Park Trust to help preserve this place for all!
