Day 26: Shenandoah National Park, VI

We got up early, had breakfast at Jack’s Shop Kitchen, in Ruckersville, VI. The servings were huge - the food was a delight. This is not a Denny’s breakfast. We have all had an okay normal breakfast - then every once in a while you stumble on to a place that you will remember the meal. Jack’s Shop Kitchen is such a place.

After breakfast - we headed towards Sperryville, VI - Shenandoah National Park - we had about a 90 minute drive. To basically get to the other end of the park to start our drive through the park.

When we got there we learned the visitor center was closed. The park ranger on duty at the gate booth, gave us our Junior Ranger material to study, and swore us in while sitting in our car at the toll booth. Yes, there was a car behind us waiting! We promised to complete the book later. We got our badges and went on our way.

This is a good point to mention the importance of spending the $80 for a Lifetime Senior National Park’s pass. Not all National Parks charge for entry - but many do. To drive Skyline Drive it cost $30 - Free with the pass - With all the parks we have visited the Senior Park pass has more than paid for itself.

Honestly, once we got going we really didn’t know where we were heading. It was great to find out we actually were heading back towards the AirBNB. It is a beautiful drive with a few twisties, and tons of over-looks. Again, we were there off-season so we didn’t fight the crowds or traffic. A nice way to spend the morning. This completed the goal - we visited all ten of the National Parks and earned our Junior Ranger badges we planned to, and two parks we didn’t plan on visiting or even knew about. Twelve parks in total.

Read the posts about Baboursville - to see how we ended our last day before heading home.

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