Day 85 (September 15): Oh, Shenendoah!
Early in our relationship, Elise taught me a phrase that I still think is peculiar to the Pacific Northwest: "The mountains are out." She would say this to me after flying from our home in Boston to see friends or family in Seattle and the approach to SeaTac had yielded spectacular views of Ranier and others. For me - at the time, a lifetime east coaster - this phrase didn't make any sense. The mountains are just there and they always seem to be beckoning to me to pull my car to the side of the road and just walking up them, something you can't do on Jefferson, Hood, Adams or St. Helens. Well, you could (we have relatives who do, regularly) but 10,000' feet is quite different than 3,000! But now we are in Shenendoah National Park in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. Have you ever seen a geological map of the United States? This part of the country looks insane. Like pouring several dollops of oil paint in a line on a canvas and then smearing them sort o...