Rain, twisties, AND gravel (even twisties ON gravel), our 4th of July trip was potentially my worst nightmare! Luckily it turned out to be anything but. We had a wonderful time exploring the beauties of Skyline Drive, enjoying the West Virginia twisties and camping at the highest campsite in WV!
For our 4th of July trip, we decided to head back to Skyline Drive. We are moving to PA in a couple of weeks and we wanted to make one more trip to the mountains of West Virginia and Virgina! Checking out Skyline Drive was a requirement. Even though we went last year for Thanksgiving, the short winter days (and the cold) left us wanting more! One of our concerns was that traffic was going to be awful and that it was going to ruin our trip. I’m glad we were wrong!
Traffic to get there was a little hectic and besides almost getting ran over by a conversion van, it was very relaxing. Casey yelled so hard at the guy (who pulled into a gas station, completely cutting me off) that he left without even getting gas. We felt pretty bad for him as he had no clue I was even there but maybe next time he’ll look twice for motorcycles! After our nerves were cooled, a few Red Bulls consumed and a bit of jerky we jumped back on the highway for the Shenandoah National Park. Once we got there it was everything we remembered, and well, warmer.
The weather was absolutely perfect – not too hot, not too cold, amazing for July in Virginia! We made sure to stop as much as we could to enjoy the vistas and take photos. The Triumphs are absolutely in their element cruising along peacefully through the wooded roads. When we went before, Casey was riding his Speed Triple and the 35 mph speed limit was a little painful. Cruising on the Scrambler was much more enjoyable! The road is bordered by trees, punctuated with little bridges, and has great “curvies” (they are like twisties but not as tight! Yes, I made up the word.) One of the fun parts of the road is a short tunnel followed by an epic view of the valley. Also a great photo op!
After stopping to snap a few photos and enjoy the view, we rode down to Big Meadows. From there we hopped on Route 33 with plenty more twisties and crossed over to WV. We would have loved to ride the whole 105 miles of Skyline Drive but we wanted to head on to our camp before it got dark. Considering our luck with park rangers in the past I don’t know how we didn’t get in trouble for taking this picture. Two rangers drove by and pulled cars over for speeding as Casey made me pull into the grass and pose in front of the sign. I totally thought we were going to get hassled when they flipped on the lights but luckily they had better things to do than yell at tourists on the sacred grass! Of course, I got stuck in a hole and stalled 3 times – not really a quick (or graceful) exit.
After exiting the Shenandoah National Park we headed straight for the twisties. My last experience in the West Virginia’s twisties was a couple of months after getting my motorcycle license and I was a bit intimidated. Even though I had more riding experience this time I was still a little nervous. To my surprise, the twisties weren’t scary at all! I had a blast trailing Casey up and around the mountain roads. Who would have thought! 😉 The hubby, of course, had a great time. Twisties are just about his favorite thing on the whole planet.
After having our fun in the twisties, it was getting a little late and we decided to head to our campsite in the mountains of West Virginia. Casey had found a remote campground at the top of Spruce Knob, which sounded awesome! Considering it was the 4th of July and the weather couldn’t have been nicer, we were a bit concerned the campground would be booked up as they didn’t take reservations. Our stomachs were rumbling but we wanted to set up camp before dark. We rode straight up the mountain to the campsite and planned to head out to dinner once our tent was up. It turns out, most of the road to get to the campsite was gravel. Great! Gravel, on a narrow mountain road with lots of potholes. Have I mentioned I hate gravel? Here and HERE!
After way (way, WAY) longer than anticipated we made it to the campground and thankfully they had spots available! Since getting up the mountain took way longer than we had planned, and having to go back down, eat and then drive back up in the dark would be exhausting, we decided to eat whatever we had, hang out and relax by the fire. Cow tails and beef jerky it was!
Apparently, it rained during the night. I say apparently because I didn’t hear a thing and I’m typically the light sleeper! Casey had to go out in the middle of the night to cover or grab all of the stuff we had left out. I guess I must have been really exhausted from the twisties and the gravel road! 😉 We woke up with a great view the next morning:
After getting all packed up, we headed down the mountain and had a good breakfast at a local cafe. Next, we headed north toward Thomas to check out a little coffee shop with live music called the Purple Fiddle. The place was awesome, the artists really talented, and the ice cream delicious! After a while, it started raining. We tried to let it pass and wait it out but it only rained harder so we geared up and hopped on the bikes deciding to head home. Casey mapped us on a route home that included a beautiful empty stretch of mountain road that lazily meandered through the forest. Despite the constant downpour, it was a pleasant ride. At least until we got closer to D.C. Can’t wait for the next trip!
Holiday weekends done right.
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